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Welcome to our Crabbing tips and tricks page.
Sponsored
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The crab fishing that we have
here in Oregon and Washington is nothing short of fantastic. We have both
Dungeness and Japanese Red Rock crab in most of the bays and estuaries and for
those with bigger boats we have some excellent crab fishing or crabbing
on the offshore waters of the pacific ocean. Some of my favorite
crabbing locations are Newport (Yaquina Bay), Waldport (Alsea Bay), Nehalem
(Nehalem Bay), Garibaldi (Tillamook Bay), Reedsport (Winchester Bay), Coos Bay,
Astoria, Netarts and Lincoln City (Siletz Bay). Rental boats and crabbing gear
are available at many of them.
Guided
Crabbing
and
Salmon
fishing
Crabbing
Combo
trips
Crabbing
trips
- Aug
- Dec
Combo
Trips
late
Sept
- Nov
4
-6
persons
-
call
for
current
pricing.
these
are
not
your
usual
2-3
hour
charter
trip,
we
provide
a
full
day
of
crabbing
on a
fast
aluminum
guide
boat
that
can
move
around
quickly
to
find
the
best
crabbing.
We
provide
all
bait,
gear,
boat
and
Professional
fishing
guide
Dennis
Hull
will
be
your
guide.
These
trips
are
not
cheap
but
the
amount
of
crab
you
take
home
and
the
enjoyable
day
on
the
bay
make
it
very
much
worth
it.
Crabbing
Update
Feb
2009.
This
is
the
time
of
year
that
crabbing
success
drops
off
with
the
majority
of
the
crab
being
to
small
or
females
either
of
which
you
cant
keep,
if
you
do
get
legal
sized
males
they
will
not
have
much
meat
and
should
be
released.
July
will
be
the
start
of
the
good
crabbing
again
with
it
getting
even
better
as we
get
into
the
fall
months.
Call
us
today
at
503-551-6369
to
book
a
trip
Click here to
contact us
Cooking facilities are available for you to
have your crab cooked. Shellfish licenses are required for all party members.
Locations
very
depending
upon
month
and
whether
it is
a
plain
crabbing
trip
or
combo
trip
For
general
crabbing
or
rental
info
call
one
of
the
marinas
listed
at
the
right
Oregon limit is 12 Dungeness crab per person.
Some bays also have Japanese red rock crab
(look
closely
at
photo
you
will
see
the
red
rocks
-
some
big
ones
too) as well with a 24 per person limit on
those. We offer our crabbing trips in Newport, Lincoln City, Netarts and
Tillamook.
For the most part there is no secret to catching crab with the
exception of when to go and where to place your traps. The best months
for crabbing in Oregon and Washington are months ending in "R"
at least that is what everyone says. Actually the crabbing or crab
fishing begins to get good small ad
in late July or early august and lasts until Feb.
or so depending upon how much rain we get. When the winter rains come it
dilutes the salinity of the bays and the crabs move further out into the
saltier ocean waters. You can actually catch crab year round but in the
late winter through early summer months they are molting and usually don't
have much meat in them and also you get a high percentage of female
crabs which you cant keep. The legal size for Dungeness crabs in Oregon
is 5 3/4 inches across the back measured in front of the spike on the
widest part of the shell. I wont get into this in depth because it is
best to check with the bait shops or at the marinas and make sure that
they explain it well because you don't want the pay the fine for keeping
undersized or female crabs its quite steep. The limit for crabs in Oregon
is 12 Dungeness male crabs per person and for red rock crabs is 24 per
person either sex is legal on the red rocks. Washington has a 6"
legal size limit and they require a license to take crab. Oregon now requires a shellfish license to harvest clams, crabs
and shrimp. In Oregon you are allowed
3 traps per person. Types of traps are "traps or pots", "slip rings",
"open rings", "snares", "folding traps".
Usually the favorite is the traps or enclosed pots, these allow the
crabs to get in but not get out. If there aren't a bunch of bait
steeling seals and sea lions around the open rings can be more effective
than the traps and can be pulled much more frequently because it doesn't
take the crabs as long to get into them as it does the traps. Slip rings
are also very effective and for fishing from the bank snares and
lightweight folding traps are popular. For you do it yourselfers that
may be considering building your own traps be careful of the materials
you use certain metals when they come into contact with saltwater let
off a charge and will actually repel the crabs. Mild steel or 304
stainless is your best bet and avoid using different types of metal on
the same project, also leave some of the metal exposed on the bottom of
the trap to ground to the sand. Bait for crab is usually some
form of fish carcass, chicken, turkey or mink. The Chicken turkey and
mink are seal and sea lion proof baits but the
fish
carcasses will out produce
the
other
baits if the seals aren't in the area. Probably the best bait is Shad,
with Salmon or Rockfish carcasses close second. The bait is placed in
the traps using a bait pin, twine, wire, mesh bag, bait cages or other
means of making sure it stays in place. The traps are allowed to set on
the bottom for at least 15 mins. They have a length of rope and a marker
buoy or float attached to the end of the rope. After allowing them to
soak for a while the traps are pulled and the crab removed. The key in
trap placement is to not place it in a area with very strong current.
Always pick a day for crabbing that has a relatively small tide
exchange. a difference from high to low tide of 5 foot or less is a good
day to try your luck and make sure that you hit either the high or low
slack tide hard. this will be when you pick up most of your crab.
A good day of crabbing here in Oregon can yield lots of great
eating. They are best cooked and eaten fresh and don't freeze well. So
bring all of your friends and enjoy. Below are some photos of different
types of crab gear. They are from left to right: crab trap or pot,
snare, slip ring, collapsible trap, open ring, folding star trap
and a
new
one
that
is
becoming
popular
for
shore
bound
crab
fisherman
the
crabhawk
-
designed
to be
cast
with
a
fishing
rod
and
springs
closed
trapping
the
crab
inside.
To
read
more
about
the
crabhawk
click
here.
     
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reserved.
Revised:
June 04, 2009 |
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Other Fishing tips and
tricks pages
Salmon
Sturgeon
Steelhead
Daily tides
Look for us on TV in January 2009 on Versus, The Outdoor Channel and ESPN
fishing with host Trevor Gowdy on
"Quest for the One"
and we will be the premier episode of his new series
"The Hunt for Monster Fish
another
good
crabbing
site
with
some
good
info
and
how
to
stuff
on
cooking
and
cleaning
crab
is
netartsbaytoday.org
For general Crabbing information and recent
reports call the marinas listed below.
Most also have rental boats and gear for the do it yourself crabbers
Newport Oregon
South Beach Marina and Charters
541-867-4470
Sawyer's Landing
541-265-3907
Netarts Oregon
Netarts bay RV
503-842-7774
Lincoln City Oregon
Siletz Moorage
541-996-3671
Tillamook Oregon
Garibaldi Marina
503-322-3312
Waldport Oregon
Dock of the Bay Marina
541-563-2003
McKinley's Marina and RV
541-563-4656
Nehalem Bay
Wheeler Marina
503-368-5780
Brighton Marina
503-368-5745
For a fully guided crab trip or fishing trip give us
a call
503-551-6369
Guided fishing only please - call one of the marinas above for
general crabbing info or reports
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