Crabbing/Halibut Westport (pics added)

[C-Money]

FF4607 and I are going out on a halibut trip from Westport. We plan on crabbing the dock when we are not on the boat. Any tips? I plan on buying a pot and renting a few rings to keep us busy while the pot soaks. Do you think the pot would get stolen if we leave it overnight? Is that legal? Thanks Hunt WA friends. C

[jackmaster]

IT WILL GET STOLEN, if you want use ring pots because you have to tend them, DO NOT put crab pots out over night there, unless you can keep an eye on them

[brokenvet]

Westport docs used to be productive for crab, but not in the last few years that I have gone there. 

Lots of crab, however they are small, maybe I am just going the wrong time of year.  Oh! watch for the sea lion, he made that harbor his home. 

Yup I would not leave net or pots unattended. 

[Becky]

We were out there a couple weekends ago... I don't think they'd get stolen off the docs as we seen plenty tied off overnight and the only people wandering the docs at  night were us  .. but man, the crabs are abundant, but ALL TOO SMALL and every single one was a female. We did a quick 10 minute test soak with a piece of chicken leg and pulled up 12 little suckers and the chicken was almost down to the bone. It was fun/funny at first but then got frustrating after all was said and done. We got ONE keeper off the rock wall side, I think the sea lions have been mowing through the big ones maybe. It seems in the last couple years since they've shown up in force, the crabbing has been horrible.

[wildmanoutdoors]

No keepers in that basin.

[Becky]

Playing around with a snap trap the first night there... but yea, they all looked like this. SUCKED so I wouldn't waste money on buying a pot just for that trip.

[Noiro]

I would never eat a crab out of that nasty water. Boat anti-fouling covers the bottom of all the boats there. Storm drains pour straight from the street into the marina.
If you must crab and want to catch a few keepers crab off the end of dock 5 at the marina entrance.
Smossy's Girl. Were you two dressed out in green rain gear on dock 7?

[C-Money]

Well glad for the posts. Thank you all. It sounds fun to crab a little, as I've never done it, being a dry side'er. Keep the advise coming....

[jackmaster]

I would never eat a crab out of that nasty water. Boat anti-fouling covers the bottom of all the boats there. Storm drains pour straight from the street into the marina.
If you must crab and want to catch a few keepers crab off the end of dock 5 at the marina entrance.
Smossy's Girl. Were you two dressed out in green rain gear on dock 7?

why? Crab have the best filtering system, if they are alive they are fine to eat, unless they are soft shell....

[Becky]

Smossy's Girl. Were you two dressed out in green rain gear on dock 7?

No actually now that I looked at a calendar it was last month lol so I guess 4 weeks ago..

why? Crab have the best filtering system, if they are alive they are fine to eat, unless they are soft shell....

Yea they're cleaner than the crabs we catch and eat out of the sound :/ haha..

[Becky]

Well glad for the posts. Thank you all. It sounds fun to crab a little, as I've never done it, being a dry side'er. Keep the advise coming....

Ohhh well if you're just doing it for fun, there's a hotel at the end of the drive to the right called Harbor Resort that rents out crab rings for cheap. It doesn't look like it's a gift shop or any kind of store but they sell bait etc, and we noticed the rings I'd just do that. Throw some chicken in it and you'll get some little sea spiders for sure! There's lots of bait shops/gift stores to buy gear and rent from, but this one looked cheaper than the major one on the main docks everyone goes to.

[Noiro]

On float 8 I think it is the charters have a big garbage can full of seabass carcass for the dock crabbers to use for free. It is where the little store out on the dock sells seafood.

[metlhead]

I was told that most of the crab in the basin were commercial culls that are undersized and that they also have a slighty smaller slot size. Eventually, they migrate out to better waters, before they get to legal size for sporties. Hence the tremendous number of little females.

[gasman]

I would not waste my time in the boat basin. I would get a crab trap that is cast-able with a fishing pole and go off the jetty 

You dont have to go to the big Jetty, there are a few smaller ones that get almost completely ignored.

[buckhorn2]

You might check the regulations but I think it's illegal to fish off the docks at night or leave pots out overnight.