Crab Anatomy

Crab Anatomy Glossary
EXTERNAL FEATURES
antenna (pl. antennae)
The long segmented appendages located behind the eyestalks. These allow the crab to interact with its environment by touch and chemoreception.
antennule (pl. antennules)
Shorter segmented appendages located between and below the eyestalks, sensory organs; these also use chemoreception to "smell" and "taste".
appendages
Ten legs (five pairs) including a claw-bearing pair with spines used for feeding and defense, followed by three pairs of sharply pointed walking legs, and a pair modified as flat swimming paddles at the rear, swimming legs.
apron
Abdomen of a crab, which is folded under the body; male's is shaped like the Washington Monument or an inverted Y. An immature female's is triangular (pyramid shaped) and mature female's is semicircular, like the dome of the capitol building.
carapace
The shell covering the body that provides rigidity and protective covering. It is made of chitin and is the part of exoskeleton (hard outer covering) that covers the head and thorax (center) of the crab.
cheliped (see appendages)
The first pair of legs, carries the large claw which is used for defense and obtaining food. Male's claws are blue tipped with red; female's are red.
eyes
Visual organs mounted on the ends of eyestalks. The eyestalks contain cells that release hormones that inhibit molting.
lateral spines
Paired points on the widest outside edges of the carapace.
mouth
Opening to the digestive system, located between the antennae. The mouth contains jaws that hold and push food into the esophagus.
sponge
Egg masses. Numbers of eggs vary, some may contain as many as 8,000,000. They are attached to swimmerets.
swimmerets (pleopods)
Paired abdominal appendages under the apron of the female crab on which the eggs are carried until they hatch.
walking legs (see appendages)
Used for movement; crabs are capable of walking forward or diagonally, but usually they walk sideways.
INTERNAL FEATURES
gills
Place of respiration and filtration, consisting of many plume-like filaments arranged around a central axis. There are eight gills on each side of a blue crab's body.
heart
The pump of the circulatory system. It is broad in size and located in the lower center part of the body.
hepatopancreas (midgut gland)
Extremely large organ with several functions, including the secretion of digestive enzymes and absorption and storage of digested food. It fills most of the area around the stomach, depending on its contents of food reserves and water.
intestine
Portion of the digestive system through which digested food passes.
stomach
The organ of the digestive system that breaks down swallowed particles of food. It is lined with small hard plates and projections which aid digestion.
testes
Part of the male reproductive system , located on top of the hepatopancreas on either side of the stomach.
cartilage
Encases muscles that aid in movement of the legs. The muscles are the edible portion of the crab.

Finger Mullet

Finger Mullet

Can be seen leaping out of the water in bays and estuaries and falling back to the surface and making a fluttering sound with their tails. White mullet spawn in early spring over the Continental Shelf when the waters begin to warm. The young spend several weeks in the ocean. At a length of ¾-1-inch the larvae move inshore and grow in the estuaries until they are about 5" then move out to the outer beaches in the fall (September) to migrate south.

Grayish bluish cast and somewhat deep bodied.

Work great for bait hook just behind the neck area or thru lips.

Commonly caught by cast net

Glass Minnows

Glass minnows and silversides are anchovies. They range from Maine through the Gulf of Mexico in great abundance. They are easily recognized by the fact that they are transparent with a broad silver stripe down the side and are seldom over three inches long. When you are looking for bait and suddenly your fish finder shows a giant school under the boat, you throw the net perfectly, it sinks quickly, and comes back empty, you throw again and again as the fish finder tells you to, and continue this game until you are exhausted - then you are throwing on glass minnows. Some of us play this game for many years, even though we know better. Eventually you will get older and either find a younger person to throw the net, or after one or two empty throws, move on to another area to hunt bait.

There are ways to acquire glass minnows, because they are great chum material. The simplest is to buy them in frozen blocks at the tackle store, but you can buy a small mesh cast net and catch them yourself if you are a purist, (or bored silly). The net will be nylon usually and has a mesh size no bigger than 1/4 inch. They really aren't that expensive to buy and you will be using them dead anyway. I have never seen a bait well that would function properly to keep a batch of bait that small alive without clogging up constantly. The best way to use them is as chum. Cut them into small pieces with a pair of stainless scissors and drop a steady stream of the pieces overboard into the current. You can do this while you are slow trolling but I think it is more effective to chum from an anchored position into the current behind the boat.

