If you’re looking for a new family friendly spot for crabbing in the bay area of northern California, then check out my Fort Baker Moore Road Pier Crabbing Review.

Below is a brief video of our crabbing visit:

Note, you’ll want to review the California Department of Fish & Wildlife regulations for all updated rules. If you plan to cook and eat crab you catch, you should first conduct your own research regarding crab consumption guidelines and advisories.

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Location

411 Moore Rd, Sausalito, CA 94965

https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/fort-baker.htm

Per the website above, Fort Baker is a 335 acre former 1905 U.S. Army post located immediately north of the Golden Gate Bridge. It consists of over 25 historic army buildings clustered around a main parade ground, a sheltered harbor protected by a jetty, a number of historic gun emplacements, and trails and forested areas climbing gently up from San Francisco Bay. It states you can go fishing/crabbing on the pier, launch a kayak/sailboat at the boat ramp, take sailing lessons, boat rentals, hiking loop, explore historic buildings, and more.

Admission, Parking & Bathrooms

Note, you’ll want to review the California Department of Fish & Wildlife regulations for all updated rules.

When I visited the pier, there was no admission fee for crabbing on the pier. Unknown if that will change in the future. You can visit the website above to check on status.

There are limited parking spaces at the pier entry point. I noticed people also parked their cars along the road too. Bathrooms consisted of some portable bathrooms, they were pretty bad. Be sure to bring toilet paper and lots of toilet seat covers. We brought toilet seat covers, our Reliance Products Fold-to-Go Collapsible Portable Toilet and Reliance Double Doodie Toilet Waste Bags. See links below:

Toilet Seat Covers Disposable – https://amzn.to/3jULpo1

Reliance Products Fold-to-Go Collapsible Portable Toilet – https://amzn.to/3jVhGLZ

Reliance Double Doodie Toilet Waste Bag 6 Pack – https://amzn.to/3qsSxdZ

WolfWise Pop Up Privacy Tent – https://amzn.to/2ZAI6JD

Bait & Equipment

We used a crab net and crab snare. We have young kids and the crab snare rig (fishing pole and snare) is too complicated for them, but I think it is the most effective way to catch crabs.

The crab net is much more kid friendly because all you do is toss the net into the water from the pier, wait, then pull it up. Kids were always asking me and my wife “Can I pull up the net?” Note, there is downtime between pulling up the crab net. Our kids were either chasing the sea gulls that were on the pier, eating snacks, or looking at the crabs we caught.

For me, crab snares are a superior tool for crabbing on the pier or on the beach because you can place the snare where you want in the water by casting it close or far away. When you are using the crab rings, your only option is to drop it straight down off the pier. Also, in my opinion it is easier and cleaner to transport a fishing pole and crab snare versus crab ring. But, again I’ll always use a crab ring until my kids are able to handle a crab snare rig (pole and snare).

Below is a link to buy the crab ring and bait cage I use. The crab ring I received came with the crab ring, harness (rope that attaches to the large ring) and rope (attaches to the harness). Be sure you check the knots when you get your crab ring to make sure they are secure so you don’t lose your crab ring in the ocean.

Note, when I took the picture above, I didn’t have the crab bait cage, so I used some of my old crab snares. A bait cage is better because you can put more bait in it so you can attract more crabs. Note, you’ll always want to tie down your bait cage with wire or zip ties because seals or sea lions will steal your bait otherwise.

Promar 32-Inch Lobster and Crab Net – https://amzn.to/3asvBWo

Promar Wire Bait Cage – https://amzn.to/3bgagi6

Cable Zip Ties – https://amzn.to/3u1QIXw

As for crab bait, my wife likes to use many different types of bait at the same time. She likes the following types of bait:

• Chicken
• Fish heads from grocery store and/or sardines
• Chicken liver
• Shrimp
• Squid

If you’re new to crabbing, check out my Surf crabbing with crab snares for beginners article for all of the crabbing and other equipment I like to use when I go crabbing with my family.

My Thoughts & Tips

I really like Fort Baker Moore Road Pier for crabbing because it isn’t to far from where I live and it was easy to catch crabs. It is a family friendly activity that both young and older kids will enjoy.

We arrived at 8 am on a Sunday and there were some people at the pier, but it wasn’t too crowded. But, when we left around 11 am, it was really busy. So, get there early. Note, the guard rail on the pier is wobbly in spots.

We caught mostly brown rock crabs. It was my first time catching and eating brown rock crabs, they were tasty and sweet. The crab shell was easy to remove, but the only drawback was there was not as much meat in the brown rock crab as compared to other types of crabs we’ve had. If you plan to cook and eat crab you catch, you should first conduct your own research regarding crab consumption guidelines and advisories.

If you’d like more in depth information about crabbing, such as best places to go crabbing, best time in the day to go crabbing, and more, then visit my other blog: How to Go Crabbing https://www.howtogocrabbing.com/.

I hope you enjoyed my real life Fort Baker Moore Road Pier Crabbing Review. Happy crabbing!