Where to Crab
Now that you have learned the ways to catch crabs, bought
                    all the necessary equipment and learned a few things about crabs
                    (just to impress people with your knowledge), you think that you
                    are ready to go crabbing. You then drag all of your equipment
                    out the door and a delicious image of a cooked crab appear in
                    your brain. Then you suddenly realized something is missing. You
                      have no idea where to go!
                    An important element in the activity of crab catching
                  is knowing where to catch crabs. This knowledge will directly
                  affect the number and quality of crabs you can catch. Crabs are
                  pretty common in the Lower Mainland but they are not everywhere.
                
Locations for Crabbing
                  -Ambleside Park, West Vancouver
                  -Belcarra Regional Park 
                  -Sidney, Vancouver Island
                
Locations for Crabbing
| Places where
                          you won't find crabs | |
|  |  | 
| A toilet  | A manhole | 
You will not catch any crabs if you go into the sewer (you'll
                  get rats and cockroaches) or the toilet (assuming that you actually
                  fit into the thing). There are places that always have crabs,
                  but you would have to pay for them. Commercially caught crabs
                  that are sold in stores are usually of a higher quality than the
                  crabs you catch, but they are expensive. It is more fun, and maybe
                  cheaper to catch your own crabs.
                  The places you should go to catch live crabs are the places they
                  live. If you read my Types of
                    Crabs page, you know that Dungeness
                    crabs and red rock crabs live
                  in bays and estuaries (where the tide meets the river). You know
                  that you have come to the right place if you see a red-bordered
                  sign with black text and pictures of crabs. The sign doesn't guarantee
                  that you will catch anything, but it indicates that the place
                  you are at is a good place to catch crabs.
|  | 
| This is the sign you will see at
                          a crabbing spot. | 
Another type of signs you should watch for is a sign that says
                  "Closure". If you see a "closure" sign,
                  you are out of luck because you can't catch crabs there. To prevent
                  from going to a location to find out you can't do anything there,
                  visit
                    the DFO's notices list before you go on a crabbing trip. Another
                  webpage to visit is the DFO's
                    Shellfish Opportunities page, which contains lots of useful
                  info including notices regarding crabs and other shellfish.
                  
                  I have went on crabbing trips a number of times. I mostly went
                  to White Rock and a place in Belcarra Regional Park (north of
                  Port Moody). I recommend going to the place in Belcarra because
                  I have caught more crabs there. That place is one of the few places
                  I know of that has red rock crabs.
                  If you go to White Rock, you are more likely to catch only Dungeness
                    crabs. The environment at Belcarra is also nicer. There is
                  a picnic area nearby for you to relax while you are there so you
                  don't have to wait on the dock. Some of my relatives also had
                  success at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, though I've never
                  been there myself. So here's some more detail regarding the crabbing
                  locations I've or my relatives have been to.
                  
                  
                
Ambleside Park, West Vancouver

The waterfront Ambleside Park is located in the city of West Vancouver, and is easily accessible via Marine Drive. From the park you can get nice views of Stanley Park, the Lions Gate Bridge, and various activities going on over the water. Ambleside Park also features grassy playing fields, a nice beach, and most importantly a pier for crabbers. From what I've heard, Ambleside Park is a fairly quiet spot that doesn't get nearly as crowded as Belcarra. The catches are pretty decent too, with more Dungeness crabs than red rock crabs (at least according to my crabbing log).
Belcarra Regional Park

Belcarra Regional Park is located north of Port Moody and by
                  the water at the mouth of Indian Arm. There is public transit
                  to the crabbing area via the C26 community shuttle from Port Moody's
                  city centre. Most of the crabbing from shore takes place on the
                  floating dock in the picture, which has crab measuring brackets
                  built-in. The area surrounding the dock features a nice picnic
                  area, a small beach, food and washroom facilities, and even a
                  kayak rental place, so there are a lot of things to do other than
                  crabbing. You can also just sit back and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
                  You can catch both Dungeness and red rock crabs at Belcarra, although
                  red rocks seem to be more numerous. With some skill and a bit
                  of luck, it's possible to catch quite a few crabs from Belcarra
                  in one trip. You can scoot over to my crabbing
                    log for some numbers. Belcarra tends to be a little crowded
                  on weekends and holidays (with good weather), but not many show
                  up on usual weekdays. If you want go to Belcarra in the weekend,
                  make sure to arrive early to save yourself a nice crabbing and
                  picnic spot. 
Sydney, Vancouver Island

Going outside of the Lower Mainland, Sydney is a little seaside town located on the east side of the
                  Saanich Peninsula on Vancouver Island, approximately 20km north of Victoria.
                  To get to Sidney from the Lower Mainland, you take the ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, and from
                  the terminal
                  take the bus 70, 71, or 73 for about 10 minutes. The seaside and the pier for crabbing is just a 5-10
                  minutes walk from the bus stop.
                  The town itself is quite pretty, and the view by the waters is very nice too. The pier for fishing and
                  crabbing is huge,
                  and it's also not crowded, so you'll probably have plenty of space to work with. 
                  Based on experience, Sydney is one of the best places
                  to catch large red rocks crabs. My family have caught many that were over 14cm across the carapace
                  (legal size is 11.5cm) and even some
                  reaching 16cm! There are Dungeness crabs too but legal sized ones are harder to find. Other than
                  crabbing, the fishing
                  in Sidney is quite decent too, and you may be able to catch some good-sized soles from the pier.
                
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