PNW crabbing - Maxum Boat Owners Club

seapuppy · 04-19-2008, 11:32 PM

ok....this is for knowledgable pnw folks....after my wife got me a really cool fishfinder...she found out that there are a ton of fish below...she also found out that she's not allergic to shell fish..which she thought she was.....well....I will be the first to acknowledge that I don't much about fishing and crabbing...I was turned on to this guy in town that runs Johns sporting goods and he gave me a pretty good deal on a crab pot/line/bouy and whatever else needed including lic. for the season....I know there are certain areas and all..got the book to read up..but what is the best depth and bait to use for crabbing???.....I'll ask about salmon fishing later when I get the stuff to do it with.....

last time I fished was in 86 before my dad passed away...took him to p-cola bridge that connects gulf breeze to p-cola....we had a ball but he later passed away.....so...I don't know alot about fishing at all....

thanks in advance...

tglee · 04-20-2008, 02:05 AM

I don't know anything about the PNW. On the east coast, my boys use chicken parts and just pull the crabs off the bottom.

seapuppy · 04-20-2008, 02:14 AM

thanks...I know when I was growing up in Va./Fla...we used to use chicken legs too...we used to get huge blue crabs...too bad they have been over fished to the fact that they are small....you should come out here for crabs..they are huge!!.....
thanks for posting the pic's.....
SP...

Floatn Fun · 04-21-2008, 02:49 AM

seapuppy, when I've gone crabbing in your area we go to north side of Camano island or west of Anacortes ( in this are you have to work around the commercial crabers). For bait I found that fried chicken worked well. Get a 12 piece or more from Albertsons or other store, eat the best pieces and use the rest for bait. We tried other items such as left over fishing bait and cat food, but the chicken seemed to do the best. The greaser the better.

Maxumus2400 · 05-22-2008, 05:32 PM

It's been a long while, but we used to drop rings and traps just south of Hat Island around 60-120ft depth.

For bait, my mom would get the leftovers from cutting fish fillets from a grocery store or restaurant.

Never tried greasy fried chicken but will give that a shot this summer. Looks like crabbing season opens up there after July 2nd.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/crab/2008_seasons.htm

rgreenwell8962 · 05-22-2008, 05:44 PM

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/crab/index.htm
On the far right side of this page is an option to watch a video. It is very informative.

I have never been crabbing in the Pac NW but would love to do so.