Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3901 Dec 20-Jan 3 | Page 24
SALTWATER
Dec 20, 2019 - Jan 3, 2020
VOL.39 • ISS. 1
Crabs on the Cheap
N
o doubt crabs are a favorite
whales. Apparently, the crab season
item to consume in a eafood
coincides with the southern migration
of whales as they abandon their Arctic
lover’s life, and we are right now, at
summer playground and
the end of
travel to their winter haunts
the year, smack dab in
off Baja.
the best time of the year
The “powers that be” – the
to harvest these tasty
Department of Fish and
Dungeness crabs.
Wildlife - have determined
To say that someone is
that the majority of whales
always throwing a monkey
have to swim past us before
wrench into the works is
it is safe for the commercial
an understatement when it
crabbers to deploy their traps
comes to crabs, espe-
to prevent the whales from
cially in the last few years.
getting tangled in the gear.
Many years, it was the
So we wait.
wholesalers who wanted
Last time around, we
to pay too
by Steve
explored the possibility of
little to the crabbers
“Hippo”Lau boarding one of the sport
which resulted in crabbers’
boats that offer crabbing as
strikes, sometimes it is
a way to capture some of them tasty
the appearance of some weird toxic
bugs. Not all of us have the funds to
(domoic acid) in the crabs.
board a boat, however, and not all
This year, of all things, the reason
of us need to capture the limit of ten
seems to be whales. Whales? Yes,
FISH SNIFFER
COUNTRY
SALTWATER REPORTS:
CONTINUED FROM PG 21
HALF MOON BAY cont.
and Atmospheric Administration, there were 31
confirmed cases in 2017, 48 confirmed cases in
2016, and 50 confirmed cases in 2015. These were
the highest annual totals for this region since records
of entanglements began in 1982, far more than the
average of 10 per season for the prior 13 years.
Captain Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat said, “I am
looking forward to more stable weather during the
upcoming week. The crab pots are still loaded, and
the rockfishing has been solid and should remain
so throughout the remainder of the season for the
next three weeks as the rockfish season ends on
December 31st.”
Out of Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing, the Queen of
Hearts and New Captain Pete are running crab-only
and crab/rockfish when the weather conditions allow.
The New Captain Pete has a commercial puller similar
to the Huli Cat, and the commercial grade makes for
easy hoists on the deep strings. The Queen of Hearts
is making their inaugural fray into combination trips
with Danielsen pots and an electric puller. Both the
New Captain Pete and Huli Cat have been tied up at
the docks by 10:00 a.m. with up to 32 limits of crab
on crab-only trips during the small windows of calm
weather before and after the Thanksgiving holiday
weekend.
which lassos and entangles the crab’s
crabs, either. Is there an alternative?
legs when they come to dine on the
Thankfully, the answer is “yes”,
bait inside the cage.
and it is a relatively cheap solution,
It’s a very simple and elegant way to
especially if you already have most of
bring home fresh dinner, and next time
the tackle.
we’ll go through some tips that make
Casting for crabs has become a
the job a little easier.
popular way to pick up a crab or two,
and the equipment
necessary is very,
Rockfish
very basic.
& Crab
The advent of
Combos
castable crab
Available
snares has really
Now
changed the
crabbing game
BOOK
and there are
EARLY!
many examples
HALF MOON BAY
of them on the
market right
www.hulicat.com
now. A castable
crab snare is a
Saltwater & Freshwater
small metal cage
surrounded by a
Full Time Charter Boat Since 2004
number of loops
GET ON BOARD!
650-726-2926
22
The bulk of the biomass of Dungeness crab is
from Half Moon Bay to Bodega Bay, and party and
private boats out of ports in this region have brought
in limits on every trip since the opener. Even on a
short soak of a few hours, the private boaters and
six-packs are pulling stuffed pots while with an
overnight soak, and an overnight soak loads up the
pots to a degree that another crab can’t fit inside.
- Dave Hurley
Bodega Bay • Bullards • Oroville • Collins • Berryessa
Salmon • Rockfish • Lingcod • Crab • Kokanee • Trout
C apt . L es F ernandes (707) 490-4067
3811
www.BodegaBayFishing.com
MONTEREY BAY
Rockfish Fishing Superb When Boats
Get Out
Want Sturgeon? Trophy Stripers?
Call Dragon Sportfishing!
MOSS LANDING - The storms that hit the
Monterey Bay region kept the boats in port most
days during the first week of December, but anglers
are landing quality rockfish and lingcod when
weather conditions allow.
The 23 anglers on the latest trip aboard the
Kahuna landed 12 lingcod and 230 rockfish off
Point Sur. The previous trip, a long range adventure
to Point Lopez, produced 5 bocaccio, 22 canary
rockfish, 22 copper rockfish, 5 lingcod, 1 petrale
sole, 170 vermilion rockfish and one blue rockfish
for 22 anglers.
“It was another long range vermilion bonanza
today on the Kahuna,” said Carol Jones of
Kahuna Sportfishing. “Anglers landed easy
limits of vermilion rockfish up to 8 pounds,
some nice canary and copper rockfish and
one beauty of a petrale sole. An angler also
landed a blue rockfish that was the biggest
Fish The Delta In Style Aboard
Capt. Hayden Mullins’s
we have seen in a long while...5.2 pounds.”
60’ Luxury Yacht!
The last rockfish trip out of Chris’ Fishing
Trips in Monterey produced solid lingcod,
rockfish and crab fishing. The 10 anglers
aboard the boat on December 5 landed 15
lingcod, 100 rockfish and 68 Dungeness
crab.
These anglers hit Suisun Bay on November 28 and rounded up full
limits of sturgeon while fishing with Capt. Hayden Mullins.
“There were a few days of calm weather
Photo courtesy of DRAGON SPORTFISHING, Pittsburg.
and anglers went
up the coast for
rockfish and lingcod,”
Todd Fraser of
www.dragonsportfishing.com said
Bayside Marine in
Santa Cruz. “There
were good scores near
3102
~ Berkeley Marina Departures ~
Fish
Davenport. The crab
ALASKA
With Capt.Chad Aho Aboard The Ms. Marin
fishing is still going
Experience 6-Pack Fishing At Its Best. Call Today!
great in 140-250 feet
of
water.”
www.captainstevesfishinglodge.com
Boat-based rockfish
P.O. Box 39143, Ninilchik, AK 99639
and lingcod fishing will
Official IGFA
Fishing:
close on December
World Record Lingcod
“Barn Door Halibut” • Salmon
caught here
31, so there isn’t much
in 2007
• Rockfish • Ling Cod Two
time left to go
30’ Alumaweld Boats with
rockfishing this
Cabins and Bathrooms
year.
- Dan
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