but this year, the boats aren't just out early in the morning. watermen working in southern anne arundel county are out earlier in the season. and they're catching crabs. >> this time last year, we caught seven crabs. first time we checked the pots, we had 20 bushel. >> reporter: bob moved his boat to maryland because the crabbing is better here right now. >> there's a big boy in there, don't want to come out of the pot. >> reporter: while recent cold temperatures have slowed things down, he says the season is still off to a strong start. >> that's a big crab right there. >> reporter: and the crabs are nice. >> the crabs are butter ball fat right now. >> reporter: cindy sheridan has been crabbing her whole life. >> take that part out. >> reporter: what she doesn't sell, she turns into crab cakes never started picking crabs in april, ever. >> reporter: now an early start doesn't necessarily mean a good season overall, in fact, there are numbers out there that