Went crabbing this holiday weekend

Very nice. How do you cook them? Would be tempted to boil them just as I would a blue crab.

Just curious, what kinds of restrictions do they have on fishing them? Number of pots, limits etc?

quote:

---

Very nice. How do you cook them? Would be tempted to boil them just as I would a blue crab.

---

That's what I do. These yankees are always wowed when they get a taste

quote:

---

Just curious, what kinds of restrictions do they have on fishing them? Number of pots, limits etc?

---

5 3/4" minimum
Males only
3 pots per person. I have 4 but I want 2 more.
12 crabs per person

Looks great. Oysters I’ve had up there are amazing.

quote:

---

Looks great.

---

Thanks, was an awesome weekend.

quote:

---

Oysters I’ve had up there are amazing.

---

My family always complains they aren't salty enough but the trade off is they aren't covered in muck.

I enjoy them. There's a suspended oyster farm 20 min from my house where I buy mine.

I’d have to smoke cigs and play the Bon Jovi song from Deadliest Catch while I was leaving the launch.

quote:

---

I get jealous every time you post these pics.

---

I'm sorry just a heads up but I'm going again xmas weekend. Trust me, I get jealous on here too.

quote:

---

.Is it pretty much hit or miss when you go out or do you always catch a bunch?

---

I usually do well to excellent. I typically go to the same area but couldn't unless I wanted to deal with 8' swells and shitty wind.

So, I had to learn a new area but I feel like I have the best bait in the water so I'm confident in that. I learned 2 areas this weekend. A buddy tipped me on one of them. The other was blind luck. I only got limits 1 out of 3 days so I didn't do as well as I normally do.

With limited time on the water I felt like I crushed it though. I definitely have enough crab and I gave my neighbors a dozen for always watching my house while gone.

I met some folks who did terrible. A friend was there 2 days and caught less in 2 days than I did 1. Very crabby out there but you still need to be in the zone somewhat.

quote:

---

What do you use for bait? How long do the traps stay down?

---

I use shad, it's the best bait hands down imo. I take my boat on a weekend trip up to Hood River area for beers and food in June when the shad run is peaking. I caught 75 in 3 hours last time. Easy money and it's a blast.

I let the pots soak 1 hour.

quote:

---

How do you cook them?

---

Louisiana crab berl

quote:

---

How long is the season?

---

The season is open almost all year long but they don't really get full and hard til Mid October and later. I typically crab from October til the commercials get in which is about early to mid Jan.

They have to wait until the biologists say they are almost full and ready for the markets.

Once they are in they carpet bomb everything so I quit until the next October.

quote:

---

That’s frickn awesome.

---

One of my favorite outdoor activities.

Knowing the current retail price of crab locally makes me tingle when I do the math. Makes me feel like the 1500 I busted out this year on my boat wasn't as big of a deal

quote:

---

I hope to be able to do that one day.

---

Just stay out of my hole dammit!

quote:

---

What are you looking for when you look for a spot?

---

1st thing I do is look for holes on my chart. Big holes...more like a crater. The crab will get in those and be more protected from the vicious tide changes the area experiences. There's only a few that I know of. If it's a rocky bottom, keep looking for a sandy bottom. It's all sand where I'm at.

After that it's trial and error. I'm on the edges of the hardest currents. I have 75' of rope on my pots so I'm looking to be in less than 50'

I've done the best in 20'-30'.

quote:

---

What's the water temp there?

---

Shoot, honestly I didn't even look this time. The last time it was 58° so a bit cooler I imagine.

quote:

---

Does anyone ever serve soft-shell dungeness like we do with with blue crabs?

---

No. Soft crabs are thrown back and when the commercials are in the crabs are at peak fullness/hardness.

I don't even crab during the time they are soft. They have little meat on them.

quote:

---

Down here we throw a cast net for shad. How are you catching them there?

---

I sit on anchor in 14' of water on a seam right below the Bonneville dam. The river is narrow there and they funnel in right under my boat a friend told me how to do it.

We use dick nites, little spoons. On a 4' lead dropper and 4' leader. Just back bounce it out a little and wait a min. It's constant action. Not sure how big they get there but here they are 3-6 lbs.

quote:

---

Do you ever catch any other species of crab?

---

Not where I'm at. Red rock crab can be caught in the puget sound/ocean.

quote:

---

Do you ever fish and if so, what for?

---

Rockfish and salmon (kings and silvers) when the season is open.

Seasons closed in that area in mid October.

Although I don't stray too far from my pots. People will check your pots and take your crab.

A guide I met on sat told me he caught a boat stealing from him. Sent me their pic to watch out for them.

Normally if I can't fish I drop anchor by my pots and wait there. We use crabhawk traps to catch other keepers.

It was a bit rough 2 of my 3 days so I dropped them where I could watch with my binos from shore.

Here's the shitty thieves.

link?

quote:

---

Does no one retaliate like coonasses?

---

If someone steals from me they'll get more than an earful.

And after the beatdown I'll post the pics of their boat on the 2 biggest fishing pages in the NW.

200k people would see it.