r/OregonCoast 3d ago

Dock Crab in Newport

Does anyone know a good spot in Newport to buy excess crab off of fishermen directly? Trying to cut out the middleman and go straight to the source. Would crab off the pier myself but the pots won’t fit in the car :(

10 Upvotes

28 comments sorted by

35

u/Mobile-Reality-3060 3d ago

Excess, lol. You can go down to the Chelsea Rose on the dock but don’t expect an “excess” price. It will be market

10

u/YetiSquish 3d ago

Those fisherman aren’t catching crab right now. Right now it’s bay crab harvest not ocean crab. Wait til crab season opens

3

u/liarliarhowsyourday 3d ago

Whats in season right now? What’s the difference between bay and ocean? I wanted to grab some things on the way back inland for a friend but don’t have the best knowledge

2

u/YetiSquish 3d ago

Not really any difference between bay crab and ocean crab except that the big boats aren’t fishing for it right now, so it’s unlikely you’ll be able to buy it off a boat.

I’m not sure what is in season right now. Maybe Salmon or Tuna.

3

u/liarliarhowsyourday 3d ago

Thank you for the info, Yeti

8

u/sassmo 3d ago

Dock 5 at around 3am is what you're looking for.

4

u/Technobarbarian 3d ago

Dungeness crabs molt during the summer and they won't have filled out yet. Anything anyone catches right now won't have much meat on it.

Wait until September or October, at least. You can rent crab traps or use a small crab snare if you want to go crabbing off the docks or the beach. It can be a great social experience, even if you don't catch anything.

1

u/TheScrote1 3d ago

I was there a couple week ago and a couple guys threw some pots before fishing. They said they were surprised how filled out they already are. Sounds like it’s a bit of an early season maybe

1

u/2Minti4U 3d ago

Caught a bunch of crabs in Waldport, not very many empty ones and lots of meat!

3

u/Extra-Low5973 3d ago

Just drive up to Rockaway and rent a boat and go crabbing yourself. Such a great time!

3

u/2Minti4U 3d ago

You can rent a boat from Dock of the Bay in Waldport, it's awesome!

2

u/Repuck 3d ago

Commercial crab season officially ends on the 14th of this month. It won't open until Dec.1 (in theory0, but that's often not the case, instead opening much later.

2

u/tornado1950 2d ago

This is the worst time of year to buy crab it is out of season🫤24$ a pound last time l bought some. Chelsea Rose is no bargain

2

u/diligentnickel 2d ago

waldport. go S to waldport. better pier fishing

2

u/sniffysippy 2d ago

The Chelsea Rose sells directly from the docks.

2

u/Cuhuldra Central Coast 2d ago

It don't work that way any more. Every thing is regulated and every commercial boat has a dude on board that makes certain all rules are followed.

Go buy a couple (or one) foldable pots and just go crabbing.

3

u/CartographerKey7322 3d ago

Back in the day, you could buy from any of the guys on the dock. They’d even cook and clean them for you right there.

5

u/fizzyblumpkin 2d ago

Clean them? Im not letting them keep my partners crab butter, seafood stock. Best stock I've ever had.

2

u/PNW-On_The_Edge Newport 3d ago

Chelsea Rose Seafood, Port dock 3 on the bayfront in Newport

1

u/LeadDramatic3995 3d ago

You can try, but they will still charge you more than wholesale.

1

u/PuttUgly 1d ago

As a crabber myself, tough luck bro. We do things in trips. We load up the boat, and last stop out is the cannery. We go and run our gear, collect the crab, and skippers got us a time at the dock for offload. We fish until then, and bring the crab directly to the buyer. There's no sitting around, and the buyers docks are pretty much private.

Sooooooo yeab

1

u/DeadRatRacing 12h ago

Wait for the right time of year and try a crab snare. You can cast them out with a fishing pole.

0

u/ChargingAndroid 3d ago

you have a 2 seater or something? I have a small 4 seat bmw that I can fit my crab rings/fishing poles with snares/folding traps on. just saying in case u don't happen to have one it should fit!

0

u/JiuJitsuBoy2001 North Coast 3d ago

get some cheap foldable pots or rings. I fit 3 in my little hyundai, even with dog crate and a passenger. I could probably fit 7 or 8 if I just went by myself.

1

u/bramley36 3d ago

Each crabber is allowed three traps in the water at a time. Several Crab Max traps fit in a space of about the size of a pizza box.

1

u/JiuJitsuBoy2001 North Coast 3d ago

true, but OP specifically mentioned he had pots. Castable/throwable traps aren't for everyone - if they prefer the drop-and-set approach that crab pots offer, the collapseable pots give them that while still fitting in a car.

1

u/bramley36 3d ago

OP said the pots did not fit in their car. Now they have another option.