Crabbing is a lot of fun and an inexpensive and rewarding way for the whole family to get out and enjoy a day on the water with the added reward of catching a great meal!
This article focuses on crab fishing for Dungeness crab but could be applied to harvest other types of crab, make sure you check your local regulations before heading to the water.
Dungeness Crab are found in the Pacific Ocean, its river estuaries, and bays. They inhabit the ocean and bays from as far south as Santa Barbara, California all the way north to the Pribilof Islands in Alaska, and every bay and river entrance in between.
This large population and wide distribution makes them a very popular target for recreational crabbers as well as an important economic resource for commercial crabbers and coastal communities.
Lake Merwin Reservoir is part of the Lewis River drainage and can be accessed via Hwy 503 that runs through Woodland, WA.
Lake Merwin has two access points for boaters, Speelyai Bay and Cresap Bay. Speelyai Bay is the first boat launch that you come to as you drive up Highway 503.
Catching Kokanee on Lake Merwin is a lot of fun and the average size Kokanee is 13″ to 15″ which makes them substantially larger then those found in Yale Reservoir (the next reservoir up Hwy 503).
Having a fish finder is critical to catching limits of Kokanee. A good fish finder allows you to locate the depth that the schools of Kokanee are running.
Once you know the depth, then the best way to target Kokanee when trolling is via a downrigger.
Husband & wife team, Kevin Newell and Lacey DeWeert make up Total Fisherman!