Maryland is one of the few states where the crab season is a real, fixed, memorable date — April 1 to December 15 on the Chesapeake. The part that catches people out is not the date at all. It is that the legal size changes in the middle of the season.
The dates
Open today by the rules below, worked out for 2026 rather than copied from a chart.
Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries
The size step on July 15 is the rule most casual crabbers miss: a crab that was legal on Sunday is undersized on Wednesday. Gear hours are limited in the tributaries — half an hour after sunrise to sunset in April and from October to December 15, half an hour before sunrise to sunset from May to September — but handlines and dip nets may be worked around the clock.
- Size
- Male hard crabs 5" from April 1 to July 14, then 5¼" from July 15 to December 15. Peelers 3¼" then 3½". Soft crabs 3½" all season.
- Limit
- Without a licence, 2 dozen male hard crabs or 1 dozen peelers and soft crabs combined. With a licence, 1 bushel or 6 dozen male hard crabs plus 2 dozen peelers or softs.
Atlantic coastal bays
The coastal bays run sixteen days longer than the Chesapeake and the sizes do not step the same way. If you crab on both sides of the state, they are two different rulebooks.
- Size
- Hard crabs 5", soft crabs 3½", peelers 3¼" to July 14 and 3½" after. No minimum size on mature females.
- Limit
- One bushel per person, two bushels per boat, or 6 dozen and 12 dozen respectively if you are not measuring by the bushel.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Maryland fishing and crabbing guide, the designated publisher for MD DNR. 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 Maryland is different
On July 15 the minimum for a male hard crab steps from 5 inches to 5¼, and peelers go from 3¼ to 3½. A crab that was a keeper on the Sunday is an undersized crab on the Wednesday, and the measurement is point to point across the shell, not front to back. The coastal bays run to December 31 instead of December 15 and do not step the same way, so the two sides of the state are two different rulebooks.
What to actually do
Carry a measure and use it after July 15, because the eyeball that served you in June will be wrong. Gear hours in the tributaries are limited — half an hour after sunrise to sunset in April and from October, half an hour before sunrise to sunset from May to September — but handlines and dip nets can be worked around the clock, which is why they are the tool of choice for an early morning.
Where to fish it
We publish a daily report for 13 Maryland waters, each with live flow or tide.
- Potomac River — St. Mary's County
- Ocean City — Worcester County
- Chesapeake Bay (Annapolis) — Anne Arundel County
- Deep Creek Lake — Garrett County
- Patuxent River — Prince Georges County
- Gunpowder River — Baltimore County
- Susquehanna Flats — Cecil County
- Assateague — Worcester County
An open season is not permission to fish: Maryland requires a licence from age 16, from $32.00 for residents. What it costs and where to buy it →
Questions
When does crab season start in Maryland?
April 1 in both the Chesapeake and the Atlantic coastal bays. The Chesapeake season ends December 15 and the coastal bays run to December 31.
What size crab can I keep in Maryland?
Male hard crabs must be 5 inches from April 1 to July 14 and 5¼ inches from July 15 to the end of the season. Peelers step from 3¼ to 3½ inches on the same date, and soft crabs are 3½ inches all season.
Checked by Pablo Ruiz Quintero. Dates move: tell us if this one has and the correction goes in the verification log with the date.