Winter Crabbing in Puget Sound

Squeezed in between two “atmospheric rivers” was a very placid autumn Saturday perfect for crabbing. I enlisted the help of my longtime friend Tatyana. She’s a huge crab aficionado, but has had poor results crabbing from piers. She was excited to try it from a boat. We had four pots between us. Look at what we found when we pulled our very first pot, which had only been soaking for half an hour!

We set two pots near Mukilteo, then decided to try our luck off Hat Island. We drove up there, set two more and then waited. Tatyana is always prepared with food, so she whipped out a snack of sausage, rye bread, and tomatoes. We drifted while we noshed, taking in the calm, peaceful scenery. Glacier Peak and other mountains were clearly visible in the distance, and patchy fog clouds closer in. I was shivering a little but happy. After little more than half an hour, we pulled our first pot, and were shocked at our bounty. Strangely, each one we pulled after that had less and less. The first one we set near Mukilteo was empty. Nevertheless, it was a good haul. We brought home seven total, more than enough to keep us both fed for a while. Honestly, if we had caught more we would have had trouble fitting them in the cooler.

After months of agonizing over my boat decision, I’m really happy now with my choice. My Whaler is just perfect for this type of use. It feels comfortable despite being small. The split bow rail and handy cleat make it easy to pull crab pots from the bow. There’s enough room to store pots and necessities (barely). You can walk all the way around the helm. It’s fast, nimble, and easy to drive, and also easy to tow. I was really afraid I’d only be able to use my boat in warmer months, so it felt very rewarding to learn that with careful planning and proper clothing I can boat anytime. This is probably a wrap for this year though. Let’s see what adventures next year will bring!