The cloud canopy provided the perfect overhead camouflage to complete the dodge. The fat river crab never saw the wire mesh net until it was too late, and with a quick swipe into the culling basket went this portly jimmy. Even then, in the face of such a certain fate, he wouldn't release his claim on the clam-filled bag. Blue crabs have a rapacious streak that would make the most avaricious Wall Streeter blush.

While greed usually isn't a trait I admire, I make an exception for these iconic crustaceans. It's probably one of the reasons why, along with toughness and adaptability, crabs survive despite such intense pressure from us. Evidence of that pressure was on full display in the days leading up Father's Day weekend, wherein all manner of crabbers, from the truly greenhorn chicken neckers to the seasoned trotliners, plied area waters to fill their bushel baskets.

I can almost always differentiate a serious crabber from a novice or casual one by the dip net they're using. If it's a commercial-grade dipper of wire mesh and ash handle, they've got game. A flimsy economy version with nylon netting? Rookie ball.

Serious recreational crabbers typically don't mess with any other gear other than the trot line, or as one of my former editors of Baltimorean descent calls it, "trout line." The trot line is favored because it's very effective. Ever seen a waterman yank a snap pot? But it is also gear and time intensive, requiring anchors, chains, buoys and rigging snoods.

If you're a casual trotliner, the cheaper nylon #5 trot line works fine and should last years. But it also knots up pretty easily, which can turn into a big hassle when baiting up, laying out or hauling in. Three years ago I bartered with a part-time commercial crabber: My goose stuffers for his top-of-the-line quarter-inch three-strand, including floats and anchors. It's pro-grade so it's not only very pliable but tangles are easy to shake out before they become a morning wrecking, rat's nest. A good compromise might be a #8 rope: durable and soft, it's easier to keep from kinking that but not as hard on the wallet.

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