Crabbing and Diving

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nwhitney2003

Contributor
Messages
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Location
Portland, Oregon
# of dives
25 - 49
I'm wondering about peoples experiences crabbing while diving. Particularly the difficulty, your favorite spot, and what gear you used to catch the crabs. Or anything else you think is helpful, interesting, boring, or whatever. I've been crabbing on a boat so I do understand certain aspects of crabbing but not when it involves diving. :snorkel:
 
Kinda like catching crawdads. Pretty easy really, if you dive with a really fast get away boat. you dive by other crab pots and pick the best ones. Just kidding. I don't really go for crab, but when the time arises and I have a bag...... something about a fresh crab salad.
 
I've done two dives for crabbing. HERE and HERE are the links to the dive reports. Scuba diving for crab is hysterical!

Both of my trips were to the Mukilteo oil dock, where there are crabs upon crabs, although the majority of them, of course, are female and/or undersized. But we still limited on crabs there both times, early in the season.
 
I've done two dives for crabbing. HERE and HERE are the links to the dive reports. Scuba diving for crab is hysterical!

Both of my trips were to the Mukilteo oil dock, where there are crabs upon crabs, although the majority of them, of course, are female and/or undersized. But we still limited on crabs there both times, early in the season.

That was great! Thanks!
 
Those links are great! Too Funny! I can just picture it!
 
The oil dock is a great place to crab- I've been up the probably 20 times or so. Most divers try to catch low slack and walk as far up the beach from the T dock as they can. I'm a bit luckier as the wife and I have scooters so we scoot up to the dock. I'll settle on one side of a big group of crab and my wife will circle around them and herd them to me. Yep, we call it crab herding and it's great fun. Scooting back in the shallows can be breathtaking. The huge ling cod and salmon feeding on the bait fish in the shallows with the light coming through the pilings just north of the T dock is some of the best scenery in the sound, imho. I enjoy crabbing from a boat too, but that's more just sitting around drinking beer waiting for the pot to fill up, not nearly as interactive as diving for them. Cheers

Paul
 
Doh, guess I should have read TSandM's reports first- but I guess it just goes to show how much fun it is!
 
Look for Dungoness in the sand or around piers. They are fast and will often try to get away from you until you are just about to grab them, then they'll throw their claws up at you.

Red rocks will hold their ground much longer and are easier to catch. They tend to be up around rocky reefs or other solid structure. You can take both males and females of these ones.

I usually strap my crab measurer to my hand (my right one) so I can measure them to know if they are worth it. Sometimes I pin them down to the bottom with the measurer so i can grab 'em from behind if they are large enough.

The best equipment i have bought is a UK dive bag - must have been built for crabbing. It has an industrial clip handle and a thick nylon material near the top so they can't poke their little feet through when you are trying to put them in the bag. The all mesh ones are difficult that way. It also expands if you need the extra room. Here's a link to it. Best crab investment I ever made (plus the beastie holds about 18 crab!)UK Unibag
 
Don't forget the obvious but worth mentioning tip, make sure you have your shellfish license and catch record card on your person when you go. If you exit the water with your catch and your license is in your vehicle and the game warden says hello, you'll be in trouble.
 
Don't forget the obvious but worth mentioning tip, make sure you have your shellfish license and catch record card on your person when you go. If you exit the water with your catch and your license is in your vehicle and the game warden says hello, you'll be in trouble.

I dive wet. So what will the warden say if I hand him a clump of pulp that was once a license or record card. Wouldnt it be fine to say follow me over here to my vehicle and I'll pull it out and show him the record? I've never been for crab since I dont care for it so I'm not aware of the rules on a license. Playin with crab I find dungenous are mild compared to redrocks. D's will squirm a bit but after that they dont fight much, redrocks will fight all the way into the pot, and their fun to terrorize your buddy with :eyebrow: .
 
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