Favorite crabbing spots ...

[Flymph]

A word of caution... a few years ago a crab pinched a lefty and now they are all infested with blue tumors. Highly toxic!!


If you like living on the edge... with a boat, Winchester Bay is highly productive. Dock crabbing... further North in Yaquina bay off the marina pier is generally okay if you pay attention to the tides. A boat there is still a better option, but if you have a boat... Winchester is your best bet.

I've done well at both on the dock, half moon harbor has an excellent pier on winchester bay and the south spit at yaquina bay does pretty well at the dock there.
If you're farther north, Nehalem Bay has two marinas on the south side just off HWY101 owned by the same family. About $15 a day; ring and cooking included, and if you don't have a boat they'll rent you one!
Nehalem Bay crab are superior to all except the crab past the bar and still might taste better!

 

[rob1516]

Newport docks always good for crabbing. The red rocks crabs are mean as hell though.

 

[orygun]

Newport docks always good for crabbing. The red rocks crabs are mean as hell though.

I love Red Rock claw meat! I keep all of those babies that I can.

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

Motel 6 produces !

 

[Ura-Ki]

We used to do really well in Tillimook, right out in front of the Coast Guard Station, drop a bunch of pots and go Halibut fishing, come back and pull the pots and we always came home with our stash!

 

[bigtimber]

Throw traps off the bridge at Whalen Island. Not super productive but really easy access

 

[DB is Here]

In Wa, ocean shores or hood canal are fantastic for dungeness. A frozen turkey leg for bait will last 2-3 hours.

 

[driftin]

Netarts bay off the sand beach is a great spot.

 

[Yarome]

Speaking of crabbing... a funny anecdote today.

Preparing for a family crabbing trip with my 4yr old granddaughter this morning.. we were having a discussion and I happened to mention her aunt (my daughter) is the queen kani (crab) cracker. Always has been since she was "her" age. She said, "I am too!" Of which I agreed and ended up mentioning, "all the (family name) girls are the best crackers".

She asks, "My mommy too?" of which I responded that she was a (family name) girl now too, so yes!. That really excited her, she runs over to the other room where most of the other family where, including her parents and blurted out proudly, "My mommy's a cracker!" several times.

Even funnier if you understand her mommy is the only caucasion in the family and I had some 'splainin to do.

That little girl is, by far, my most favorite person in the world.

 

[Kcee]

I haven't been crabbing since I lived in Bar Harbor, Maine.

What's funny is, when lobster is free, nobody touches it.

 

[Meridian7750]

Ahh, my favorite crabbing spot…
…Never fails to deliver.
Today's bounty…22 nice ones ( 2 of us fishing). Kept trying for those last 2 to make our limits but the tides turned against us. Literally…

 

[orygun]

That's a nice haul, @Meridian7750 .

 

[teflon6string]

And using chicken for bait seems to work as well as anything.

I'd have no problem using a thief as bait, heck I don't even eat seafood but enjoy catching it. So, the thief would probably be more of a crab meal than bait to catch a crab.

Either should work.

I've had crab rings raided and stripped of fish bait (tuna heads, etc.) in the past by marauding seals. Finally learned that they avoid anything that doesn't come from the sea. Thus, baiting a trap with chicken, deer scraps, etc. will keep your crab bait intact, even if it's mostly fish. Seems like solid wisdom. That has indeed been my experience over the last 10-12 full-limit trips, though I haven't tried a thief yet.

I was gloating about a successful crabbing weekend once and asked a friend (former US Coast Guard) if he likes crab as much as I do. His response was classic...
"You've never recovered a body from the ocean, have you?"

But still, I go whenever I get the chance. Crabbing two weeks ago with some prolific experts, we saw a distinct decline in numbers on days 2 and 3. And they weren't very feisty (the crabs, not my buddies). More than half of those we hauled up were a bit soft and went back in the water so they could more fully grow into their shells. For that reason, we'll probably not go in March anymore.

All the locations listed in this thread have been productive for me.