Where to go Crabbing in Chincoteague (And VA Eastern Shore)
There are plenty of public spots to catch blue crabs in Chincoteague, Virginia as well as the rest of the Eastern Shore Penninsula. I’m going to go over some of the best piers, shoreline spots, and bodies of water to set some crab traps.
This post is directed at anyone looking to go crabbing in Chincoteague Island and the surrounding area. I delved into county records, asked locals, and scoured satellite images for as many public crabbing locations as I could find.
Full disclosure I’m not from this end of Delmarva, I do my crabbing a few hours north. To find the spots for this article, I did a deep dive into crabbing reports, asked locals, and made a few phone calls to local businesses. If you end up using a spot from this post or have a spot you’d like to share, I invite you to share your crabbing experience through our Contact Us page.
Before Anything, Consider a Fishing Charter.
Crabbing isn’t overly complicated, but it can be overwhelming for anyone going on their first trip. You will need to buy licenses, gear, and bait to catch the crabs. Once you catch the crabs, you will need a cooler and steamer to cook them. This will add up in price, and it’s a lot to carry around. I’m also going to assume you’re vacationing here, and don’t have all this stuff on hand.
I don’t say this to deter you from crabbing, but it’s something you have to keep in mind. I recommend you ask yourself why you’re going crabbing. If you just want an experience on the water and don’t plan to make this a regular activity, I do not recommend investing all that time and money in stuff you’ll never use again.
On top of the price tag, there’s still a learning curve. If you’re new to crabbing, I wouldn’t bet on bringing in a bushel of blue crabs on your first try. It takes some experience to get good at crabbing.
Hearing all this may sound a bit discouraging, but I have a solution for you. Beginners will benefit by going crabbing and fishing with a knowledgeable guide. A fishing charter is exactly that. On a charter boat, you do not need to buy any gear as they will provide for you. This includes bait, traps, and sometimes even fishing licenses.
On Fishingbooker, you can browse hundreds of Captains in your area. The site is kind of like Airbnb but for fishermen. Instead of their house, they list their boat. On a trip, they’ll take you out on their boat, help you catch fish or crabs, and teach you a thing or two along the way. At the end of the day, most charters will fillet your catch and let you take it home. You get a cool experience and a meal at the end of the day. If you’re interested, Click here to browse fishing charters on FishingBooker.com (Affiliate Link).
Public Crabbing Spots within Chincoteague Island
To go crabbing on Chincoteague island by hand, I recommend setting up traps on the pier at Veteran’s Memorial Park, or one of the fishing docks on Maddox Blvd. Either spot puts you in the perfect position to use hand lines, collapsible traps, and crab pots. The surrounding Chincoteague Bay is perfect for crabbing by boat.
Let’s dive a bit deeper into each spot. I’ll share what to expect when it comes to restrooms, parking, and other amenities.
Veteran’s Memorial Park
This 261ft fishing and crabbing pier is a local favorite in the town of Chincoteague. It’s a calm-water pier with shaded gazebos that sits along the saltwater marshes of Assateague Island. With a public boat ramp beside the pier, this is a great spot for anyone planning to go crabbing by hand or by boat.
One thing that sets this spot apart from the others is that you do not need a fishing license to go crabbing here. The state of Virginia requires a recreational fishing license to recreationally harvest crabs from the waters surrounding Chincoteague. However, The Town of Chincoteague purchases a fishing license for the Veteran’s Memorial Park fishing pier, so an individual license is not required (The Town of Chincoteague).
It’s a 30 ft walk from your car to the pier, with plenty of parking. So, transporting crab pots and other bulky crab traps is easier here than other spots on this list. The pier sits over shallow, sandy-bottomed water to make using collapsible traps easier.
Besides crabbing, this park is home to playground equipment, a baseball diamond, tennis courts, walking trails, and a skate park. There are also well-kept public restrooms just north of the pier beside the baseball diamond.
The only downfall to this spot is that it’s a highly-crabbed area. It’s not the most popular area in Chincoteague, but it’ll fill up on weekends. Be sure to come early to secure your spot on the pier.
Maddox Blvd Docks
The second most popular area to go crabbing at Chincoteague is along Maddox Blvd, the road that heads to Assateague Beach. If you’re from the area, you’ve definetly spotted people crabbing from the designated fishing & crabbing docks along the road. They give you direct access to the crab-filled saltwater marsh that surrounds the Island.
The beauty of this spot is that it’s larger than Veteran’s memorial park. In fact, it’s the longest stretch of public crabbing docks in VA’s eastern shore at over 800ft of docks.
A downside with this spot is that parking is scarce. There’s a little bit of parking along the pier closer to Chincoteague Island on the North Side of the road. However, it’s less than ideal as you’re parked on the narrow bank of a busy road. I recommend parking at the nearby McDonalds parking lot.
The green line, closest to the island, is perfect for collapsible traps (ring nets, box traps, and pyramid traps) along with crab pots. This spot has the shallowest water along this road, so it’ll be better when the tide is higher. You will not need longer lines attatched to your traps compared to the yellow marked spot on the end.
The red line spots, where Maddox Blvd becomes Beach Access Rd, is the ideal spot to go crabbing along the road. It’s a 0.4 mile walk from Mcdonalds, but you have a designated bike trail. That way, you’re not walking on the busy road.
These crabbing-designed docks are low and along deeper water. You can tie your hand lines directly to the dock, and even measure the crabs you catch on marked signs! It’s designed to make recreational crabbing easy for anyone.
The only problem with this is that it invites a large crowd. This is one of the most popular spots to crab in Chincoteague, so it’s a pressured location. I hear reports of people catching more smaller crabs at this spot compared to others.
