. >> reporter: bob joebz moves his boat to maryland because the crabbing is better here right now. >> there's a big boy in there. >> 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 this back part out. >> reporter: what she doesn't sell she turns into crab cakes for her family. >> i started in april and i've never started picking crabs in april ever. it's normally like june. >> reporter: now an early start doesn't necessarily mean a good season overall. in fact, there are some numbers out there that indicate things may slow down. maryland's annual crab survey recorded a decline in the number of juvenile crabswe that's bad news. on the plus side, the number of spawning age females is at the highest level ever recorded by the study. >> so much more everything around us that effects the bay. >> reporter: as waterman know it's all very unpr