Best Places in the U.S. to go Crabbing
Last Updated on October 15, 2024 by Boatsetter Team
Crabbing is a fun way to spend the day on the water followed by sitting down to an excellent fresh seafood meal.
Visit any of the best crabbing locations in Florida, apply a little bit of good luck, and you’ll go home with one of the best meals on the face of the planet. Try doing the same on Chesapeake Bay and you’ll have a very different experience involving very different crabs, but the delectable delight at the dinner table will be second to none. Or give it a go on the West Coast in Seattle. Yet again, the methods and meals differ but the end result is quite a reward for your efforts. Crabbing is different from place to place because different species of crabs are the target, and different gear and methods are used to catch each. But the one thing common about crabbing from coast to coast is that it’s fun—and it results in an unbeatable fresh seafood dinner.
Best Place to Go Crabbing on the West Coast
On the West Coast, Dungeness, rock, and red crabs are crawling around on the bottom, with Dungeness being considered the top pick. They can be found all along the California coast with areas like Half moon Bay and Newport Beach being popular spots, but head north to Puget Sound to experience some of the best crabbing around.
Most crabbers in these waters will drop either traps or ring nets. With traps the crabs crawl in and they usually don’t crawl back out, so crabbers will leave them sitting anywhere from a few hours to overnight. Crabs can scuttle right across rings, however, so they need constant tending and should be pulled up every 15 or 20 minutes. Either way, prime crabbing spots are usually over eelgrass beds and to get to the best areas you’ll need a boat. Fortunately, if you don’t own one it’s easy to rent a boat in Seattle or rent a boat in Bellingham and other nearby areas.
Best Places to Go Crabbing on the East Coast
They say that “Maryland is for crabs,” and with good reason. The Chesapeake Bay is famous for producing the biggest, sweetest blue crabs around and crabbing in both Maryland’s and Virginia’s portions of the Chesapeake is spectacularly popular. But these crabs move around quite a bit, so the best spot might be far up the Bay near Chestertown or Annapolis one month, and down the Bay in Deltaville or Norfolk the next.
Crabbing here takes many forms, including dropping baited lines off of piers and bridges then slowly winding them in to scoop the crabs with a net when they reach the surface. The best crabbing, however, is generally farther from shore where there are drop-offs and underwater points the crabs gather around. Most people who don’t have a boat will rent a fishing boat, which has an open cockpit with plenty of room to either haul pull-traps or set a trot line.
Pull traps have sides which drop down when deployed, and when you pull them back up, the sides close to keep the crabs contained. Trot lines are long lines with dozens of baits, which you drive alongside of as you scoop the crabs with a net. Trot lines generally result in much bigger catches but be aware, trot-lining can be complex and most beginners stick with the traps.
Best Places to go Crabbing in the South
Blue crabs live in southern waters, too, but the undisputed champion of crabbing down south is the stone crab. Stone crabs are beyond succulent, and are one of the most expensive seafoods which you can go out and catch on your own. The very best action will be found in Florida, and that’s why we have an entire article dedicated to finding the best crabbing in Florida.
Traps are commonly used to capture these critters, but a unique method used for crabbing here is snorkeling or diving for them. Naturally, if you don’t own a boat of your own this means renting a boat in Florida. Just remember, those crabs don’t particularly want you to grab them and snap their claws off—be sure to come armed with a sturdy, thick pair of gloves so you can wrestle them out of their jagged hidey-holes and get those claws before they pinch.
Crabbing is a fun way to get out on the water, and just in case we haven’t reminded you enough already, when you cook those crabs up you’ll be in for a serious treat. So, consider setting aside a day, rent a boat if you don’t have one of your own, and give crabbing a shot—whichever coast you may happen to live near.
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With over three decades of experience in marine journalism, Lenny Rudow has contributed to dozens of boating and fishing publications and websites ranging from BoatU.S. Magazine to BDOutdoors.com. Rudow is currently the Angler in Chief at Rudow’s FishTalk, he is a past president of Boating Writers International (BWI), a graduate of the Westlawn School of Yacht Design, and has won numerous BWI and OWAA writing awards.
