Could have lost a finger

[Moonlight hunter]

I was water hunting today and got a hit under a tree that had fallen in. There was a hole and my sand scoop was to big to fit in. In these cases I usually just stick my hand in and try to pull the object out. I'm glad I didn't. I decided to use my pin pointer and when I stuck it in I herd a snap sound. I pull it out and a huge stone crab is pinching deep into my 730.

Now this is a first for me and looking at my pin pointer that's made from heavy duty plastic I guaranty this would have taken a nice chunk out of my finger.

All and all the 730 still works great but a lesson was leaned that 1, I cant just assume a hole in the gulf is free from creatures and 2, I need to invest in small tool that can do these jobs instead of using my hand.

Now you all stay safe and watch your fingers

 

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[Charlie P. (NY)]

Nice find!

Stone crab claws in melted butter sound better than a clad quarter!

Glad you didn't get a nasty nip! I have turned out razor blades, glass, hypo needles, knife blades, broadheads, lots of jagged metal - but no crabs.

 

[coinman123]

Yum!!! I agree, that crab would taste good with butter!

Next time wear gloves to avoid angry crabs.

 

[Meadow]

Okay, but what gave you the signal in the first place? Don't tell us you didn't go back to check??

 

[bspkayaker]

I dont have crabs

 

[kingskid1611]

He was left by pirates to guard the booty they left in that hole.

 

[Nugs Bunny]

I would have named that little critter... lunch! No butter needed for me, Stone Crab is my favorite!

 

[Moonlight hunter]

Ha ha I thought of taking the claw but gave it to a bunch on interested kids on vacation who wanted to examine it for awhile. And yes Meadow I went back and it was a dang pop tab=(

 

[huntsman53]

Nice find!

Stone crab claws in melted butter sound better than a clad quarter!

I agree and worth a heck of a lot more than most clad quarters! Stone Crab Claws are going for up to $30 or more a pound. Just be careful as we used cans of Cat Food in the Stone Crab traps and when we pulled the traps up with several Stone Crabs inside, the Cat Food cans were shredded into little bitty pieces. They should hire them to work at Metal Recycling Plants to shred all of the metal as they work for cheap meals, LOL!!


Frank

 

[hvacker]

Just pet him & he'll be fine.

 

[huntsman53]

Just pet him & he'll be fine.

Yeah, right!! The first season that myself and a friend Jim helped out our friend Rip (actually Richard) with pulling traps to harvest Stone Crab claws, Rip's Lobster traps had not yet been converted to dual use for Lobsters and Stone Crabs. When we pulled the first trap onboard Rip's boat and found it had about 6 Stone Crabs in it and shredded Cat Food cans, we asked Rip how in the hell are we supposed to get them out of the trap??!! He laughingly said, just reach in there and grab them one at a time. Well, Jim was stupid enough to grab just one and almost lost a finger. After that, we temporarily removed a couple of wood slats on the tops of each trap and dumped the Stone Crabs in a big tub. Rip said that once we got finished pulling all of the traps and got the boat home, we would drive down to Big Coppitt Key and ask Three-Fingered Louie how he gets Stone Crabs out of the traps.


Frank

 

[coinman123]

I got pinched by a little crayfish and thought that hurt like heck, I could only imagine removing stonecrabs from traps.

 

[pepperj]

Very tasty fellow, didn't know they had such attitudes. For some reason I'm thinking of my big toe right now.

 

[huntsman53]

I got pinched by a little crayfish and thought that hurt like heck, I could only imagine removing stonecrabs from traps.

Very tasty fellow, didn't know they had such attitudes. For some reason I'm thinking of my big toe right now.

The bigger the claws, the bigger the attitude! The one that the O.P. pulled from the hole is a normal sized Stone Crab with proportionate sized claws. We actually caught some off of Sugarloaf Key that had claws twice the size of their' bodies. Get one with that size of claws and they could likely cut a fender off of a car or truck, no crap!


Frank

 

[el padron]

You should raise the notch and discrimination just a bit, hopefully that will help.
BTW, In Florida the marine patrol will pull you over in front of your driveway. In the 80's possession of that little guy was about $220, first offense), LOL, Today you probably would have to do some time. ( you are only allowed to harvest one left claw, )

In California we have Cougars, Bears and Mountain Lions. (Oh my)

 

[el padron]

The bigger the claws, the bigger the attitude! The one that the O.P. pulled from the hole is a normal sized Stone Crab with proportionate sized claws. We actually caught some off of Sugarloaf Key that had claws twice the size of their' bodies. Get one with that size of claws and they cut a fender off of a car or truck, no crap!


Frank

They can lift a tractor trailer 1/4 mile above A1A into the direct flight path of incoming 737's with one claw while derailing a locomotive with the other.
In China they are often used as substitutes for high rise construction cranes.

Two of them will lift the entire space shuttle including solid rocket boosters into low earth orbit and subsequently get recycled to serve as Jet propulsion units for the Mars Research Station

 

[el padron]

The bigger the claws, the bigger the attitude! The one that the O.P. pulled from the hole is a normal sized Stone Crab with proportionate sized claws. We actually caught some off of Sugarloaf Key that had claws twice the size of their' bodies. Get one with that size of claws and they cut a fender off of a car or truck, no crap!


Frank

The navy uses them for their Nuclear power potential in the newly developed "George Bush economy killer" class of Nuclear Submarine.

 

[huntsman53]

The navy uses them for their Nuclear power potential in the newly developed "George Bush economy killer" class of Nuclear Submarine.

I assume you were jokingly being sarcastic in your last two replies! However if not, I invite you to take on a Stone Crab in a hand to claw wrestling match and see if you come out with all your' fingers intact.

BTW, in Florida the Stone Crab Season for harvesting claws is October 15th through May 15th and the season is still in effect in Florida. Therefore, the O.P. could harvest both claws if he wished (yes, both claws can be harvested legally but it has been the practice of many Stone Crabbers as we call them, to only harvest one claw when the crab is a female and there are some Stone Crabbers that will do the same even for male crabs) as a recreational harvester as long as the harvested claw or claws are at least 2 3/4 inches long and the crab is not a female with eggs. If an egg-bearing female is caught, she must be released immediately and no claws can be harvested from her.

http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/stone-crabs/


Frank

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

You should raise the notch and discrimination just a bit, hopefully that will help.
BTW, In Florida the marine patrol will pull you over in front of your driveway. In the 80's possession of that little guy was about $220, first offense), LOL, Today you probably would have to do some time. ( you are only allowed to harvest one left claw, )

In California we have Cougars, Bears and Mountain Lions. (Oh my)

Wrong...

State Waters Harvest Seasons:

Open Oct. 15 - May 15

Traps may be placed in the water 10 days prior to the opening of the season, but once placed, you may not tend to the traps until the start of the season, at which time you may begin harvesting.

Can both stone crab claws be harvested?

Yes. Both claws of a stone crab may be harvested lawfully if they are of legal size. Stone crab although it is currently lawful to harvest both of a stone crab's claws, this practice leaves the stone crab with few alternatives to defend itself from predators.

Although the crab can still obtain minimal amounts of food with no claws, having one claw (if the other one is harvested) will enable the crab to obtain greater amounts of food in a shorter amount of time. Stone crabs (like other crustaceans) have the ability to grow back their claws, but this process requires a large amount of energy in the form of food.

The quicker the crab can obtain the energy required to molt and grow its lost claw, the sooner this renewable delicacy will have another claw to replace the missing one.

http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/stone-crabs/