Half Moon Bay Crab Boats

This place was a little tricky for us to find without knowing what the address was. On Mother’s day my mom had one request, «Let’s buy crabs.»
Lucky for us, when we arrived in Half Moon Bay ~ everyone knew what we were talking about. The boats line the dock, and everyone is selling them for the same price. I believe it was $ 6.99/lb when we went.
The fisherman don’t only sell crabs though! We picked up some Cod and Sardines/​Mackerel. Also pretty expensive, but they’re fresh!
The crabs are definitely some of the meatiest I’ve ever had. I don’t usually enjoy eating crab because it’s a lot of work to get to the good stuff, but you won’t be disappointed with what you buy from these boats!

Fresh crab anyone? You can even order online beforehand:) remember to bring a cooler and ice to keep the crabs from moving around.

It has been years since I came here to pick up fresh seafood and I was surprised that so few updated review from people for this place…
I bought a fresh wild king salmon here with good price and the freshness of fish is no where to compare… Also first time in my life that I bought fresh sea urchin! I mean live sea urchin so we can get freshest uni… We had them for the dinner as we were camping in half moon bay this Weekend. We steam/​roast the fish on bbq pit and we had fresh uni out from the shell for appetizer!!!
We were able to keep fish fresh and urchin alive till Sunday evening to freeze the rest!
What a great fun experience from this beautiful natural world that God has given us!!!

cheap crab

We went out with my family for our annual Crab feast for Winter Solstice. The crew was knowledgeable, the crabs were of great quality, and we enjoyed a great experience !
There’s also a phone number to call ahead and reserve a crab or to know if the boats have come in yet. Half Moon Bay has a great local economy and they work hard to support their community.

The cricket was where we picked up awesome dungeness crabs. Thry were huge and tasty! They have a website so we called their number and reserved the crabs for the weekend and was able to get a cheaper rate than those who did not reserve. They were very friendly and good with my daughter. It was definitely worth the drive from Daly city. I’ll go back this holiday season!

At Pillar Point during crab season, I like to visit Captain Barry Day of the F/​V Rosella (slip G-​6). Barry Day, Maynard Webb and Darren Virgo appear to be highly experienced boat and Dungeness crab handlers.
He has a new web site at
where you can find out where he is (at sea or at port), read up on the history of his boat and even download some yummy crab recipes and instructions on how to «hypnotize» the crab before cooking.

It was 8 am on Monday and I got nervous after calling the numbers listed here and finding out that the boats were sold out till Wednesday. Calling the harbor was inconclusive as well as the recording hadn’t been updated since Saturday. We took a chance and drove down around noon to see for ourselves and luckily two boats were still selling crabs at 6.99/lb.

My Dad gave me crabs.
I’m sorry.
I had to.
Don’t blame my parents.
I was born sick.
But for real, I came here with my Dad and he bought crabs from the boat I picked out. It’s a pretty legit operation and not nearly as pervy as I’d initially led you to believe.
You come to Pillar Point Harbor, you read the signs reporting which boats have what for their fresh catch, then you walk down the dock to find your boat, identifiable by docking letter/​number and boat name.
Most of the prices on crabs are comparable but the later in the day, the less options you’ll have, obviously. I’d say the going rate around this time is about $ 6 a pound and most crabs are about 2lbs. If you go early or call ahead (if you’re chummy with specific boats) you can reserve the bigger 3lb crabs, which are a better deal as far as meat to shell ratio.
I’m a big fan of Cricket’s Crabby Crabs (formerly known as Bill’s Crabby Crabs) as far as boats go. The prices aren’t any better than the other boats, but the humor you get with your purchase is worth its weight in gold.
What I liked most about the crab boat was as the end of our visit my Dad and I were trying to get a good pic of us holding our crabby crabs and a crab fisherman came by on his way out and asked if he could take the pic for us. He asked where we got our crabs and was just generally super nice (and pretty handsome for a sea man) and even though we didn’t buy from his boat, thanked us for coming out and supporting the local fisherman. Too rad.

Get there early, the big crabs are best bargain. And 3 pounders are picked up first. You can reserve crabs that are the size you want.

We bought crabs from 4 different boats. IMHO the boat named Susan Lee has the most giving scale. Aside from being good and fun kids, they seem to be nicest. We’ll look for them again next time!

Great with kids even on a rainy day like today! Approx $ 6 pound at Bills Crabby Crab. They are in one of the first docks on the left. Boat is named Cricket. We will def go back. Crabs were about 2 pounds each today.

This weekend is the first weekend of this year crab season! Many boats are selling fresh crabs in reasonable price. There was a line in almost every boat but the wait was not too bad.
If you know how to deal with crabs at home, then definitely stop by here and get the freshest one!

