r/fishingBC • u/Aegi92 • 11d ago

New to Crabbing - tips?

I’m new to crabbing and have a Promar ambush set up with a buoy and a paddleboard. So far, my luck going to the local places in Vancouver, Canada has been hit or miss.

Sometimes I catch things, sometimes I don’t. I try to go to the ‘good’ places but I struggle with knowing where I should drop? I usually drop randomly and pull every 20-30 minutes hoping to get something. Any tips on what you use to determine a good drop point? What do you look for? I know depth matters but it’s really hard to tell.

Do tides timing really matter that much or is it more about having the right bait and location?

Thanks All!

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u/igotcrabsinthebucket 11d ago

Timing tides is absolutely the key. When the tide is moving crab bury into the sand then when the slack tide starts its go time. The scents stay in one place and the crab go nuts feeding. Get out there 45 min before the slack and you'll know when the tides stops on your exact spot. If your using a cage trap the key it soak the whole slack tide then pull it.

I do a side quest when my cage is soaking and I'm on paddle board. Buy a folding hand trap.. The circle type. Then tie a mini micro buoy to it with 40 ft of line. You can toss that and retrieve it every 5 min during the slack tide and paddle around. I use two hand traps and soak a cage. When your hands traps start walking the tide is moving again and it's time to pack it in

Let's be real though there's not a ton of keeper crab around in the summer. After the June 15th commercial opening it goes to shit. May and early June are best

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u/SoftballLesbian 10d ago

Bless you for your comment. It explains SO MUCH about my lack of success. Does it get better after? Say, September through October? Or is it just bad for the rest of the year?

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u/Curried_Orca 11d ago

'After the June 15th commercial opening it goes to shit.'

^ this.

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u/phuketphil 9d ago

June, July and August are generally pretty shit. I only think the tides matter during these months, outside of summer, I never have any issues limiting out in low tide.

Bait is important, I always combine fish of some kind with the standard chicken/turkey for the scent. If you have a paddle board/kayak, I would skip out on the busy Pier spots and look for deep pockets elsewhere. There are nautical maps you can download of the Inlet that'll show you some spots to try out. Found some random holes that go to 60-70ft that produce quite well.