WHILE WE ZIPPED along the two-lane Yaquina Bay Bridge in Oregon’s seaside town of Newport, my car mates exchanged wisdom about hunting Dungeness: “Bring an extra gauge to measure crabs,” “talk to the locals,” “prepare to smell the worst stench of your life.” They couldn’t stress that last point enough. The crab bait stinks because the crab bait is mink carcass. As we rolled closer to the bay I practiced holding my breath.
Another bit of wisdom: Catching fresh Dungeness for dinner year-round is an invaluable benefit of living in the Pacific Northwest. And despite chilly, overcast weather, right now is the best time to go. Early spring is when adult male crabs migrate from deep to shallow water. My friends, who’ve crabbed up and down Washington and Oregon’s coastlines, swear Yaquina Bay is the most consistent catching spot, which is why I joined them on the 300-mile drive down Interstate 5 and through the Willamette Valley wine region to Newport.
Shellfish licenses are a few bucks cheaper in Oregon than in Washington, and Oregon’s legal size for Dungeness is five and three-quarter inches, measured across the back from end to end on the widest part of the shell; Washington makes you toss back anything smaller than six inches. A crab gauge, a plastic tool with notched markings and the silhouette of a shell, helps make those crucial measurements. Extra gauges come in handy when an absentminded friend assesses an undersized crustacean and mistakenly tosses the gauge, instead of the crab, into the water.
Although oysters put Newport on the map in 1852, the town is now a haven for crabbing and fishing enthusiasts hunting Dungeness, rock crab, salmon, sturgeon, and steelhead.
But five hours on the road had us thinking more about lounging than crabbing. Beach houses are the way to go in Newport. Rentals along the shore sleep up to 12 people, and several sport a utilitarian arrangement—wood-paneled structures perched on cliffs or sprawled across the beach, with spacious decks and no-nonsense kitchens, perfect for stumbling into throughout the day and storing your quarry. Some visitors will want to consider the Embarcadero Resort Hotel and Marina, which includes more upscale one-room and town-house suites.
Nearly every accommodation offers a perfect view of Yaquina Bay, which bobs with small colored buoys marking crab traps. Although oysters put Newport on the map in 1852, when a shipwrecked crew discovered an abundance of tiny, sweet-tasting oysters, the town is now a haven for crabbing and fishing enthusiasts hunting Dungeness, rock crab, salmon, sturgeon, and steelhead.
The city gained international attention again in 1996, when Keiko, the orca who starred in Free Willy, briefly lived at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, which boasts four acres of aquatic and wetlands exhibits and the largest walk-in seabird aviary in the country. Newport, population 10,000, is also home to Oregon’s last remaining wooden lighthouse, located in Yaquina Bay State Park. Built in 1871, the two-story structure was inhabited by a lighthouse keeper and family of eight until 1874, when it was decommissioned in favor of the nearby Yaquina Head lighthouse. Both lighthouses can be toured free of charge.
Published: March 2008
