Dungeness Crabbing in Sidney, BC

Dungeness crab sit on the sand and mud bottoms around Sidney, and two spots carry the bulk of the effort here: Patrician Bay and Sidney Spit. Both give you the kind of ground crab work, soft bottom you can set gear on and know it will stay put. You already run this water for salmon and bottomfish, so the run out is nothing new. What changes is how you read the tide, because crabbing rewards the hours most people skip.

Current runs the show. You want dead slack up to about 2 knots, which means the window either side of high or low water. Past that, your gear starts to drag and your line angles off, and by roughly 4.5 knots the spot is unfishable. Set your soak so the haul lands inside that window rather than fighting the flood.

Crab trapping is the main method. Bait with fish carcasses, chicken, herring or clams, drop over sand and mud in 40 to 100 feet, and let the trap soak before you haul. Patrician Bay and Sidney Spit both hold that depth range within a short run. Ring netting supports it in the shallower flats under 60 feet, where collapsible rings go down on the same baits, fish carcasses, herring or chicken, and get checked often while crab are still working the bait. Short sets, frequent lifts, and you cover ground fast.