Crabs can be caught year ’round in Louisiana’s fertile waters, but summer is when the tasty creatures really come out to play. The higher water temperature increases the crustaceans’ motility, and keeps them moving in an endless quest for food.

I like to give them what they want by impaling chicken legs, wings or necks on shower-curtain clips tied to meshed ring nets. Success is almost assured when the baited nets are dropped on flats adjacent to high-current, deeper water anywhere along the Louisiana coast.

In the latest episode, I took my son, Joel, and family friend Gage, 9, along to productive waters near Louisiana’s most famous flood-protection project in hopes of catching enough for a boil with friends and family.

Although the day started really slowly, we continued to place prospect strings in various areas, and eventually found a good concentration of crabs holding in deeper water. We didn’t end up with quite as big a haul as we expected, but still had far more than our guests could eat. The next day, I picked the leftovers, and made a delicious pan of crabmeat au gratin.

How could anyone ever want to live anywhere other than South Louisiana?

Interestingly, our luck seemed to change only after I tossed Joel overboard after enduring endless ribbing.

Those planning to harvest their own crabs should know mature female blue crabs will be illegal to take in Louisiana between Sept. 9 and Oct. 13. Until then, there is no restriction on recreational crabbing other than a sky-high 144-crab creel limit per person per day.

Check out the latest episode below.

Like the video? Please give it a thumbs-up, and subscribe to the Marsh Man Masson channel on YouTube. Also, leave a comment below or on the YouTube page. Do you like to catch your own crabs? If so, what are some of your favorite techniques? Do you crab all year, or only in the summer?