Where to go Crabbing in Washington State (Secret Spots)

I’ve compiled a list of spots to catch Dungeness & Rock crabs in Washington so you don’t have to spend hours researching yourself. I’ve scoured google reviews and forums, called local tackle shops, and watched hours of youtube videos to put together this extensive list of actual crabbing spots.

This post gets pretty in-depth, so I broke it down by the type of location. You can go crabbing in Washington without a boat at piers, shorelines, and jetties.

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I color-coded the spots on this list to give you an idea of what each one has to offer.

• Public piers where you can use hoop nets, crab snares, and crab pots are labeled with a blue pinpoint.
• Shorelines are public beaches that are great for crab pots and crab snares. They are labeled with a red pinpoint.
• Jetties are stretches of rock into the water where you can cast crab snares. They are labeled with a yellow pinpoint.
• Boat Ramps are for launching your boat or kayak into a body of water where you can crab with pots and collapsible traps. These are labeled with a green pinpoint.

TLDR: My Picks for the Best Crabbing Spots Across Washington

Question: Where is the best crabbing in Washington State?

Crabbing is a popular activity in Washington’s Puget Sound, with Edmond’s Fishing Pier and Des Moines Marina Pier being popular spots to go crabbing with traps, pots, or snares. A few lesser-known spots with less competition are Harper Fishing Pier and Port of Waterman Public Pier near Bremerton.

Question: Where to go Crabbing in Westport, WA?

Westport Harbor hosts a well-known fishing and crabbing pier outside of the marina known as Float 20. Here, people go crabbing with mainly crab snares and folding traps. You can go shoreline crabbing from the nearby Westport Jetty and the surrounding beaches when the water’s not too rough.

Question: Where to go Crabbing in Tacoma, WA?

The best-kept crabbing piers in Tacoma, WA are Les Davis Public Fishing Pier Dash Point Pier. Both offer plenty of parking and public restrooms, but they can get crowded. A nearby lesser-known crabbing pier is Fox Island Fishing Pier, which is a quick drive over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

A few Things Before you go Crabbing

Before you head to the pier to catch crabs, you need to make sure this spot is open for crabbing. Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife broke its waterways into sections that they open and close to crabbers in order to protect the state’s crab population. If you’re caught crabbing in a closed area, expect to pay a hefty fine.

You will also need a license to go crabbing, and a “proper catch card” if you are crabbing in the Puget Sound.

So, before you go find a crabbing spot I want you to go to my State Crabbing Regulation Index and find Washington. Click its icon and read about the state’s regulations and get the proper licenses. I don’t want anyone reading this article to get get in trouble with a game warden!

Crabbing Charters (The best option for beginners!)

Anyone is going to learn a hobby faster when they have an experienced guide by their side helping them through the steps. In this case, I recommend you bring a crabbing coach along with you for a trip to learn the ropes. Crabbing charters are where boat captains let you rent them and their boats for a few hours at a time. They’ll bring you out on the water to go crabbing and provide all the necessary gear and bait. All you’ll need is proper licensing and a willingness to learn. I recommend this service to anyone who wants to get started crabbing, because you’ll end up paying more in crappy bait and gear if you try to learn the hobby yourself.

If this experience sounds like something you’d be interested in, I recommend you Browse Crabbing Charters on Fishingbooker.com (Affiliate Link). I’m a big fan of FishingBooker’s services, so I partnered with them and I recommend all my readers check them out. They are like the Airbnb or Zillow of fishing and crabbing charters. Go browse some crabbing and fishing charters for your and your family’s next adventure.

Crabbing Piers in Washington

Crabbing from a pier is what I recommend to beginners or those lucky enough to live nearby one. Here, you get to use every type of crab-catching method in Washington. You can use hoop nets, crab snares, and crab pots.

Hoop nets (also known as ring nets) are my favorite ways to actively catch crabs as they’re so easy to use. When you’re on a pier, you’re at the perfect vantage point to use these traps as you need to be above a certain depth of water. These traps also work from a boat and shoreline with some slight modifications, but a pier is a perfect fit.

