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PORT ARANSAS WEATHER

Crabbing Guide

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blue crab

PINCH ME, PORT A!

A Quirky (and Delicious) Guide to Crabbing Around Port Aransas

If you’re looking for a coastal adventure that’s part treasure hunt, part dinner plan, and 100% Port A fun… go crabbing. Texas blue crabs are the stars here—fast, feisty, and absolutely worth the effort when you do it right.

This guide covers where to crab, what to use, when to go, and the key Texas Parks & Wildlife (TPWD) regulations you must follow—whether you’re working the jetties, dropping lines off a pier, or soaking traps in the bay.

WHERE TO CRAB IN THE PORT ARANSAS AREA

Piers (easy, family-friendly, great visibility)

  • Horace Caldwell Pier: Classic “drop-and-scoop” territory. Lower a crab line or ring net straight down and watch for action.
  • Lighted docks and public piers: At dusk and after dark, lights draw baitfish… and crabs follow the buffet.

Jetties (more structure, more crabs, more “watch your footing”)

  • Port Aransas South Jetty: Rocks + current = crab habitat. Use heavier weight and a long dip net.
  • Channel edges and rock piles: Anywhere you’ve got tidal flow pushing food along structure can produce.

Bays & backwaters (best for traps, calmer water, and steady soaking)

  • Shorelines with grass, mud, or broken shell: Blue crabs love these zones.
  • Bulkheads, canals, and protected bay edges: Great for kids and for setting traps where water movement isn’t too wild.

WHEN TO GO (THE “MOST LIKELY TO SCORE” TIMES)

  • Early morning and late evening are usually best.
  • Favor moving water: incoming or outgoing tide often turns the bite on.
  • Warm months typically bring more action, but you can catch blue crabs year-round.

WHAT TO USE (SIMPLE SETUPS THAT WORK)

1) Crab line (the classic Port A method)
A baited line (no hook) lowered near structure. When you feel steady pulling/tugging, lift slowly and scoop the crab with a dip net.

2) Ring net / drop net (pier perfection)
Crabs climb onto the net to eat. You lift straight up. This is one of the easiest ways to avoid the heartbreak of a crab letting go at the surface.

3) Crab traps (great in bay areas—rules matter!)
Traps are effective, but they’re regulated. If you use traps, follow TPWD rules exactly (tags, tending hours, and trap design requirements).

Best baits (the stinkier, the better)

  • Chicken necks, chicken backs, or drumsticks
  • Fish heads and carcasses
  • Oily fish chunks (mullet/menhaden-type bait)

THE “DON’T SHOW UP WITHOUT IT” CHECKLIST

Bring these every time:

  • Cooler with lots of ice (or frozen water bottles)
  • Crab measuring gauge or ruler (size limits are real)
  • Long-handled dip net (especially for piers/jetties)
  • Gloves and/or tongs (blue crabs pinch like they’re paid to do it)
  • Bucket or crate for gear (and to keep things organized)
  • Bait knife + small cutting board (if using fish bait)
  • Trash bag (pack it out)
  • Headlamp/flashlight for evening sessions

LOCATION-SPECIFIC TIPS (JETTIES vs PIERS vs BAYS)

If you’re crabbing from the jetties

  • Wear grippy shoes (rocks get slick fast).
  • Use heavier weight so your bait stays put.
  • Keep your dip net ready and scoop from below—most crabs escape in the final 3 feet.

If you’re crabbing from piers

  • Ring nets and crab lines shine here.
  • Watch your line angle—wind and current can drift bait away from the pilings where crabs prowl.

If you’re crabbing bay edges/backwaters

  • Traps and folding panel traps can do great where water is calmer.
  • Set near structure (bulkheads, grass edges, drains) and check during legal tending hours.

HOW TO HANDLE AND STORE YOUR CATCH (KEEP IT FRESH AND SAFE)

  • Get crabs cold fast: into a cooler with ice. Heat ruins quality quickly.
  • Handle from the back when possible, or use tongs.
  • Don’t keep crabs sitting in sun-warmed buckets. The cooler is your best friend.
  • If a crab is clearly dead and smells off, don’t risk it.

TPWD REGULATIONS YOU NEED TO KNOW (TEXAS BLUE CRAB)

License & general rules

  • If you’re taking crabs from Texas saltwater for non-commercial purposes, you must have a valid fishing license with a saltwater endorsement.
  • Crabs taken under a recreational license for personal use may not be sold.

Blue crab limits & size

  • Daily bag limit: No limit
  • Possession limit: No limit
  • Minimum size: 5 inches across the widest point of the body from spine tip to spine tip
  • Bait exception: Up to 5% by number of undersized blue crabs may be kept for bait only and must be in a separate container
  • Illegal to possess egg-bearing (“sponge”) crabs
  • Illegal to possess a female crab with its abdominal apron removed

Crab trap rules (if you’re using traps)

  • You may fish no more than 6 crab traps at one time for non-commercial purposes.
  • You may only remove traps from the water or remove crabs from traps from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.
  • Traps must use a gear tag valid for 10 days, attached within 6 inches of the buoy or pier where the trap is tied.
  • Trap construction rules include requirements like escape vents, degradable panels, buoy marking, and a maximum size limit for the trap.

