Maryland crabs: From the Bay to the table
Catch of the day: Maryland’s famous crustacean from the Bay to the table. Photo essay by Erin Kirkland.
- Jerry Ziemski collects a pot with a couple of crabs, and a stray fish, from the bay during the early morning. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Dave Miller throws a newly baited pot out into the Upper Bay River while Dave Bomberg gets the next pot ready. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Two crabs battle it out after being sorted by size. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Marcus Blake, owner of Blake’s Crab House, opened his own crabbing business in 1999. He started his business from the ground up, making all of his own crab pots (like the one pictured here) and refurbished a boat so that it was fit for crabbing. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Marcus Blake navigates “Miss Kristi.” (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Crabber Dave Bomberg takes a drag of his cigar while Marcus Blake, owner of Blake’s Crab House, navigates the boat out to their first stop. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Crabber Dave Bomberg flashes an early morning smile during the crack of dawn as the group begins their day. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Dave Bomberg organizes the newly baited pots before they’re thrown back into the bay. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Jerry Ziemski (right) quickly cleans the pot before handing it to Dave Bomberg to throw back into the bay. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Ron Dix measure a male crab before sorting it. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Marcus Blake holds out a peeler crab. All crabs go through this process of regrowing their shell, but happens at different points in their life cycle. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Ron Dix takes a drag of his cigarette while sorting crabs. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- A loose crab dangles on Ron Dix’s glove. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Jerry Ziemski prepares the bait. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- A crab tries to pinch crabber Ron Dix, who is often in charge of sorting the crabs by size and recognizing peelers, otherwise known as soft shell crabs. Despite wearing heavy gloves, Dix often suffers many cuts. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Here, two crabs are “doubled up,” a part of the crab mating process. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Dave Bomberg washes off at the end of the day. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Owner Marcus Blake steers the boat as the others work through their small assembly line. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- The crew rests their feet on top of the boat as Marcus Blake steers “Miss Kristi” back to shore. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- “Miss Kristi” pulls into the dock where they’ll unload the crabs to take to the crab house. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- On its busiest nights, customers vie for the few parking spots. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Owner of Blake’s Crab House, Marcus Blake, sifts through the day’s catch to make sure that each crab is correctly sorted by size . (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Michael Ellis, 7, patiently waits for his order of crabs. The crab house only offers take-out orders. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Aaron Coleman takes crabs out of the steamer while Bob Shaw “shocks” a new batch of crabs before placing them in the steamer. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- A box of crabs waits to be packaged up. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Rob Decker, who works in the kitchen, holds out a newly steamed and seasoned crab. This crab house uses a combination of dry mustard rub and a “special” seasoning. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Kristi Blake’s mother Linda answers a call about an order. Both Kristi and Linda are co-managers of the crab house. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Cindy Jones eyes the “peeler” crabs. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Longtime customer Marion Scipio signs for his order of crabs. Scipio has been a proud and frequent customer since the crab house opened in 1999. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Nikole Dailey leaves the crab house with a fresh order of steamed crabs. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
By Erin Kirkland, The Baltimore Sun
Marcus Blake rarely misses a weekday sunrise. He and his crabbing crew cruise the Chesapeake Bay on Blake’s self-built crab boat, “Miss Kristi,” while most of us are still asleep. Meanwhile, Kristi — Blake’s wife, not the boat — helps runs the couple’s store, “Blake’s Crab House,” where the early morning catch is delivered just in time for the dinner rush.
But tracking down Chesapeake Blue Crabs is easier said than done. These creatures have a mind of their own, and can easily migrate tens of miles a day. So naturally the chase becomes part of the job — a part that keeps Blake intrigued. “It’s a job you better like, because if you don’t like it, you won’t make it,” he says.
Blake can’t rely on technology for this challenge. He must rely on changing bait, keeping up with Mother Nature and his own gut. Instead, the reminder of the mainland’s technology comes from the sounds of Ke$ha blasting from the radio, accented with a few infamous mid-work dance moves from crabber Dave Bomberg.
Mrs. Davis
Aug 10, 2013 @ 07:46:05
My husband and I love Blakes… The only crab house who don’t sell picking crabs at regular crab prices… I didn’t understand the difference until a nice lady their explained the difference…..We’ll be there today! Great article and nice pictures… I love the blue crab!