How to catch dungeness crabs

Since it's illegal to catch Dungeness crabs inside the San Francisco bay, I'm going to Baker Beach on the west side of San Francisco. Check your local fishing regulations since the rules vary.

Get to the beach early in the morning. I arrived at 6:30am.

Start assembling your fishing rod. There are different methods used to catch crabs. We are fishing from the shore so we'll be using a rod but a net can be used when fishing from a pier.

We need to prepare our bait box. This box is used to protect your bait from the crab and has rings to catch it. This particular box has weights attached that help it stay on the ocean floor.

Close and fasten the bait box. Feel free to use zip ties to keep the bait box shut. Crabs and other ocean wildlife will try to get inside your bait box so it's best not to take any chances here.

Reel in any excess fishing line with just enough slack to let the bait box swing freely and start heading towards the water.

After 5-10 minutes, quickly reel in your bait box and if you're lucky you'll have a crab as well!