Along the yellow-marked spot on this map is the bridge. You can crab here with weighed traps with longer line. I would just stay clear of the bikers who use this spot. It’s important to weight your traps here, as the current will be stronger compared to the docks.
Chincoteague Bay & Surrounding Waters
Chincoteague Bay shows plenty of blue crabs in most crabbing reports I can find. Expect the best catch between June 1st and August 31st.
Boat Ramps for the Chincoteague Sound nearby include:
- Queens Sound on Route 175
- Veteran’s Memorial Park
- Hammock Boat Ramp
Queens Sound boat launch is along Rt 175 heading into Chincoteague. The only problem with this spot is limited parking. There are public porta potties as restrooms. Hammock Boat Ramp has plenty of parking, but it’s 20 minutes outside of Chincoteague.
The nicest spot to launch your boat will be Veteran’s Memorial Park. It has parking for your truck and trailer, public restrooms, and immediate access to the marsh between Assateague and Chincoteague. If you want to crab in Chincoteague Bay, I’d recommend Queens Sound.
Crabbing Spots along Eastern Virgnia Shore
If you’re a bit a ways south of Chincoteague, or want to see what else the VA penninsula has to offer when it comes to crabbing spots, I recommend these spots.
Public Crabbing & Fishing Piers
Going crabbing from a pier is the perfect opportunity for anyone to get into crabbing. It’s the only thing I recommend to anyone who is new at the sport. This is because piers make it so easy to use collapsible traps.
A collapsible trap, for anyone wondering, is a mechanism for catching crabs that are activated when you pull on a string. It can come in many different forms, with the most popular budget option being a ring net. Click here to check out Ring Nets on Amazon.
Saxis Public Pier
Saxis Public Pier is a T-shaped 300 foot fishing pier that stretches into the Pocomoke Sound. People from Chincoteague and the surrounding area come here to get away from the noise and do some crabbing.
The water here is deep enough to use collapsible traps and crab pots, with railings you can tie your lines to. There’s some dock space just south of the pier beside Martin’s Crab House for hand lines. Just stay clear of any boats docked.
This is a popular spot for sightseers and fishermen, so it can crowd up on weekends and holidays. However, it’s deinfietly one of the lesser-crabbed spots in the area compared to spots in Chincoteague. Like any popular spot, show up early to secure your spot.
Hunting Creek Public Pier
This fishing and crabbing pier is a Hopkins, VA local secret. The 400ft T-shaped pier stretches into the sparsely-crabbed Hunting Creek. There’s enough room to park 4 to 5 cars at the unpaved parking lot at the base of the pier. There are no restrooms at this location.
It’s located at the end of Route 669, just after the intersection with Martz Rd (Route 749). It’s a part of the beautiful backwater town of Hopkins, Virginia. The Pier is 15 minutes away from Onley, Virginia, and 40 minutes from Chincoteague Island.
The two types of crab traps I would use at this spot are collapsible traps (ring nets, box traps, topless box traps) and hand lines. This pier can be a bit too high for hand lines unless you have a long-handled dip net (Amazon Affiliate Link).
You’re on a creek, so the current shouldn’t be too strong. Regardless, I recommend checking the tide charts beforehand. Try to plan your crabbing trip with the incoming tide.
Gladding Landing Pier
Located at the end of Gladding Landing Road (Route 685), Gladding Landing Pier is a small fishing and crabbing pier outside of Mearsville, Virginia. It doubles as a boat launch with access to Muddy Creek. There is limited, unpaved parking north of the pier and launch for your truck and trailer and no public restrooms.
Shoreline Crabbing Spots
A shoreline spot is what I call a dock or shallow shoreline that accesses brackish, crab-filled water. A dock gives you the freedom to use collapsible traps (ring nets, box traps, and pyrarmid traps) as well as hand lines. Here are the best spots I’ve found along the VA shoreline.
Pitts Landing Dock
Pitts Landing, located on the end of Bell Rd (Route 804), which branches off of Route 709, has a small and quiet spot to set a few handlines.
Deep Creek Dock
Just south of Deep Creek Marine & Boat Yard in the town of Deep Creek Virginia are 100 feet of public docks. It’s a quiet town, so there’s a good chance you will find it empty. If so, this can be the perfect spot to throw down some collapsible traps and hand lines.
There are no public restrooms at this location and enough parking for around 1 dozen vehicles. The docks are located on the end of Route 657, just after the intersection with Savage Lane.
Greenbackville Harbor
Greenbackville, just a few minutes north of Chincoteague, is a small crabbing town on the Maryland and Virginia border. The harbor has some spots to set up hand lines and collapsible spots, just as long as there are no boats in the way. Park on the end of Shell Dr (Route 3006) along the water and set up hand lines from there. You may have some nosy locals bother you, but beside that it’ll be a peaceful crabbing trip.
Harborton Boat Ramp
Another local secret is the commercial dock at Harborton Boat Ramp. When there isn’t a crabbing vessel launching, you’re more than welcome to set some hand lines from the dock. Here are the exact coordinates of the dock on Google Maps for clarification.
Besides this, Harborton is a mostly-quiet public boat ramp with a definite small-town feel. There’s enough parking for a few dozen trucks and boat trailers, so you’ll be sure to get a spot if you’re just there to go crabbing. There are no public restrooms at this location.
Northsie Chesconessex Dock
On the end of Route 656, also known as Northside Rd, is a 200ft dock that stretches out into Chesconessex Creek. It’s a part of the small town of Chesconessex, which is only 10 minutes north of Onley, Virginia. The spot only has parking for 4 cars at most and there are no public restrooms or amenities at this location.
