The 2015 Oregon Crabbing Season Start
The heart of crabbing season is just ahead of us and it has been a great start so far. Time your tides right and you should have no problem loading up the pots.
Here are some tips from the ODFW
Time of year: Fall is typically the best time to crab. Beginning in September, crabs will tend to be more “filled out”, meaning there is a higher percentage of quality meat. This is detected by the condition of the shell. Hard shelled crabs will contain 20-30% meat by weight, compared to soft shelled crabs which can be as low as 12%. At times after heavy rainfall and resulting freshets, crab tend to be less abundant in the bays.
Time of day: “Slack water” (the times of peak high or low tide) are the best times to crab. At slack water, the highest number of crab are walking around foraging, since they are less affected by tidal currents.
Legal Season: Crabbing is open in estuaries (i.e. bays), beaches, tide pools, piers, and jetties year round. Crabbing in the ocean is CLOSED for Dungeness crab from October 16 to November 30.