I recommend anyone looking to go crabbing from a pier to use KUFA-Brand ring nets (Affiliate link to Amazon.com). While other crab nets are designed for blue crabs, these as specifically designed for Dungeness and Red Rock Crabs.

If you’re interested in crab snaring, read my article: Crab Snaring (The Complete Guide). If you want to use crab pots, read my article: Promar TR-530C2: The Best Trap For Dungeness Crabs.

The only trade-off to crabbing from a pier is that you may be competing with other crabbers, which means fewer crabs for you. It’s also a highly-pressured spot, which means people tend to crab here more often than in other spots. Eventually, in my opinion, the crabs start to figure this out.

It does, however, make for a great atmosphere of like-minded anglers who will love to share their tips and experiences crabbing. You’ll walk out a better crabber than before with all that insight.

Port of Willapa Harbor: Tokeland Marina

Willapa Harbor is a nice local spot to throw a crab pot or a ring net off the end the pier. It comes with free parking and restroom facilities. The spot is a popular crabbing spot, which means it can get pressured and over-crabbed at times. However, it makes up for it in good spirits of locals who love to come here and go crabbing. You can learn a thing or two from friendly locals here.

Westport Fishing & Crabbing Area

At the end of Neddie Rose Dr, you’ll find a fishing and crabbing pier that works great for fishing with snares, pots, and ring nets. I like that this spot has parking right at the base of the pier, however it has a rocky bottom, which makes posts and ring nets difficult to use. You can get away with them at the end of the pier, but that can get crowded on busier days.

A good solution are to use foldable traps or crab snares secured to the end of a fishing rod. I always recommend people use AirFly Brand Crab Snares or AirFly Brand Folding Traps (Affiliate Links to Amazon.com). They’re the best quality trap for the lowest price.

Clyde Davidson Pier

To the left of the entrance of Steliacoom Ferry is a small fishing pier. It’s not great for crabbing with a fishing rod, as there are a lot of obstacles in the water and the docking pier is off limits. However, this would be a great spot for a few ring nets with the limited room you have. Not too many people know about this spot, which makes it great for crabbing.

You have to pay to park here at the parking lot to the left of Union Avenue if you’re looking out at the water. There are no public restrooms at this location. There are trash cans and seating on the dock.

Fox Island Fishing Pier

Fox Island Fishing Pier is a well-kept, sandy-bottomed pier on the remote Fox Island. Here, you can go crabbing with crab snares, folding traps, ring nets, and crab pots. It’s a perfect spot to go after Dungeness Crab in the Puget Sound.

There’s plenty of parking and porta-potties at the base of the pier with not too far of a walk from your car to the pier. On the pier, there are several spots to sit while you go crabbing. If the pier’s ever crowded you can also go crabbing from the shore here if you’re using a fishing rod.

Les Davis Public Fishing Pier

Les Davis Fishing Pier is the number one spot to go crabbing from a pier in Tacoma. You’ll find plenty of parking at the base of the pier, as well as a walking trail if the crabbing gets boring. The pier is equipped with sinks to clean fish and crabs, as well as fishing rod holders along the railings. The pier is open 24 hours, 7 days a week. It’s over a sandy-bottomed part of Commencement Bay, which attracts Dungeness Crabs.

Dash Point Pier

This absolutely beautiful fishing pier stretches over 400 feet into the Puget Sound. It has fishing rod holders, spots to clean your fish and crabs, and plenty of seating on the dock. It is a great spot to go crabbing with fishing rods, crab pots, or ring nets.

This spot has limited parking and gets very busy. You’re going to have to compete for parking with the people who come here for the shore, playground, and just to walk on the pier. People say it’s the busiest in the evening from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.

Des Moines Marina Pier

Des Moines Marina has one of the nicest crabbing and fishing piers in the area. The pier stretches 650 feet into the Sound, giving you plenty of room to spread out your crab traps. There are trash bins and plenty of seating on the pier for your convenience.

