Many people wonder when is the best time is to go crabbing.
The best season to go crabbing is during the summer or fall, when waters have warmed and crabs have matured.
During the winter, the water becomes very cold and the crabs end up burrowing.
Once you pick a day, the goal is to head out to your crabbing destination while the tide is starting to come in, so therefore the best tide is high tide.
High Tide vs Low Tide – Read Your Local Chart
You don’t want to begin at high tide because that means that water has already moved in and will be reversing with low tide within the next few hours.
You want to time it so that when you arrive and deploy your traps, the tide is still making its way in.
Always give yourself the best odds, which means you will want to know the tide schedule for your particular area.
Here is a good website to use – https://www.tide-forecast.com/
It is of course possible to catch crabs at any time during the day, but it is far more ideal to try and time it so that you are on the water while the water is moving, which will bring a great many crabs in your direction.
When crabbing off a dock or pier, keep an eye on the water level. You will see the water line on the dock posts which indicate the highest point the tide will reach.
Thus, the best time to crab off a dock is during high tide in the summer or fall.
You want to be fully ready to go while the tide is still coming in, and you definitely don’t want to be baiting traps or attempting to prepare all of your crab trap pots when it has officially reached high tide for that particular day.
You will notice that every day the tide changes slightly. Over the course of any given month, high tide will be at various times during the day so if you are trying to become a journeyman crabber, it will be good to have the tide schedule in your pocket at all times!
This crabbing time advice applies to some of the best locations including Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Oregon, Vancouver and more!
That’s it! Make sure you stock up on crab traps and crab pots when you prepare to head out on your next mission.
CRABBING SEASON IS HERE! DON’T MISS THIS HUGE SALE
More helpful resources for crabbers:
- Best Crabbing Trap Recommendations
- Which Bait is Best?
- Ordering a Bushel
- Recommended Supplies
- Where to Catch Crabs
Return to the Crabbing Zone.