Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3625 Nov 24- Dec8 2017 | Page 27
SALTWATER
VOL.36 • ISS. 25
“
Nov. 24 - Dec. 8, 2017
25
California Crabbers
Enjoy Stellar Opening
Weekend Action!
L
rockfish and crabs on the November 5
crab opener. His crew of anglers added 59
lingcod to 20 pounds to the tally as well.
According to Hurley, Captain Tom
Mattusch of the Huli Cat said, “It was a
good Dungeness crab opener, the
weather was good on Saturday for
fishing, anglers got rockfish and
10 lingcod to 18 lbs. The wind
picked up in the afternoon which
made the weather a bit sporty
while pulling pots. On Sunday, it
was beautiful weather, calm water
and a little to no wind all day.
Anglers got rockfish, lingcod and
this time limits for passengers and
crew!”
Hurley went on to report that,
Chris Arcoleo of Chris’s Landing
in Monterey said, “The crab
opener was better than I expected,
but it doesn’t look like there is a
tremendous amount of crab out
there. Captain Tinker on the Check Mate
returned with 101 Dungeness crab for 19
anglers along with limits of rockfish and
3 lings while the Caroline had 43 crab for
10 anglers on a
private charter
along with
rockfish limits
and 9 lings.
They are filled
up throughout
the next week
as there is great
interest in the
crab/rockfish
combination
trips.”
Anglers
departing from
the Berkeley
Marina aboard
the California
Dawn and
Happy Hooker
enjoyed
excellent
combo action
on the opening
weekend of
crab season.
“We
made it to the
Islands and
the fish didn’t
disappoint,”
reported Capt.
Chris Smith
of the Happy
Hooker. “Huge
Crabs are only part of the story for anglers taking crab and rockfish combo rockfish
trips this November. The rockfish action has been great and there have including a
been plenty of big lingcod in the mix too. This monster hit the deck of the 14 pound
California Dawn on November 6.
boccaccio
Photo courtesy of
came over the
CALIFORNIA DAWN
New Easy Rider Sportfishing
SPORTFISHING, Berkeley. rail, as well as
ast weekend was all about
Dungeness crab and crab/
rockfish combination trips on Saturday
and Sunday, and all ports from Shelter
Cove south to Half Moon Bay returned
with spectacular results,”
reported David Hurley of
USA Fishing’s Hot Sheet.
“Limits of big, meaty
crab were the rule along
with limits of rockfish
and a healthy lingcod
count. The crab season
should be great for the
next 10 days before the
commercial season open,
and once the commercial
set all of their gear, the
jumbos that were found
this weekend will be
much harder to locate,”
said Hurley.
In Bodega Bay,
Captain Rick Powers of the Bodega
Bay Sportfishing Center and the New
Sea Angler rounded up 47 full limits of
WHAT’S
HOT SALT
by Cal Kellogg
& David Hurley
Departures from Berkeley Marina
3425
Captain Jonathan Smith poses with a crab pot full of jumbo Dungeness crabs during the
opening week of the season.
Photo courtesy of HAPPY HOOKER SPORTFISHING, Berkeley.
meaty lingcod. Crabbing stayed true to
form and provided limits of jumbos for
everyone onboard.”
Capt. James Smith of the California
Dawn was very enthusiastic about the
results opening day saying, “The weather
was flat and beautiful. Rockfish bit well
and the lings we’re finally on the chomp
once again. Crab Fishing was nothing
short of spectacular, we took full limits of
all quality commercial grade Dungeness.
Our final count for the day was 33 limits
of rockfish, 37 limits of crab and 27
beautiful lingcod.”
Jason Rivers headed down to the
Pacifica Pier for the
crab opener and
experienced good
results.
“The pier was
pretty crowded and
some guys told me
they’d arrived at
midnight. I actually
had to wait for a
spot to open up,
but it was worth
it. I got a total of 9
crabs casting a snare
rig baited with
mackerel heads. 5
of those crabs were
keepers and one was
huge weighing in at
just over 3 pounds,”
exclaimed Rivers.
“I have a boat,
but I really enjoy
the challenge of
crabbing from the
bank or from a
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