Summer Isn’t the Only Crab Season, Sometimes
Most Puget Sound crabbers think of crabbing as a summer thing. In some years, though, parts of the Sound get a fall and winter opportunity too. The key words are some and parts.
WDFW decides area by area. Before you load the pots, read WDFW’s announcement and the current WDFW rules. Areas, dates and limits can change in-season. Check WDFW emergency rules before you go.
Why Some Areas Stay Closed
WDFW’s announcement gives a useful look at how these decisions get made. The reasons it cites for keeping an area closed fall into three groups:
- Quota: If summer crabbers took most of an area’s share, there may not be enough left for a winter fishery. WDFW can re-check those numbers after the summer catch reports come in.
- Soft-shell concerns: Areas where many crabs are molting may stay closed to protect them.
- Low abundance: Some areas have shown continued poor crab numbers in testing and harvest assessments.
That’s why your favorite summer spot may not be an option in fall, even if a nearby area is.
Report Your Summer Catch
Puget Sound Dungeness crabbers record their catch on a catch record card, and WDFW uses those reports to help decide whether winter crabbing makes sense in each area. Filing your summer report on time is a small step that helps keep future seasons possible. WDFW’s crab page and the regulations explain the requirements.
How to Spot a Soft-Shell Crab
WDFW rules require releasing all soft-shelled crabs (see WDFW’s soft-shelled crab page for current details), and fall is a good time to sharpen your eye.
Some background from WDFW: Dungeness crabs molt about 12 times by age 2, then roughly once a year through age 6. A given area may have one or two peaks of molting each year. After molting, a crab’s new shell takes two to three months to fully harden, and during that time it’s likely to end up in traps.
Why release them? WDFW notes that a soft-shelled crab yields less than 20% of its weight in meat, compared with about 25% for a prime hard-shell crab, and the meat is often watery and poor. Released crabs can be caught later, when they’re full and firm.
A soft shell flexes when you press on it, often along the legs or the underside. WDFW’s crab page shows how to check. When in doubt, put it back.
Dungeness or Red Rock?
The two main sport crabs look different once you know what to look for:
- Dungeness: Purple-tinged, gray or brown shell with white-tipped claws. Often near eelgrass and sandy or muddy bottoms. WDFW notes they’re most abundant in Puget Sound north of Seattle, in Hood Canal and near the coast.
- Red rock crab: Smaller, redder, with large black-tipped claws. Prefers rocky bottoms.
Plan Safely
Fall weather on the Sound changes quickly, and days are short. Check the marine forecast, wear a life jacket, and pull your gear before conditions turn.
For more on gear and technique, see our crabbing and shrimping guide and the Puget Sound crabbing fishery page. Prefer to go with a pro? Browse crabbing guides or our crab species page.
Check your area, check your crab, and enjoy a fall pot pull.
— The Salish Guide