Louisiana has the simplest crab answer of any state on the coast: the season is all year, there is no recreational size limit and there is no bag limit. What is regulated is the gear and the hour.
The dates
Open today by the rules below, worked out for 2026 rather than copied from a chart.
Statewide
Recreational blue crab harvest is open all year. The restrictions that bite are gear and hours: no baiting, tending or pulling traps at night, and traps must carry the licence number and a six-inch float. Traps also come out for the derelict trap clean-up closures.
- Size
- No recreational minimum size.
- Limit
- No recreational bag limit. Ten traps per licensed crabber.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Legal dates were read on the agency’s own page on the date shown beside each entry. Seasons change: the agency link is always the last word.
Why Louisiana is different
Most states protect blue crab with a calendar. Louisiana protects it with trap rules instead — ten traps per licensed crabber, escape rings of a specified size that must not be blocked outside two named windows, and a tag with your licence number on the trap ceiling. The state also runs derelict trap clean-up closures, which are the only times your traps must come out of the water.
What to actually do
The rule that actually ends people’s evenings: no baiting, tending, checking or pulling a trap in public water at night, from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise. Crab lines and drop nets are the way around a licence-heavy setup, but trawling for crabs is only legal while the shrimp season is open.
Where to fish it
We publish a daily report for 13 Louisiana waters, each with live flow or tide.
- Caddo Lake — Caddo County
- Lake Pontchartrain — Orleans County
- Grand Isle — Jefferson County
- Caney Lake — Jackson County
- Black Lake — Natchitoches County
- Lake D Arbonne — Union County
- Calcasieu Lake — Cameron County
- Barataria Bay — Jefferson County
An open season is not permission to fish: Louisiana requires a licence from age 18, from $17.00 for residents. What it costs and where to buy it →
Questions
Is there a closed season for crabbing in Louisiana?
No. LDWF states plainly that blue crabs may be harvested recreationally year-round. The exceptions are derelict crab trap removal closures, when traps must be pulled, and the night-time prohibition on tending traps.
How many crab traps can I use in Louisiana?
Ten per licensed recreational crabber. Each must carry a tag with the licence number, three escape rings, and a float at least six inches across on a non-floating line.
Checked by Pablo Ruiz Quintero. Dates move: tell us if this one has and the correction goes in the verification log with the date.