crabbing near Williamsburg

janna1 · Jun 11, 2008

Will have trip to Williamsburg in late Auguest. My kid is looking forward to catch some MD blue crabs. Is any good places for crabbing in the area (hoping with maximum of 1 or 1 1/2 hour driving ) ? Any one knows the area well and can give me some advice?

Thanks in advance.

Jeni · Jun 11, 2008

Come on down to Yorktown! You can crab in the creeks on the Colonial Parkway, from some of the secluded beach spots, as well as from the pier. Our toddler loves to do this. We tie some chicken pieces to the bottom of a trap and away we go. We don't eat any of them, but return them to the water. I'm sure there are posters who would say it's perfectly safe to eat, but I go back to my question of do you really want to eat something that comes out of a river with an oil refinery, weapons station, and the CIA?

You may also be able to crab from some spots in Wbg along the James and the Chickahominy, but I'm not sure where.

Jeni

london · Jun 11, 2008

Yorktown Pier

Go to the Yorktown waterfront and you can crab from the pier. We did this several years ago with our grandaughter.

There is a small beach and a couple restaurants as well. There is a big parking lot also.

Colonial Parkway runs into area.

Big Matt · Jun 11, 2008

I agree with both posters. Any Colonial Parkway pull off along the York River or any of its tributaries or marshes will get you some crabs. You can also go up the other direction towards York River State Park on York River Park road, Croaker Landing Road, or Sycamore Landing Road.

Have fun.

janna1 · Jun 11, 2008

Thank you for suggestions.

We will go to Yorktown to try our luck. Although the main purpose is for fun, we sure want to tast some if they are eatable. Are they really get polluted?

How about those blue crabs from the local seafood market? Are they come from the same area? Are those ok to eat too? Thanks.

Timeshare Von · Jun 11, 2008

Chesapeake Bay blue crabs are wonderful!!

Big Matt · Jun 12, 2008

The York River isn't polluted the last time I checked. It's actually an estuary that flows in and out of the Chesapeake Bay. The river is the confulence of two rivers that meet in West Point, Virginia. The two rivers, the Pamunkey and Mataponi are named for local Indian tribes. The closer you get to the mouth, the more salty the water gets due to the tides.

Miss Marty · Jun 12, 2008

York River State Park in Virginia

Eleven miles west of Williamsburg, York River State Park offers visitors
an opportunity to experience the environment of a coastal estuary.

The York River, where catfish, spot, croaker, striper and crabs are plentiful, is accessed at Croaker Landing. The landing has a boat launch dock, a 360-foot fishing pier, parking and restrooms.
The pier is licensed so those fishing on the pier need no salt-water license. Those fishing from boats and the shore, however, must have a Virginia saltwater fishing license.

You can buy an annual pass for parking, boat launching and pier fishing at the park or by calling 1-800-933-PARK. Parking and launch-fishing pier fees are required at all times.

From I-64, take the Croaker Exit 231B. Go north on Route 607 (Croaker Rd.) for one mile, then right on Route 606 (Riverview Rd.) about one and a half miles to the park entrance. Take a left turn into the park.

pedro47 · Jun 12, 2008

Marty Giggard said:
Eleven miles west of Williamsburg, York River State Park offers visitors
an opportunity to experience the environment of a coastal estuary.

The York River, where catfish, spot, croaker, striper and crabs are plentiful, is accessed at Croaker Landing. The landing has a boat launch dock, a 360-foot fishing pier, parking and restrooms.
The pier is licensed so those fishing on the pier need no salt-water license. Those fishing from boats and the shore, however, must have a Virginia saltwater fishing license.

You can buy an annual pass for parking, boat launching and pier fishing at the park or by calling 1-800-933-PARK. Parking and launch-fishing pier fees are required at all times.

From I-64, take the Croaker Exit 231B. Go north on Route 607 (Croaker Rd.) for one mile, then right on Route 606 (Riverview Rd.) about one and a half miles to the park entrance. Take a left turn into the park.

Please note you must have a fishing license to fish in Virginia waters or you may get a ticket.

Jeni · Jun 12, 2008

Big Matt said:
The York River isn't polluted the last time I checked. It's actually an estuary that flows in and out of the Chesapeake Bay. The river is the confulence of two rivers that meet in West Point, Virginia. The two rivers, the Pamunkey and Mataponi are named for local Indian tribes. The closer you get to the mouth, the more salty the water gets due to the tides.

Yes, the York is known as a clean river, but they did recently have a scare with polluted/contaminated oysters coming out of Queen's Creek. You'd probably be perfectly fine to eat the crabs. I was just saying that I am not comfortable eating something from this location. The Naval Weapons Station has contamination issues and is required to conduct studies on impact on the York. The '06 study found elevated levels of PCBs, arsenic, lead, and mercury "were above health based screening values" http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/PHA/Na...Town/NavalWeaponsStationYorkTownPHA052506.pdf p. 31

Jeni

janna1 · Jun 12, 2008

Oh yes,fishing license!

Where can I obtain one? Does kid (age 5-7) need one too? Thanks.

Jeni · Jun 13, 2008

janna1 said:
Oh yes,fishing license!

Where can I obtain one? Does kid (age 5-7) need one too? Thanks.

You can order online, or purchase at the locations listed: http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/licenses/

Non-resident children under 12 do not need a license, and resident children under 16 are exempt.

If you want to know all of the regulations, they are here: http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/downloads/2008-fishing-regulations.pdf

You do not need a license to recreationally crab: http://www.mrc.state.va.us/regulations/recfish&crabrules.shtm

Jeni

janna1 · Jun 13, 2008

Jeni said:
You can order online, or purchase at the locations listed: http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/licenses/

Non-resident children under 12 do not need a license, and resident children under 16 are exempt.

If you want to know all of the regulations, they are here: http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/downloads/2008-fishing-regulations.pdf

You do not need a license to recreationally crab: http://www.mrc.state.va.us/regulations/recfish&crabrules.shtm

Jeni

Jeni, thanks a lot. Those are very helpful links.

-- Jian

Brett · Jun 14, 2008

pedro47 said:
Please note you must have a fishing license to fish in Virginia waters or you may get a ticket.

I just noticed on the Yorktown fishing pier it says "No fishing license required" so maybe some piers are exempt

crabbing near Williamsburg

janna1

Jeni

london

Big Matt

TUG Review Crew: Veteran

janna1

Timeshare Von

TUG Review Crew: Expert

Big Matt

TUG Review Crew: Veteran

Miss Marty

pedro47

TUG Review Crew: Expert

Jeni

janna1

Jeni

janna1

Brett