Kayak Crabbing with Friends!

I have been wanting to get out crabbing since before returning to the PNW in 2024—I love crab! When I overheard fellow theater volunteers discussing crabbing adventures, I rushed over to learn more. One had just returned from hand crabbing at a nearby beach (still on my to-do list). The other was telling of a kayak crabbing adventure on the Hood Canal. An online search revealed a highly-rated outfitter in Brinnon, WA, that offered this adventure as a package with tandem kayak and crab pot (Hood Canal Adventures). I reached out to my good friend Nicole Leggiere to see if she'd join me—she said ‘yes!’ Days later we were both standing on the shore of the Hood Canal as the owner Christina Maloney talked us through the finer points of crabbing and navigating the shoreline. The weather had turned grey and chilly, but Nicole and I were in high spirits as we paddled off to drop our pot and then explore the shoreline by kayak.

We were encouraged to drop the crab pot a relatively short distance from shore to ensure we could find it again and that it would be out of the way of motor vehicles. As the person sitting in the rear of the kayak, Nicole was responsible for dropping the pot in and its eventual collection. I was responsible for leaning the opposite direction while she did this to properly distribute our weight. The kayak rental was for six hours, so we set off paddling north along the shore to explore and find a beach where we could enjoy the picnic lunch Nicole had thoughtfully packed. It’s worth noting that a significant portion of the shoreline is owned by individual property owners who are not keen on trespassers. Public beach identification was part of the pre-paddle discussion.

Once we found the beach we'd been looking for, we enjoyed a nice swim and picnic. The water in the Hood Canal is warm for this area and good for swimming!

Returning to the crab pot was work with arms weary from paddling the current and a growing need to use the bathroom. The site has only two port-a-potties that had no toilet paper and needed cleaning (as port-a-potties so often do!), so there was dread about that situation (NOTE: recommendations included in the post below!).

When we found our pot’s buoy, Nicole heaved it into the kayak and several small crabs immediately escaped and began exploring their new environment. Nicole tried to reach them when her paddle which only seemed (to me, at least) to be pushing them toward me. This led to me worrying the kayak to near-tipping in an attempt to get away from them. I will excuse my irrational behavior with the excuse of 'physical exhaustion'. I would warn that this is an adventure to take with a friend who knows you well and will still like you when you’re tired!

10/10 recommend—but go prepared! Read the post below and do your own research before heading out on this one.