The Puget Sound 2025 Summer Crabbing Season kicks off on July 3rd

The 2025 crabbing season has been announced, and it's time to start preparing for a full summer of Puget Sound crabbing. The ever-so-popular Dungeness Crab season kicks off this July, we can’t wait to soak some crab pots and have those epic summer seafood feasts with our friends and family!

We've published this as a quick guide for Puget Sound, Hood Canal, San Juan Islands and Strait of Juan de Fuca season information, including links to each area's official rules & regulations. Also, check out our Crabbing Page for some great gear!

Crabbers measuring a Dungeness Crab to make sure it is big enough to keep. It was!

Puget Sound Crab Season 2025

Central and Northern Puget Sound can offer some great crabbing close to home for many of us. Even areas near our big population centers will kick out some big Dungeness Crab throughout the summer months.

What licenses do we need for Puget Sound Crabbing?

Each person 15 years and older needs a Shellfish License and everyone needs a Puget Sound Crab Endorsement. You can buy the Shellfish License on its own, but it is also part of several package and temporary (1-day, 2-day) licenses. The endorsement will get you a catch record card which is required. WDFW License Types & Fees

When does Puget Sound Crabbing Season begin and end?

Some areas of Puget Sound are open 2 days a week, other areas are open 5 days a week, and some areas a closed. Use the map below to find your area and then follow the season information below.

What kind of crab can we keep?

Crabbing in all the Puget Sound marine areas is open for Dungeness Crab and Red Rock Crab. Dungeness Crab daily limit is 5, males only, and must be at least 6.25" wide. Use a measuring device to make sure you only keep legal crab. Red Rock Crab daily limit is 6, either male or female, and need to be at least 5" wide. All crab retained need to be in hardshell form.

What do we use to catch Puget Sound Crab?

From a boat, the best way to catch crab is to use a trap, pot or ring. If you're fishing from a pier or dock, using a ring or a casting crab trap can be fun and effective. WDFW Crab & Shrimp Gear Rules

Saratoga Passage & Skagit Bay - Marine Area 8-1 Season

Crabbing will be open July 3 to September 1, 5 days a week, Thursdays through Mondays. WDFW Area 8-1 Crab Season

Port Susan & Everett - Marine Area 8-2 Season

Crabbing will be open July 3 to September 1, 5 days a week, Thursdays through Mondays. WDFW Area 8-2 Crab Season

Admiralty Inlet - Marine Area 9 Season

Crabbing will be open July 3 to September 1, 5 days a week, Thursdays through Mondays. WDFW Area 9 Port Gamble/Port Ludlow Crab Season, WDFW Area 9 Admiralty Inlet Crab Season 

Seattle & Bremerton - Marine Area 10 Season

Crabbing will be open July 6 to September 1, 2 days a week, Sundays and Mondays. WDFW Area 10 Crab Season

Tacoma & Vashon Island - Marine Area 11 Season

Crabbing will be open July 6 to September 1, 2 days a week, Sundays and Mondays. WDFW Area 11 Crab Season

South Puget Sound - Marine Area 13 Season

No crab season has been announced for Deep South Puget Sound this year, due to lack of abundance. WDFW Area 13 Crab Season

Dungeness Crab are the prized catch in Puget Sound.

Hood Canal Crab Season 2025

The Hood Canal is a great place to soak some crab pots, especially the mid-Canal and the northernmost areas of the Canal. Fair summer weather and calm waters make it a pleasure to head out in the boat most days.

Marine Area 12 Season

North of Ayock Rock, crabbing will be open July 3 to September 1, 5 days a week, Thursdays through Mondays. Closed South of Ayock Rock. WDFW Area 12 North Crab Season, WDFW Area 12 South Crab Season

Crabbing from piers and docks on the Puget Sound can be very productive for those that don't have access to a boat.

San Juan Islands Crab Season 2025

Crabbing around parts of the San Juan Islands gets a little later start than the rest of the Salish Sea, as its northern location sees crab molting finish later in the summer.

San Juan Islands & Bellingham - Marine Area 7 South Season

Crabbing in South San Juan Island and around Bellingham will open July 17 to September 29, 5 days a week, Thursdays through Mondays. WDFW Area 7 South Crab Season

 

Strait of Georgia - Marine Area 7 North Season

Crabbing in the Gulf of Georgia will open later in the summer, once crabbing shell sampling shows that they are mostly in hardshell condition, we expect sometime in mid-August. WDFW Area 7 North Crab Season

Strait of Juan de Fuca Crab Season 2025

Crabbing can be great in Dungeness Bay, Sequim Bay, Discovery Bay, Port Angeles Harbor and around the Eastern Straits.

East Strait of Juan de Fuca, Port Angeles, Sequim - Marine Area 6 Season

Crabbing will be open July 3 to September 1, 5 days a week, Thursdays through Mondays. WDFW Area 6 Crab Season

Crabbing with an inexpensive collapsible trap can get the job done.

Our Hot Takes on Puget Sound Crabbing

The best areas to find Dungeness Crab in Puget Sound are gradual drop-offs and flat areas with a sandy and gravelly bottom. Every corner of the Salish Sea has plenty of these areas. If you drop a pot and find more Red Rock Crab, you’re probably crabbing over hardpan or rock, and should move your crab pots to greener pastures.

We’ve found that the best depth to drop crab pots in most areas are 50’ to 100’. There have been times where we’ve had great success shallow, and even in deeper waters. If you’re crabbing deeper than 100’, you’re probably contending with stronger currents and will need to weight your pot accordingly.

Hot Take on Bait: the fresher the bait the better. If you know a fisherman, ask for the fish carcasses from his catch and freeze them for later. If you need to find crab bait at a grocery store, any of the value packs of chicken or turkey legs can be a great choice. We never skimp on the quantity either!

Measure twice on those squeakers! Use a Crab Measurement Device to guarantee you only keep legal males over 6-1/4”. If they are so close that they barely fit inside the device, it’s not legal. Stay out of trouble!

Mark your catch on your Puget Sound Crab Endorsement Card as soon as you finish your pull. Enforcement wants to see everything recorded as you go, not at the end of your day.