I built a classic Chesapeake Bay crab trap 3 years ago. It works great! I use freezer burned rabbit or chukar for bait. I've caught 30 - 50 blues between tides in May & June @ Playa Miramar!
Sorry for the sleight hijack but this is pretty funny...a RP guy is selling petrified sand dollars on ebay.....18 bucks! I'm rich! http://www.ebay.ca/itm/360811616171
Wait till a dark night on an outgoing tide on any sandy or mud beach. Follow the waterline with a good bright waterproof flashlight. They will be uprooting themselves from their buried underwater positions in order to stay in the water. As the tide gets lower, more and more will be concentrated along the waterline. There is not enough meat on them to justify killing the animal. I always have a pair of kitchen tongs while doing this. Don't even attempt to pick em up by hand as they not only pinch but stab with their needle sharp pincers. I just hold em down and twist off the biggest claw and let em go free. Don't take both claws as they need at least one to defend themselves against rays and sand sharks. They will regenerate a new one in a few months and you can harvest another claw on another day.
I steam em just like clams then dip em in garlic butter. Once in awhile you will find a soft shelled one that has just shed its shell. This is the one that is a keeper as you can eat the whole animal breaded and deep fried. Some of the best hauls that I have made was taking the beach run at low tide from Penasco to El Golfo. There are many large tide pools that sometime have dozens of them trapped by the outgoing tide in broad daylight.
BTW: Their correct name is the Gulf Blue Crab Callinectes bellicosus and they will defend themselves even to the point of rushing you with their outspread claws.
Now thats what I want to hear! I need a definative guide to which clams to look for and methods just like this. It would be amazing to get some claws and clams to bust out for the family. Very impressive, ty for the tip.
For clams go to Estero La Pinta. Search the form for lots of info as it has been discussed many times. Nicest beach in the area. Visit Gillespie's old beachfront hacienda. stroll down the beach to the right to the gold stamping mill site, fish, fish, fish. Stroll down the beach to the left to a HUGE clam bed. These are the small tasty multicolored ones. Go at low tide for clams then fish the incoming tide.
Just walk to the beach, turn right, head for the sand and mud flats and you will see the preferred habitat of millions upon millions of two inch delicious hard shelled steamer clams.
Just go on ANY day at ANY low tide with one of those heavy steel 14" wide 4" tine garden rakes and a bucket or sack. Just start scraping, they are everywhere. When your rake clinks on something hard it's either a clam or an old clam shell. You don't have to dig deep as they are usually buried less than an inch from the surface.
Once you get the hang of it you can collect a hundred or more in an hour or so. Head back to JJ's with your booty, slam a few Pacifico's while you wait for their super fine fish tacos.
Steam the smaller ones and save the big ones for the barbie. I put em right on the grill over mesquite coals. They steam in their shells and when they pop open they are ready to eat. I usually let em cook a little longer until their juice dries up then a squirt of limoncito or some salsa and you will experience a taste delite! I pick the meat out of the smaller ones, bag em, freeze em and add em to a can of clam chowder when I get home.
Don't be surprised when a little red steamed or barbecued octopus shows up in the pot during your feast. They are a specialist that finds a fresh clam shell to use as a home. They use their suckers to hold the clam shell halves together for protection. You never know they are there till you cook em.
YES. This is what I want to hear. I am all about this stuff. But it's one thing to be into it and another to practice it. Thank you so much for the advice.
Now, is the south side of the bay better than the north? I know many trails to get to the north side and never see anyone there so it has made me wonder if one side is better than another for fishing and or clam/oyster harvesting.
Poop bugs = E. coli
E. coli = bacteria
Bacteria is killed instantly at 170 degrees
H2O boils at 212 degrees
Steam is super heated H2O
Who eats raw clams?
Beware of septic tank run-off when harvesting clams. Not as uncommon as you would hope...
That has always been my concern ou there. Lots of septic tanks, poor drainage. La Pinta is a beautiful visit.
Jungle Jim said:
FYI................
Poop bugs = E. coli
E. coli = bacteria
Bacteria is killed instantly at 170 degrees
H2O boils at 212 degrees
Steam is super heated H2O
Who eats raw clams?
JJ
Yes, I have read that feces can be eaten after it is cooked to kill the e-coli. Mmmmmm delicioso.
We usually steam clams or cook them on the smoker. Either way we pull them as soon as they have popped open. I doubt they ever get 170 degrees. Never had a problem. Don't plan to change the way we prepare them as they are awesome as is.
That was great! As a matter of fact I have a FOOT LONG Mr. Hankey plush doll with a sailor hat hanging in the cabin on my boat. My wife gave it to me for Christmas seven or eight years ago.
I'll tell ya a shitty RP story. We used to work with a scuba instructor who got the greatest kick out of telling his students the various facets of pee and poo in your wet suit whilst down deep. And to make sure they would get the chance to experience the pleasure, he would always make his first stop in RP at a two wheel slop cart in the Old Port operated by an old guy named "Chino". Chino's condiments to include guacamole, salsa and whatever were always exposed to the swarms of airborne shit eaters that abound in that neighborhood. Of course within a few hours of enjoying Chino's delectable cuisine every student had a raging case of good old Montezuma's Revenge. And...they still had two days of diving to do. I always felt sorry for the scuba shop girls in RP and here in Yuma that had to clean up those shitty rental wet suits as well as the next batch of students that would have to rent them again.
Oh my goodness, I just laughed so freakin hard. Everything for me can usually be summed up in a Southpark or Family Guy episode, so I could visualize your story competely.
It was a gross visual, but hilarious none the less.
You are right though, those poor poor wet suits and the people that have to clean them. :confused:
They should be safe to eat as long as you cook them correctly, 170 degrees minimum. Also be sure to throw out the ones that are open before cooking and don't try to eat the ones that are still closed after cooking as they are probably not done. I don't worry much during the colder months but during the summer you better follow the rules.
Thanks. Does anyone have a link to the local health department or whomever is responsible for issuing warnings about paralytic shellfish poisoning when the conditions exist?
Thanks. Does anyone have a link to the local health department or whomever is responsible for issuing warnings about paralytic shellfish poisoning when the conditions exist?
Periodico De Frente
March 27 ·
Regulación Sanitaria de Puerto Peñasco informa:
Se levanta veda a almejas y almeja generosa desde costas de “La Cholla” hasta playa frente a preparatoria Cet-Mar.
Continúa veda sanitaria por toxina paralizante en mariscos bivaldos para zonas del Estero Morúa, La Cinita y Cerro Prieto.
Abraham Souza CabreraESTO ES LO MAS RIDÍCULO QUE A PASADO EN PEÑASCO , Y QUE A DESMERECIDO EN LA ECONOMÍA , PERO AY QUE VER DE DONDE VIENE.
Like · Reply · March 27 at 8:
