Darrell Ticehurst/Fisheries Issues
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Time to Get Out the Crab Gear
Oct. 14 2009, 1:10 PM
Oct. 14 2009, 1:10 PM
Time to Get Out the Crab Gear
Recreational crab season opens November 7 this year, so now is the time to start getting your gear ready. Check those lines, make sure any holes in the pots are mended, retie those escape hatches with cotton line, replace your zincs, check your rubber or elastic lines to insure that they are not rotted, clean and repaint your buoys, and make sure that you have enough bait for the season. Got all of that? Then you are ready for what should be a good season!
Recreational crab season opens November 7 this year, so now is the time to start getting your gear ready. Check those lines, make sure any holes in the pots are mended, retie those escape hatches with cotton line, replace your zincs, check your rubber or elastic lines to insure that they are not rotted, clean and repaint your buoys, and make sure that you have enough bait for the season. Got all of that? Then you are ready for what should be a good season!
But if you don’t have enough bait then you had better plan a special bait trip. My favorite bait trip is a run for the Humboldt squid. I use my depth finder to locate them. On my meter they look like shadowy ghosts, not big targets, but just a hint of something near the bottom, often 1,000’ or more. If they are there it is easy to get them to bite almost any squid lure you want to use. Get a couple of them on the line and bring them up slowly and you can often tease up the rest so you have squid all around the boat. I chop off a few tentacles and toss them in for chum, these voracious predators are cannibals and will eat anything including their own mothers. Every squid will usually come in at 30 lbs. or more, so one trip can load you up with bait.
No squid? Then albacore scraps make a great bait. If you have been in the albacore then save those bellies for bait. The belly is full of oil and it is like candy to Dungeness crabs. You can pull them in from a long way away with albacore. Last year I had guys surrounding my pots who were getting one or two per pot while I was getting a dozen or more—albacore bait really pulls them in!
If you have to buy it, then look for frozen squid blocks, or sardines, or mackerel, all make good bait. Oh, and bonito are also a great bait, if you happen to have some in your freezer. If you don’t have any of those, then check your freezer for any freezer burned fish, almost anything will work fairly well. And of course there is also that old standby: cat food. And I know a lot of guys who use chicken scraps and turkey scraps as well.
Don’t forget to put your name and CF number on your buoys, and it might be a good idea to write your phone number on with a Sharpie as well. Last year I had two different pots that drifted into my gear, and I couldn’t find any identifying marks on them to tell who owned them. I posted on the Coastside web site and found the owner of one, but the other one was never claimed. Put your ID on them and you at least have a shot at getting them back.
And finally, remember to have enough line on your pots for the depth you are fishing. You need at least an extra 25% for scope or your pots may end up “walking” over the bottom as the water action on your buoy raises and lowers and lifts your pots for a second then drops them to the bottom again. Oh yeah, remember to use weighted lines, a section of floating line on the surface will end up in somebody’s prop and you will lose your pot as well, and both of you will be upset.
Now’s the time to get ready, the recreational season begins two weeks before the commercial season and that is the best time to get some prime crab meat!
No squid? Then albacore scraps make a great bait. If you have been in the albacore then save those bellies for bait. The belly is full of oil and it is like candy to Dungeness crabs. You can pull them in from a long way away with albacore. Last year I had guys surrounding my pots who were getting one or two per pot while I was getting a dozen or more—albacore bait really pulls them in!
If you have to buy it, then look for frozen squid blocks, or sardines, or mackerel, all make good bait. Oh, and bonito are also a great bait, if you happen to have some in your freezer. If you don’t have any of those, then check your freezer for any freezer burned fish, almost anything will work fairly well. And of course there is also that old standby: cat food. And I know a lot of guys who use chicken scraps and turkey scraps as well.
Don’t forget to put your name and CF number on your buoys, and it might be a good idea to write your phone number on with a Sharpie as well. Last year I had two different pots that drifted into my gear, and I couldn’t find any identifying marks on them to tell who owned them. I posted on the Coastside web site and found the owner of one, but the other one was never claimed. Put your ID on them and you at least have a shot at getting them back.
And finally, remember to have enough line on your pots for the depth you are fishing. You need at least an extra 25% for scope or your pots may end up “walking” over the bottom as the water action on your buoy raises and lowers and lifts your pots for a second then drops them to the bottom again. Oh yeah, remember to use weighted lines, a section of floating line on the surface will end up in somebody’s prop and you will lose your pot as well, and both of you will be upset.
Now’s the time to get ready, the recreational season begins two weeks before the commercial season and that is the best time to get some prime crab meat!
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