Important seasonal note

  • TPWD has a period when it’s unlawful to place, fish, or leave crab traps (or trap components) in coastal waters. Always check the current year’s dates before setting traps.

A QUICK “GOOD GUEST” CRABBING RULE
Keep what’s legal, release what isn’t, and leave your spot cleaner than you found it. Port A stays awesome when we treat it that way.

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Temperature Travel Planner

Pick your preferred travel temperatures and travel week. The map colors each destination using a baseline estimate from several years of historical seasonal temperature patterns.

Adjust Travel Preferences

Set the minimum and maximum daily temperatures you'd like to travel in, drag the week slider, then click Update Map.

1. Adjust the low and high temperatures

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2. Set the travel week

Drag the date slider to the week you want to check. The week range will update below the slider.

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Important: This is a climate-baseline planner, not a live weather forecast. It looks back at several years of temperature data and uses those patterns as a baseline to estimate future comfort zones. For real travel decisions, check the current forecast before you leave.

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    Protecting the Coastal Bend Bays:

    Why Fishermen’s Choices Matter

    Along the Texas Coastal Bend, the bays and estuaries supported by the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program (CBBEP) are more than pretty backdrops for a day on the water. They are living, working nurseries that keep our fisheries alive and our coastal communities thriving. CBBEP exists to safeguard these systems while still supporting fishing, boating, and a strong local economy.

     

    Nowhere is that balance more visible than in Port Aransas – “The Fishing Capital of Texas.”  That title isn’t a trophy we won once and get to keep forever. It depends on healthy bays, strong fish populations, and a community of anglers who are willing to protect the very habitats that make Port A special.

    And that starts with how we run our boats in shallow water.

     

    Seagrass: The Foundation of Our Fishery

    The Coastal Bend holds a massive share of Texas’ seagrass, much of it in the shallow, clear flats that attract redfish, trout, drum, and flounder.

     

    Seagrass meadows are not “just grass”:

      • They are nurseries where juvenile fish, shrimp, and crabs feed and hide from predators.

      • Their dense roots and rhizomes stabilize the bottom, preventing erosion and holding the bay in place.

      • They help keep the water clearer and more productive, supporting the entire food chain — from baitfish to trophy gamefish.

    If you enjoy sight-casting to tailing reds on Lighthouse Lakes, poling over clear grass flats near Shamrock, or drifting the Laguna Madre for specks, you’re already relying on healthy seagrass meadows more than you might realize.

     

    The Hidden Damage of Running Motors in Skinny Water

    Modern shallow-draft boats make it tempting to run “just one more shortcut” across a grassy flat. But when a propeller or even a low-running motor plows through seagrass, it cuts a trench into the meadow — a prop scar.

     

    Those scars are more than cosmetic:

      • The prop tears up the plants and the buried root system, leaving bare sand or mud behind.

      • These bare scars can take years to heal, and heavy scarring can fragment the meadow so much that it never fully recovers.

      • As seagrass disappears, so does the habitat complexity that young fish, shrimp, and crabs need to survive — meaning fewer adult fish for anglers later.

    When we “power through” shallow grass rather than lifting our motors or choosing a deeper route, we are literally cutting up the nursery that supports our own future catches.

     

    How Habitat Damage Comes Back to Hurt Fishermen

    CBBEP and its partners spend years and millions of dollars restoring marshes, deltas, and seagrass habitats — like the Nueces Delta Preserve and the Nueces Bay Marsh Restoration Project — to rebuild the natural foundation that fish and wildlife rely on.

     

    If anglers and guides continue to tear up seagrass in shallow areas, we work against those investments:

      • Fewer fish in the future – Less nursery habitat means lower survival of young fish, which eventually shows up as poorer fishing, smaller average sizes, and fewer “hero days” on the water.

      • More pressure on remaining spots – As healthy grass beds shrink, more boats crowd into fewer areas, multiplying the damage and the fishing pressure.

      • Economic ripple effects – Guides, bait shops, tackle stores, boat dealers, RV parks, hotels, and restaurants all depend on strong, reliable fishing. Damaged habitat undercuts that entire chain.

    If we don’t take care of the habitat that supports our fishery, Port Aransas will slowly lose its grip on the title of “Fishing Capital of Texas.”

    That title is built on reputation — on consistent, high-quality fishing and healthy bays. If we treat the seagrass and shallow flats like disposable racetracks, we’re quietly eroding the very thing Port A is famous for.

     

    Partnering with CBBEP: “Lift, Drift, Pole, or Troll”

    The good news: the solution is simple and completely in our hands.

    CBBEP and Texas agencies promote a straightforward message for protecting seagrass:  Lift, drift, pole, or troll.

     

    On the water, that looks like this:

      • Plan your route using channels
        Use charts, GPS, and markers to stay in deeper, established routes when running at speed. Avoid using shallow grass flats as shortcuts.

