The Inn at Corolla Light [Corolla, NC]

Even crabs look glorious when back lit by the sunset

We continued our crabbing trip by staying at the Inn at Corolla Light. The boutique hotel is a bit run down, but the pier in the back has excellent sunsets. More importantly, there are plenty of crabs and a gas grill you can use to cook them afterwards! While I wouldn't pay what we paid again for our room, I must admit, it was worth it! Lots of tall bay grass in the water near by where the crabs like to hang out. This was also the first time we used a collapsible trap from Promar.

 Ratings: (1-5 High)

• Opportunity: 3 - Lots of crabs, but only few that are legal.
• Location: 5 - A clean,well kept private pier. Easily accessible with plenty of parking. 
• Value: 2 - Paid an arm & a leg to stay there, but worth it for accessibility to many activities.

Gear Used:

• 1 x Promar Collapsible Trap
• 1 x 50 feet lengths of braided nylon 1/4 inch rope
• 2 x Raw Chicken Legs

While the trap was easy to set up, I don't think it's going to stand the test of time. The nylon netting doesn't seem that robust, but it does the job. I would highly recommend getting a rock or a piece of re-bar to weigh the trap down. 

Time/Tide:

• We placed the trap all morning and afternoon. We also left the traps overnight twice.
• High Tide was 1:05pm, Low Tide at 7:12pm

Where to Go:

Zoomed Out [Credit to Google Maps]

1066 Ocean Trail Corolla, NC 27927 (252) 453-3340

Detailed View [Credit to Google Maps]

1. Favorite spots where we laid our trap. Close to the tall bay water grass where eels and crabs like to hang around. At low tide you can even see down into the bottom.  
2. This is where we laid out our trap the first night. Caught a few crabs overnight.
3. Great hammock seats while you wait for the crabs to bite! 

The owners of the inn set out a few traps along the pier, so if you see the big crab pots with parachute cord, that's theirs.

Crabs Caught:

We probably caught about two dozen small crabs measuring under 5 inches, and just two crabs that were legal.

First Crab ever caught! 

This was the hammock chair, and it's surprisingly comfy!

A bit difficult to get them out of the netting especially when they pinch on

This photo does no justice to the sunset hours