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Crabbing on The Oregon Coast

At Captain’s Reel we offer two different types of crabbing excursions. Deep sea ocean crabbing is a seasonal excursion that is done in conjunction with a deep sea fishing trip. We refer to deep sea fishing/crabbing trips as a type of  “combo” trip. You can find out more information here–>>

We also offer bay Crabbing trips.

Bay crabbing is open all year round! Unlike ocean crabbing, bay crabbing trips are dependent upon the tides. View the tide tables for the year here.

3 hour bay crabbing trips are $45.00 per person not including any shellfish licenses you may need.  Trips are usually scheduled around two hours before high tide.

We provide everything that you need to go bay crabbing.

How do we Crab?

With bay crabbing we use [slip ring] pots. A slip ring pot allows the crab to enter anywhere around the pot. When you pull the pot, the sides come up and makes in near impossible for a crab to escape. We pull these pots often.

Crab Trip Request

Fill out this short form and let us know when you would like to go bay crabbing.
  • Select the date that you would like to go crabbing. (Desired date for charters are subject to availability & weather conditions)
  • Enter the number of people who you would like to reserve seats for in the field provided above.

Pots are heavier than rings, but a full pot of crabs is much better than a light ring with fewer crabs, wouldn’t you agree? The pots vary in size and weight. One reasonably strong person can bring up a pot on their own. Teamwork isn’t a bad thing though and there is enough room on our boats for pots to be brought in with with more than one person. Back to Top

What Kind of Crab do we Catch?

We target Dungeness crabs, but you might also catch red rock crabs too. Red rock crabs are much smaller (which means much less meat). Dungeness crabs are mature at the age of a year-and-a-half, but for a crab to be legal it must be:

  • Male
  • 5 3/4 inches accross the top of the shell

Generally speaking it takes a crab 3 to 4 years to mature to the legal size. Determining if a crab is legal takes a little bit of experience, we can show you how to quickly check the crab and ensure that you only keep the males. Back to Top

When is the Best Time to Crab?

Crab can be caught in the bay at any time and during any tide. From our many years of experience we know that they best time to go crabbing is during “slack tide”, about an hour before and after high tide. Back to Top