Puget Sound Crab Season 2021

The 2021 Puget Sound Crab season has been announced! Here are some things you need to know to have a great crab season in the Puget Sound in 2020.

2021 Puget Sound Crab Season Announced by WDFW

We are only a few weeks away from the July 1st Puget Sound Crab Openers in several of the marine areas, so it’s awesome to see this news released. Dropping crab pots in the Puget Sound from boats or piers is one of the best things about summers in the PNW.

I especially love it when you can drop your pots at the beginning of a day fishing for salmon and then come back and pick up a few keeper crab to add to your total for the day.

Check out this link for how to crab the Puget Sound.

Marine Areas 4 (Neah Bay east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line), 5 (Sekiu), 6 (East Juan de Fuca Strait), 8-1 (Deception Pass), 8-2 (Port Susan/Everett), and 9 (Port Gamble and Admiralty Inlet):

Open July 1 – Sept. 6, Thursdays – Mondays.

Some of the best crabbing opportunities anywhere in Puget Sound will be in that 8-1 and 8-2 area. Why is that? Because freshwater influx drives a lot of the Dungeness crab reproductive productivity. Additionally, over 80% of the freshwater dumping into the Puget Sound comes from the Skagit and Skykomish river.

Any sandy flats between 50-80 ft are going to have crab on the opener, but don’t neglect to drop pots deeper on longer soaks either. If I lived in the north sound (and wasn’t going to be in Sekiu on Jul 1), I would be hitting this crab opener…hard.

Speaking of MA4 and 5, I plan to find the crab while I’m out there…there aren’t many places to crab productively and nothing is really published on it. MA6 around Port Angeles is usually where I get my OP Crab fix. I will have to figure something out!

Marine Area 7 South (San Juan Islands/Bellingham):

Open July 15 – Sept. 30, Thursdays-Mondays.

There are so many places to crab around the San Juans and North Sound, again because of that wonderful influx of fresh water from the Skagit. MA7 usually has to wait just a bit longer due to higher numbers of soft-shelled crabs.

Marine Area 7 North (Gulf of Georgia):

Open Aug. 19 – Sept. 30, Thursdays – Mondays.

Marine Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton):

Open July 11 – Sept. 6. Sundays/Mondays only.

I know, it’s painful Seattle crabbers, to have to wait until July 11th, and only getting to drop pots on Sunday / Monday. Maybe head north to MA9 or 8-2 for that July 1st opener?

Marine Area 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island):

Open July 11 – August 30. Sundays/Mondays only.

I’m just grateful we’ve got our local crabbing opportunity back again. It’s true there will be a lot of empty pots around Tacoma and people disappointed with the lack of Dungeness crab, but there are plenty of places to pick up huge red rock crabs and keeper Dungeness. You may have to go deeper and with longer soaks, but you can get it done, no doubt.

Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal) north of a line projected true east from Ayock Point:

Open July 1 – Sept. 6, Thursdays-Mondays.

Hood Canal is an hour+ drive away, but it’s still my favorite place to crab. Just beautiful scenery and lots of success in some reliable locations. There are a lot of freshwater influx areas (river mouths) to drop pots around and have early success. Later in that week though it will slow down and get tougher. This is where having great bait, longer soaks and deeper water comes into play.

Am I repeating myself? You get the idea.

Let’s take a quick look at July 1st and July 11th Tides

These tides look pretty phenomenal to have a crab opener. Just enough water movement to get your scent trail going, but not enough to keep the Dungeness crab from moving about freely into your pots. Dope.

And these tides on the other hand are kind of yikes… Huge ebb tide water movement with a low of minus 2! I’m not saying don’t go, but certainly know that you may need to be back on the launch by 9:30 / 10 am ish on the 11th or plan to be on the water until about dinner time (I like to eat dinner a bit early)

Happy crabbing and good luck this Puget Sound crabbing season!