Where to catch the most crabs in Cornwall

Where to catch the most crabs in Cornwall. The boys love to go crabbing when we are on holiday. In fact, we often go crabbing in West Sussex where we live. We are lucky enough to have a very good location close by. So this can make it more tricky when we go on holiday. As they need it to live up to expectations. So I was very pleased when our last crabbing trip in Cornwall yielded over 60 crabs!

I have already written about Fowey and why I believe it is the best place to go crabbing in Cornwall. Spoiler … it is not just about the crabs! However, if you really want to catch lots and lots of crabs then Looe has got to be your best bet.

We have been fortunate enough to visit a couple of times and on our last trip, we managed over 60 crabs in just under two hours. So Looe for us has got to be the place to catch the most crabs in Cornwall.  

Where to Park in Looe?

Looe is a popular seaside town especially in the Summer months so if you are planning a trip I would suggest trying to get there early. As the car park is large but we still saw people struggling to park mid-afternoon in May half term. Like many of the Cornish seaside towns, the carpark is situated outside of the village itself. But it is only a five-minute walk from the carpark to the harbour. 

Millpool is located in West Looe and the postcode is PL13 2AF. It is very reasonably priced compared to others. You pay on the exit at the pay machine, card payments are available and it is all done by number plate recognition. 

As you walk to the harbour you will pass an inlet with an area that has been man-made. This is the Millpool, if the tide is in then it is also a good option for crabbing. However, we have been most successful when crabbing off of the quayside. But if you are with smaller children then this could be a better option. 

Forgot the crabbing bait?

Thankfully Looe is well known as a crabbing hot spot. For this reason, there are plenty of shops along the riverside selling crabbing stuff. When we visited I forgot to pick up the bacon. So we had no bait. So we were very happy to find that a number of the shops also sold bait. I have always had the best experience with crabbing when used smoked bacon. The crabs love it. Some of the shops sell little bags of bacon for £1. Others have the more traditional dried mackerel. If you want to catch lots of crabs go for the bacon option. 

Where is the best place to crab in Looe?

On a busy day, you will find the long stretch of harbour wall full of people crabbing. As it is so well known there is a crabbing code that the residents of Looe ask you to abide by. In return, the boats that operate trips in and out of the harbour do the same. We found a spot just by where we caught our fishing boat and stopped there.

This is about midway along the wall. We did consider the sea end but when we arrived the tide was on its way out which meant the river was running really quickly. This meant that the nets would be dragged. So by going further down there was slightly less current and by dropping the nets behind a large fishing boat we could get them to go right down. Which means less chance of them snagging. 

As part of the crabbing scheme, the council do ask that you deposit any old nets and lines in the crabbing bins provided. Unfortunately, people are still not doing this so we helped by putting in a couple we found. 

How long do we need to spend crabbing?

I guess it depends on how long you have? There are so many other things to do in Looe. We spent just under two hours over lunchtime as we had other plans for the day. Buying drinks and pasties in the town before settling at the harbour. There are lots of places to pick up food.

In the two hours, we caught around 60 crabs. There may have been a couple more but at 60 it’s 30 apiece and no squabbles between the boys around who caught the most. I also think that the bacon starts to lose its scent once it has been in the water for a while. 

What else is there to do in Looe?

The other good thing about going crabbing in Looe is that there are loads of other things you can do as well. Not only are there lovely little streets to wander around, opportunities for foodie treats and fishing trips. But there is also East Looe beach which is just a short walk away. Meaning you can spend the whole day there if you would like.  I will be writing a post shortly about all the things you can get up to in Looe so make sure you bookmark this page.

I hope you enjoyed this blog pot – Where to catch the most crabs in Cornwall. Have you been crabbing recently? Please share any tips you have in the comments below. 

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