Crabbing Sooke basin advice?

Tips Up

Well-Known Member
Anyone have some tips for crabbing Sooke basin?

Hit and miss for me in the past between Sooke harbour marina and whiffin. Tried further down by sunny shores and getting lots of females but no keepers.

Thanks
Tips
 
Was out there crabbing yesterday. It was sort of hit and miss but not too bad. Soaked 2 pots for 2 hours in the afternoon near Whiffen in 25 feet of water. Salmon head for bait. One trap had about 10 in it with 4 nice male keepers! The other one had more than 20, but all undersized or female! Hit and miss. As for tips, I find salmon heads are best. Anywhere near the other crab floats near Whiffen seems like a good spot. I'm relatively new at it, but so far so good.
 
I was there on the dock crabbing with few others once in a while..yes, there are lots of female crabs that are released. harder to find male crabs...one or two guys are lucky to wait much longer for numerous crabs to come into their traps...release as many as female crabs, picked up only one or two very large male crabs. I see that often.
 
Just for some stats, I've counted on my last 4 crabbing outings to the Sooke dock. 242 crab caught, 2 legal male keepers.
 
I usually wade for them bare handed at low tide. Some area's are covered with females or small ones. Almost like nurseries. The big males suddenly just pop up, from their digs, just as the flood starts. Usually off in an areaon there own. They seem to prefer a more muddy, not firm sand bottom in spots more sheltered from tidal flow.
Unfortunatey the area's getting pounded this summer. Every very low tide there's an army out there utilizing rakes (illegal) and other hard implements, damaging not only soft shell crabs, but also the eel grass beds that so much marine life depends on.
 
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