If you grew up in Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole or another coastal town you are probably familiar with this fun activity. But you may have moved here in your adult life or like me, you may never have had a go at crabbing. So here is where to go crabbing in BCP and how it works.
A very big favourite crabbing spot for the locals is Mudeford Quay, Postcode BH23 4AB. The crabbing can be done alongside the main Mudeford Carpark where there are plenty of safety rails available. These rails are great for anchoring your line and preventing parents from worrying too much about young children. It can get quite busy but if you have slightly older children you could always walk 5 minutes and just sit on the wall.
Poole Quay is also definitely the place to go. Whether you walk or drive there, aim for the little beach by the RNLI Poole Lifeboat Museum, Postcode BH15 1HA.
Hamworthy Beach, Postcode BH15 4DH. We have been told of the brick jetty is a great spot for a little bit of crabbing.
Mudeford Quay Car Park is right on the Quay the perfect place to park and find a crabbing spot nearby.
Poole Quay – You can aim for any of the car parks near Poole Quay, or the car park at Baiter Park and walk there. It isn’t too far, even for small children. However, there are plenty of parking spaces on all the roads nearby, and you can park for FREE for a maximum of 2 hours. You probably won’t need longer than this.
Hamworthy Park has a pay and display car park which has 30 minutes free parking (might not be enough time to catch a couple of crabs!).
What do you need?All you need is:
Mumbler Tip: Raw Bacon works really well the cheaper the better, cut it up at home and store it in a food bag to keep the seagulls away!
Generally the majority of locations that are popular for crabbing in BCP will offer a supply shop to be able to purchase everything you need.
Crabbing is FREE if you have the equipment. We spent about £13 on all the above x 2 children.
The point is to catch a few crabs – alive – and then return them to the water when you are done. This is why you need the bucket.
Fill the buckets with seawater and trap the bait in the metal catch in your net (see photo above).
Then throw the net in the water and wait for the crabs to get in. Then pull the net out of the water and transfer the crabs to your bucket.
Kids get really excited, and they love to count how many they get. Make sure little hands are gentle handling the crabs. After all, they are living creatures.
Beware that crabs can pinch skin really hard, so you may want to supervise small children. However, you are likely to catch mostly little crabs and these aren’t too…pinchy?
If you keep the crabs for a while, make sure to add fresh water to your bucket.
If you don’t catch anything, you may want to try a different spot. But be patient. It’ll pay off in the end.
Once you are done, simply return the crabs gently to the water.
Children are likely to get too close to the water or dip their feet in. Mine, of course, got completely soaked. So I’ll take a change of clothes with me next time.
We went for a walk afterwards and I wished we had sunhats and suncream as the weather was a scorcher. Just keep this in mind during summer.
You are likely to be more successful if you go when fewer people are crabbing at the same time. This will also allow for better social distancing. So I would aim to get there early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
Mumbler Tip: Generally the best time to go crabbing is just before high tide and then up to two hours after high tide. As the water moves faster with the tide, it encourages the crabs to be active and then you should have more luck also the crabs like warm weather so are more likely to be caught when its sunny!
I hope you find this blog useful. Please get in touch here if there’s anything you’d change or add.
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