Up for a challenge? Try your hand at catching crabs. Hunting down crustaceans, from their holes in rocky coastal areas, is a popular sport for youngsters growing up in Goa. Not only is the sweet crab meat a popular delicacy, but catching crabs in groups is also an adventure activity for children during summer holidays when the coastline dries up and offers plenty of opportunity to go looking for the crawlies.
But it isn't all fun. Catching crabs requires tact as well as a sense of adventure.
To begin with scout for a creek, in your vicinity. The popular crab hunting haunts are near Palolem beach, Baga river, the Chapora river, Mobor and the estuaries of the Mandovi and Zuari rivers.
Ideally hire a local fisherman or local youngsters adept as crab catchers as your guide. They will know the best possible zones haunted by crabs.
There are two ways in which you can come away with a good crab haul. One involves a net, with a metal ring woven around in it, in which a piece of chicken gut, or a piece of rotting meat is tied to and lowered to the river bed. The foul smell emanating from the bait attracts crabs, who crawl their way into the net and find it difficult to find a way out of it. The traps are lifted in a couple of hours and if you are lucky, you may come away with a handful of prey. But please be careful of their claws, they can do serious damage to your hands if they manage to catch flesh or bone in their grips.
The other way is to use a metal rod and poke it into the crab holes in rocks which are partially covered during high tide. Sometimes a crab will catch hold of the rod and you can pull it out easily or you can jab it hard so that the rod pierces through the scavenger's crust.
If you want to hire professionals to guide you, here are a few enterprising outfits which can help you with your crab fishing adventure.
John’s Boat Tour
Contact: 0703 0554400 or 0832 6520190
Candolim, Bardez
Coco Shambala
Contact: 9372267182
Nerul, Bardez
