Freediving Crab - Vancouver area

colton · Sep 22, 2014

Hi there! I am looking to free dive for dungeness crab in November off the Vancouver coast somewhere. Does anyone have any good recommendations where to go to try this?

Any other general tips for crab picking by hand?

I'm not sure what to expect. I've seen lots of videos of people free diving in Puget Sound and the water is loaded with big dungies left and right. Seems like it could be fun even if there was only a few!

Thanks!
Colton

/edit Somehow I managed to post this in the U.S. section (I think because I was reading another hand picking thread, but please feel free to leave ANY tips you have for freediving crab!)

LowDrag · Sep 24, 2014

Don't let them grab your fingers!!! It sucks!!!

Eric Sedletzky · Sep 24, 2014

The few times I've dove for dungees it was on scuba. I used to sneak up on them and pin them down to measure them then when I got my bag ready I would let them go and in a snap bring the open bag down over them and let them crawl back into the bag thinking it was a way to get away. Try not to smash the crab between the ocean floor and the wire ring of the game bag opening. Sometimes they would get up and run, and I mean run almost faster than I could sprint underwater with jet fins on.
Freediving might be a challenge, but I would probably use the same technique. Trying to handle them to get them into a bag would be near impossible since they would be locking onto anything to fight you and get away. On land you can hold them by a back leg and they can't get you, but underwater there is no safe way to handle them without getting nailed. I know a commercial crab guy who got one of his finger joints separated by an angry Dungeness crab. Rock crabs are even worse since they have huge claws and an attitude, we call those "Popeye's". I've had many metal bait canisters pryed open and destroyed by Popeye's.

colton · Sep 26, 2014

Eric Sedletzky:
The few times I've dove for dungees it was on scuba. I used to sneak up on them and pin them down to measure them then when I got my bag ready I would let them go and in a snap bring the open bag down over them and let them crawl back into the bag thinking it was a way to get away. Try not to smash the crab between the ocean floor and the wire ring of the game bag opening. Sometimes they would get up and run, and I mean run almost faster than I could sprint underwater with jet fins on.
Freediving might be a challenge, but I would probably use the same technique. Trying to handle them to get them into a bag would be near impossible since they would be locking onto anything to fight you and get away. On land you can hold them by a back leg and they can't get you, but underwater there is no safe way to handle them without getting nailed. I know a commercial crab guy who got one of his finger joints separated by an angry Dungeness crab. Rock crabs are even worse since they have huge claws and an attitude, we call those "Popeye's". I've had many metal bait canisters pryed open and destroyed by Popeye's.

Thanks for all the good info! I wouldn't have guessed they could run so fast. I've seen in the video's they can certainly move.. but maybe the water is distorting their true speed! I'll have to be extra careful of those popeye's.

Freediving Crab - Vancouver area

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