How to Catch and Prepare Crab
hosted by Center for Wooden Boats

All programs at Cama Beach State Park are cancelled until further notice
Summer 2021 schedule:
TBD
Meet in front of the Cama Beach Store
Cama Beach State Park
Please check the "Events Calendar" for last minute updates.
  Saturdays in June & July
Learn how to catch and cook our prized Dungeness crab from our local Center for Wooden Boats experts, then purchase crab bait from the
Cama Beach Store, rent a boat and crab trap from the Boathouse, and put into practice what you just learned.
To crab in Washington State:
  • adults need to have a Shellfish license
    (if you also plan to fish, consider a "combo" license) 
  • youth need to have a 
    Combo Fishing/Shellfish license.

More information related to crabbing:
General Licensing Information: Statewide Gear Rules: Don't Lose Your Pots ... so you can #CatchMoreCrab!
  1. Know if the tide is rising or falling (so you have enough line)
  2. Know the direction of the current (if your pot is swept away – you’ll know which direction to search)
  3. Add weight to your pot (so it is less likely to be swept away by strong currents)
  4. Use longer line (in case your pot is swept to a much deeper location by the current)
  5. Use an additional high visibility buoy (in case your pot moves or if the water gets rough)
  6. Avoid high traffic areas (so your pot isn’t snagged and towed off)
  7. Use weighted line (so it won’t float on the surface and be cut by a propeller) 
  8. Watch you pots (watched pots may never boil, but a watched crab pot never goes missing)
Updated February 15, 2021