Parking is free as of November 2022, when I’m writing this article, while they do construction. However, you will have to pay by hour at this spot. One thing that sets this spot apart from others is the sheer amount of parking. You won’t have to worry about coming early or on an off-day to get a spot here.

The pier is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, apparently it gets dicey at night. I’d come during the day.

Harper Recreational Fishing Pier

This crabbing spot is unique and very out of the way, which means fewer crabbers to compete with! It’s a functional crabbing pier with limited parking and a porta-potty for a restroom. However, people complain about it not being well-kept. There is only enough parking for 3-4 vehicles.

It’s situated right next to a nice coffee shop, which makes me like this spot. I can’t imagine a better spot go to crabbing than one with a coffee shop at the base of the pier. Expect to catch Dungeness crabs at this spot.

Port of Waterman Public Pier

One of the first piers on this list where you can catch a majority of red rock crabs. This is because it’s on a rocky shoreline, whihc makes crab snaring difficult here. I’d stick to crab pots and ring nets.

This is a well-kept pier with porta-potties, picnic tables, and plenty of trash cans. There is enough parking for 12 vehicles directly at the base of the pier, which means a quick walk from your car to the end of the pier.

Illahee Dock

If you’re in the Bremerton Area and want to go crabbing, this is the pier for you. It’s a sandy-bottomed spot in the Sound, which means any crabbing method will work and you’ll see mainly Dungeness Crabs.

The pier is short and there are no public restroom facilities. There is enough parking for around 6 cars. If the pier gets busy, you can go crab snaring from the shoreline.

Edmond’s Fishing Pier

Edmond’s Fishing Pier is a crowded, popular spot to go crabbing in Seattle. This is for good reason, as there are plenty of amenities at this spot including restrooms, seating, spots to clean your fish, and free 3-hour parking. Here’s a link to the parking lot on Google Maps.

Kayak Point Pier

Kayak Point Pier shares the location with a popular kayaking launching spot and public beach. Lots of people come here to catch Dungeness Crabs with snares, traps, and pots. It’s equipped with restrooms, trash bins, and plenty of parking. It’s a busy spot and parking fills up, so I’d avoid this spot on weekends and holidays.

Port Angeles City Pier

This pier has plenty of public parking at the base of the pier, and plenty of room on the dock to set a few traps. If crabbing gets slow, there’s plenty to do around the pier such as sit at Hollywood Beach or shop at the local stores.

Crabbing Jetties in Washington

Crabbing from a jetty is best done with a crab snare. If you’re unfamiliar with this crabbing method, check out my article: Crab Snaring: The Complete Guide. It’ll go through everything you need to know while crabbing from a jetty.

You want to go crabbing during slack current, which does not coincide with a slack tide. You can check the current projections at NOAA Current Predictions for Washington (link to NOAA Website).

Warning! Jetties are slippery and can be unsafe during rough weather. Do not go out on any jetty if there are high winds, high surf, or rain. You can check the conditions and for any warnings by the National Weather Service (link to their current predictions). Don’t end up like this guy who had to be helicoptered off a jetty by the Coast Guard.

Jetties are still slippery in safer conditions. To avoid falling in while crab snaring, I’ve been recommended wading boots with felt soles to provide extra grip. Going out on a jetty is no joke with big waves, slippery rocks, and a strong current. I want anyone considering to go crabbing here to be as prepared as possible. So, equip yourself with something like this high-quality boot on Amazon (Affiliate Link).

North Columbia River Jetty

On the North side of the Colombia River, this jetty stretches over three thousand feet into the Pacific Ocean. Keep in mind that the further out you go, the more slippery and dangerous it will be. So, use discretion. You can go crabbing from the parking lot, but this will be more crowded than further down the jetty. There are no restrooms at this spot.

Westport Jetty

Westport Jetty stretches over a mile into the Pacific Ocean, where you can go crab snaring for Dungeness and Red Rock Crabs off of either side. There is plenty of parking at the base of the pier, as well as well-kept public restrooms. You don’t need to head too far along the jetty for good crabbing, just as far as you’re comfortable.