Home dock advantage: Everyone’s a winner in crab-catching contest

On July 3, I asked Brody, the amazing fish-finding and stock-trading dog, if he wanted to go fishing on the Fourth of July. He reminded me that the forecast was for windy conditions and the increased boat traffic would make fishing tough. So, we decided to hang out on the dock for the Fourth.

 

Brody recommended that we grill hot dogs for lunch and steaks for dinner. He also recommended that I go to Publix immediately before all the big steaks were purchased.

 

While I was at the store, I invited Elliott, my son, and Heather, my soon-to-be daughter-in-law, to our Fourth of July dock day. (Unfortunately, Maddie, my daughter, was out of town.) For entertainment, we planned to play the Bahamian ring game and have a crabbing contest.

 

On the Fourth, I crushed the competition in the ring game. Heather, Elliott, and Brody complained that I had home dock advantage and vowed to redeem themselves in the crabbing contest. They took great care in selecting the bait and dock location for their crabbing drop nets.

 

The rules were simple. A three-hour tournament. Most keeper-sized crabs win the event.

 

A crabbing contest is the perfect activity for the Fourth of July. Drop your net into the water and then wait a few minutes for crabs to be attracted to the bait. Of course, while waiting, a cold beverage is in order.

 

Heather and Brody got off to a fast start. Elliott stayed within striking distance. I was a distant fourth throughout the tournament. To tell the truth, I was asleep for most of the contest.

 

In the end, Heather won, but we were all winners because we had fresh steamed crabs for dinner.

 

Brody is good at most things. Picking crabs is not one of them. So, we grilled a New York strip for him.

 

After dinner, we watched multiple firework shows from the dock. It was a great day and the start of a new family tradition.