      • Watch your depth and your wake
        If you see prop wash turning from clear to milky, or you see bottom grass just under the hull, you’re too shallow to be on plane. Trim up, slow down, and reassess.

      • Lift and idle or drift when it gets skinny
        In shallow seagrass, trim your motor up or shut it off and drift across. You’ll spook fewer fish and avoid scarring the bottom.

      • Pole or carefully use a trolling motor
        Use a push pole or a properly trimmed trolling motor in the shallowest areas. Don’t let the trolling motor dig a trench in the bottom.

      • Look behind you
        A long muddy streak stretching away from your boat is a red flag that you just left a scar. Learn from it, mark that area mentally, and avoid repeating the mistake.

    Every time an angler chooses to lift, drift, pole, or troll instead of “plowing” through, they keep a little more habitat intact — and that adds up across thousands of fishing trips every year.

     

    Share the Message: Stewardship Is a Community Effort

    CBBEP’s mission — to protect and restore the health and productivity of our bays while supporting economic growth and public use — only works if those of us who use the bays see ourselves as partners, not just customers.

     

    That means:

      • Guides explaining seagrass etiquette to every client.

      • Friends calling out friends (respectfully) when they see someone tearing up a flat.

      • Marinas, bait stands, RV parks, and tackle shops posting reminders about shallow-water running and boating smart in the grass.

      • Anglers talking about habitat protection on docks, forums, and social media — not just bragging about the day’s catch.

    We don’t protect Port Aransas’ reputation with slogans alone. We protect it with choices on the water and a willingness to share the message with everyone who launches a boat here. 

    The Bottom Line

    When we protect seagrass, we protect:

      • the bait that draws in gamefish,

      • the structure that keeps young fish alive,

      • the clarity and productivity of our bays,

      • and the future of sport and commercial fishing in the Coastal Bend.

    If we want Port Aransas to remain proudly known as “The Fishing Capital of Texas,” then boaters, guides, and the fishing industry must treat seagrass and shallow habitats as priceless infrastructure — not as expendable shortcuts.

     

    Every pass across a flat is a choice:
    Cut scars that will haunt our fishery for years, or glide over gently, leaving the meadow — and tomorrow’s catch — intact.

    For the sake of our bays, our businesses, our kids, and Port A’s hard-earned title, it’s time for all of us to boat like the future of fishing depends on it – because it does!

     Read more about the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program and its work to protect our Texas Coastal Bend bays in this EPA Success Story.

     

     

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    The Spoon Endures

    Why the Johnson Spoon belongs in Your Saltwater Tackle Box

    When you’re fishing the Gulf and bays around Port Aransas, one classic lure consistently puts fish on the deck: the Johnson Spoon . Born in 1923 and still a staple a century later, this spoon excels anywhere grass, shell, and current collide—exactly the kind of water we fish here every day.

    Built for Weeds, Grass, and Oyster Edges

    Our local flats are rich with seagrass, potholes, and shell banks—great for redfish and trout, not so great for exposed treble hooks. The Johnson Spoon uses an upturned single hook and guard that slips through salad where other lures bog down. Cast confidently across turtle grass, along mangrove edges, and even over broken shell without turning every other retrieve into a clean-up job.


    Flash + Wobble = Reaction Strikes

    In bright Gulf sun or lightly stained bay water, the spoon’s tight wobble and hard flash mimic a fleeing baitfish. The Johnson Spoon can be fished plain, tipped with a strip of cut bait, or dressed with a soft-plastic trailer for extra thump. Keep a steady retrieve, tick the tops of grass, and let the spoon do the selling.

    Targets in Port A:

    • Redfish prowling wind-blown shorelines and grass flats
    • Speckled trout working potholes and oyster reef edges
    • Flounder ambushing from sandy, current-swept lanes
    • Spanish mackerel and jacks when you burn it along the jetties

    Why Anglers Love It:

    • Weedless design fishes clean in salad and shell
    • Century-long track record of catches
    • Versatility across Gulf & bay situations
    • Durable finish for saltwater abuse

    Simple to Fish, Deadly Effective

    No fancy rod work required. The Johnson Spoon shines with a moderate, steady retrieve—fast enough to keep it ticking above grass, slow enough to keep that tight, fish-calling wobble. Add a brief pause when you clear a pothole or the edge of an oyster bar to trigger followers.

     

    Quick Port Aransas Playbook

    • Windy flats: Cast cross-wind and slow-roll the spoon so it flutters just above grass tops.
    • Reef edges: Work parallel to shell banks; tap bottom, lift, and glide to draw trout and flounder.
    • Jetties: Speed it up for Spanish; use a short wire bite guard if macks are thick.
    • Color & size: Start with classic silver. Step to gold on cloudy days or tannin-stained water.

    Heading out this weekend? Make room in the box for the Johnson Silver Minnow Weedless Spoon . It fishes where the bite lives—and turns near-misses into solid hookups across our Port A Gulf and bay waters.

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    Knot Tying 101

    We are all thankful for YouTube video creators! There’s nothing like a video domonstration when it comes to learning how to tie fishing knots. We’ve hand picked a few that we think you will find helpful.