An outing with the roomies. One last big hoorah before I move back to San Diego. Yes I am moving back.
Anyways this was the best food experience i’ve ever had in my entire life! We talked about our last meal before we die and this meal definitely shot up to the top for all of us.
I’ve been to half moon bay once before but this is the first time I ate here. We were walking to the pier and I thought it was weird. My roomie kept saying crabby crabs and I was like I can’t find it on Unilocal!Well it’s a boat… that’s why. I really didn’t expect to be picking crabs off a boat. I was thinking of a nice restaurant. I really don’t like seeing my food look at me either especially seeing them alive! Bill and Penny were super nice when we came up to the boat. There was another family there talking to them so we patiently waited. We were excited and joined in on the fun. They helped us after and we all decided 1 crab each was good. They even gave us a 5^th crab that was missing a claw. Poor crab. Make sure you bring cash to pay. We ended up paying $ 45.
We walked over to princeton market. Make sure you go to the market by the side. There is a restaurant, to-​go place, and the market. The market will clean your crab, crack and cook them for $ 2.50 a piece. We got it back out within 20 minutes and it was seriously perfectly cracked. They really made it easy to eat. The to-​go place was perfect to order some drinks and some sides.
5 crabs was plenty of food for the 4 of us. I still can’t believe how awesome this food experience was. I would love to come back again soon but I am moving back to San Diego. Hopefully I can make it out here again on one of my work trips.

Totally worth the drive! It’s nice to buy directly from the source. To get the best, I suggest you build relationships. I went here twice and learned that some boats take reservations also.

If you want some locally sourced fresh crab, this is the place to get it.
Go to Bill and Penny on board The Cricket at G-1(on the left from the parking lot).
There is a sign on the boat that says «Bill’s Crabby Crabs».
Call Penny at 925−813−1593 to reserve your goods. The season hasn’t been the best so far, so if you don’t call ahead they could be sold out. They also reserve the larger crab for those who call. They sometimes sell other fish that they catch like Tuna or Salmon. This is their website.
. Their fb and twitter feed are not up to date so calling is the best way to get a hold of them.
They are the nicest couple and they have been at in the crabbing/​fishing game for years! They are also kid-​friendly (if you’re nice they may let the little one come on the boat to pick out the crab).
Bring an ice cooler and cash. 4 crab ran us about $ 35. You can then go to Princeton by the Sea fish market (the one on the end in the same parking lot) and have them cleaned, cracked and cooked for $ 2.50 a piece (nominal fee for how much time you save). You go around to the side door to have this done. The guys are crabby there, it’s not you it’s them. The whole process could take 20 – 45 minutes if it’s a busy weekend. Get something to eat while you are waiting (their is plenty of food in the harbor).
This is my new fav crab recipe from Sunset magazine.

It’s CRAB SEASON again!
Due to the start of Crab season and new rules for fishing trying to keep the commercial boats from completely harvesting all the crab along the coast and reading this year being a slow season for crab I went over the weekend AFTER the 15 of November opening of crab season and was rewarded with my three crabs from Bill and Penny.
I looked at the white board by the harbor master office and did not see the Cricket on the list which initially caused me some concern. I was encouraged to see people walking back with fresh crab in their clear plastic bags! Yea! Then I saw the Cricket at J-​1 with their new ‘Bills Crabby Crabs’ sign and made my way down to get my crabs.
I walked down to the Cricket and it appeared to be one rolling social party with some people in a skiff getting their crabs.
Bill, who has a strange resemblance to Captain Eddie in the Non Sequitur comic strip without the New England accent sort of recognized me from before and I asked for three crabs. Instead of them being piled high in the holding tank, he had to dig real deep to get them out. Then Penny asked if this was a phone order or not as they hold some in reserve for loyal customers that call their orders in.
I also noticed my Chalk Hill Chardonnay is now out of stock at Bev Mo at more than $ 40 a bottle and wonder if my endorsement here caused enough demand to make my favorite libation to go with the crabs go out of sight. I had to press a Cameron Hughes 334 which was a bit more fruity than a good cup cake Chardonnay, but it was good enough.
No mystery guy in the wheel chair, but some young kids helping out on the Cricket handing out crab candy this year. Also no double bags for the crabs. These crabs seemed very crabby and it was quite a chore as they put up quite a fight to get them in the gourmet crab stock.
Worth the trip and experience!

Check this link out. I met a fisherman. He owns the boat «first boat on the right». It’s called Lady LaBlanc. :)
He rocks.

It’s a bit of a trek to get out here, but it’s definitely worth stopping by if you’re in the neighborhood during crab season. I’ve been here twice, and both trips resulted in a delicious dinner. This past time when we came one of the fishermen was selling whole black cod. Let me tell you how much of a sucker I am for this kind of thing — I already had a whole chicken and four trout sitting in my fridge, and I somehow thought it was a good idea to buy three more crabs and a 3-​lb fish (dinner for 5 adults and 2 babies). (Don’t worry, all of the food got eaten over the next few days.)
In any case, they cleaned the fish for me right on the dock and when I got home I threw it into a foil pouch with some leeks and lemon slices. A short time later we had ourselves a great dinner (trout + orange + spinach salad, the fish, boiled crabs with paprika clarified butter).
Don’t forget to stop at the Creekside Smokehouse a few blocks away.

After a long day of crabbing and netting ZERO legal sized crabs, where to you go for a sure thing… Half Moon Bay Crab Boats baby!!! Just 8 miles South down Highway 1, pick your boat. Since it was the end of the crabbing season, there weren’t too many to choose from that day.
However, if you search both side of the docks for the written signage, you’ll see who’s in port with a live catch. It was $ 6/​lbs or $ 5/​lbs if you buy ten or more. Most of the live crab were Dungeness and averaged about 2/​lbs each…
Tip: Bring a cooler with ice to keep them alive and fresh for the drive home. Cheers!!!