Photos: For Crabbing, Mascot Dock is King

Mascot Dock has unofficially become the South Shore's destination for crabbing, as visitors from as far away as Brooklyn come to Patchogue armed with bait, nets, traps and pots. Incoming tide finds the dock crowded with people hopeful that they will get crabs big enough to keep for dinner.

A quick survey of the crowd at the dock concluded that steaming or boiling the crabs and eating them fresh was the most popular method of cooking. Making one's own marinara sauce, slow-cooking the crabs in the sauce and serving with pasta was a close second. Last place was making fresh, blue claw crab cakes.