More About Crabbing

Just a few things that we have overheard/observed/learned from other people:

• salmon heads/trimmings work really well, except that this bait is quite pricey
• crabs seem to like Sockeye, just like we do
• Dungeness crabs like sandy areas while Red Rocks like rocky areas
• the crabs seem to come in before the high tide hours (seems to make sense, because they'd be swept in with the waves?)
• tide times for Belcarra are similar to the Deep Cove ones
• people have been more successful in catching males in May-June
• people have been more successful in catching crabs on cloudy/rainy days

Crabbing & fishing in Belcarra & Barnet

After two days of randomly asking co-workers for fun things to do around B.C. on this long Canada Day weekend, Mr. Lilasaur and I finally decided to go crab fishing on Friday night, and started our research then. 

Prep Work

In Canada, a Recreational Tidal (saltwater) License is required to crab and fish in salt water.  Since it's not that expensive, we just bought a 3-Day license for $12.32 each, after tax. Further information regarding licensing can be obtained here: DFO, Recreational Licensing. Remember to have the license with you at all times, and remember to sign. There are two main types of crabs that one can catch in B.C., the Dungeness and Red Rock. The legal size for male Dungeness is 165 mm while for Red Rock it is 115 mm. It is illegal to catch females for re-population purposes. Maximum is 4 per person. For pictures of the crabs and information on how to sex the crabs, refer to this official guide: DFO Crab Pamphlet. We heard the fine for crabbing without a license is $300, the seizure of all the crabbing equipment, and the crabs.