A recent video uploaded by the YouTube channel "Mizube de ASOBO," showcasing their ingenious DIY shopping basket trap for catching crabs, has absolutely blown up! As of writing, the video has already racked up over 100,000 views, with countless netizens marveling at its clever design and the incredible bounty it yielded.
The channel specializes in documenting the capture and rearing of various aquatic creatures. This time, their target was the Japanese mitten crab (モクズガニ). They ingeniously used an everyday shopping basket as the base, pairing it with a garden tray to create a "lid" that would prevent crabs from escaping once inside. For bait, they threaded sardine slices onto a wire at the bottom of the basket, adding a fine mesh to deter smaller fish from snatching the food.
Once the trap was ready, the team headed to a brackish water area—a common habitat for crabs. However, things didn't go as planned initially. Underwater camera footage showed carp and mullet swimming around, but the crabs were nowhere to be seen. Their planned half-day wait stretched into a full day.
The next day, the team nervously pulled up the trap, only to find it absolutely packed with crabs! Not only that, but several more were scuttling around the entrance, seemingly ready to join the party. In total, they caught over 10 crabs of varying sizes—an astonishing haul!
During transport, these crabs proved to be surprisingly lively. The largest one even made a daring escape from the shopping basket as the camera got close, eliciting gasps from the crew. The video concludes with the crabs being released back into the water, a scene both thrilling and oddly therapeutic.
The video quickly sparked heated discussions on YouTube, with netizens flooding the comments section: "That's incredible!", "What a massive haul!", "The sheer number is wild (lol)", and "The way they bolted was super cute!"
"Mizube de ASOBO" continues to regularly upload videos centered on aquatic ecosystems, and their sub-channel, "Mizube de ASOBO no Jiyuu Jikan" (Mizube de ASOBO's Free Time), shares even more content related to water-dwelling creatures. Additionally, they sell original merchandise like T-shirts and badges through the e-commerce platform "SUZURI".