You can use the same pieces for bottom chum simply by dropping them overboard in your chum basket and letting it sink to the bottom to disperse it where you are fishing. You can also just place the frozen block of glass minnows in a mesh bag hanging over the side of the boat and let them thaw and drift in the current. This is effective, but you use a lot more minnows than you do by cutting them. Don't forget, you want to attract the fish, not feed them. When they are full, it's hard to get them to take a bait with a hook in it.

Tarpon

Description: last ray of dorsal fin extended into long filament; one dorsal fin; back dark blue to green or greenish black, shading into bright silver on the sides; may be brownish gold in estuarien waters; huge scales; mouth large and points upward.

Similar Fish: (as juveniles) ladyfish, Elops saurus.

Where found: primarily INSHORE fish, although adult fish spawn OFFSHORE where the ribbon-like larval stage of the fish can be found.

Size: most angler catchs 40 to 50 pounds.

*Florida Record: 243 lbs.

Remarks: slow grower; matures at 7 to 13 years of age; spawning occurs between May and September; female may lay more than 12 million eggs; can tolerate wide range of salinity; juveniles commonly found in fresh water; can breathe air at surface; feeds mainly on fish and large crustaceans.

New Bride

Went out last evening around 10ish, anchored in 27 foot of water and started to fish. We were trying to get some Mango's but the sharks took up most of our time. With in 20 seconds I had a 3 footer on board. Rerigged and dropped again.... 20 seconds later another shark. This happened all night couldn't get the bait to the bottom. We tried squid, pinfish, grunts almost everthing we had and all we hit were sharks all black tips 9 all together 4 larges ones and alot of 2 to 3 footers. GO figure the day I didn't want sharks is the day I stumbled across a frenzy. Did I mention I got married over the weekend.

Wedding day

Taking today off from fishing to get married, will do some night fishing on Sunday.

FireWorks

This comming weekend will have alot involved . There is special things happening on Saturday and then hopefully some fishing on Sunday and then Tuesday we make annual voyage to Clearwater for the fireworks display.
Things to remember keep one atleist one person sober to be the driver on the water.
Have all your paper work in order.
Have your whistle,fire ext,life preservers and throw ready.
If there is a weekend to get boarded this is the weekend.
Good Luck and be safe.

SheepHead

SheepHead

Other Names : Convict Fish, Baitstealer, Sheephead, Sheepshead Range & Habitat :Sheepshead are found in the Gulf, mostly in saline or brackish waters. They are very common near rock jetties, piers, pilings, and weirs. They are also found in nearshore waters outside the beaches during the spawning period of February-April This is an easy fish to identify, with its very broad body, boldly marked with 5-7 wide, grayish-black vertical bars set on a light gray or white background. Any confusion can be set aside by inspecting the teeth, which look a great deal like human (or sheep) incisors. The dorsal and anal fins have large, very sharp spines.


Sheepshead spawn in February, March, and April, with most spawning taking place during the last two months. Spawning takes place offshore, but near the coast. Some males and females begin spawning at 2 years old, but not all of the fish are mature enough to spawn until males are 3 years old and females are 4. Sheepshead will spawn several times during each season.. Sheepshead have been recorded as old as 20 years. Females grow more rapidly than males. At 20 years old, males average a little over 4 pounds and females about 5½ pounds. Growth is rapid until 6 to 8 years of age, after which growth slows dramatically, especially for males. Size :Sheepshead are common at 2-8 pounds, but can reach 20 pounds

Food Value

Excellent, but care must be taken when cleaning the fish due to their sharp spines.

They can be caught with a variety of baits mostly shrimp, Mussels, and clams. A common practice is to scape the barnacles off a piling to get the sent of shell fish in the water attracting the fish so to speak. Be ready to set the hook , they have small mouths and if you don’t get the as they hit you will be re-baiting all day.

Post Hurrican

The only thing really to do after a hurrican is to relax and straiten up your gear. Take some time to fine tune your reels . Go a head and staiten out that cast net you hid under the live well for when you have time, becuase this weekend you will have time. Down time is a good way to make sure all the rigs you use once in a while are in working order. After a hurrican also means you can take the time and actually drink some beer with out being rushed or having to hide it as you pass the marine patrol . Only because you are still in port.
Everyone be safe and soon we will all be on the water again.