Anyone catching crab?

[kirkster5]

Just curious if anyone has gone out in area 10 yet and what kind of luck you had?

[sunnydude2]

We haven't gone out but it was quite fun watching all the boats leave Everett on the 4th in search of crab.

[Randygh]

How was crabbing for those who went out last week? We only got 4 opening day (Fishermen's Bay).

[bradvo]

I seen a guy come in with a small cooler load, he said 12 . He got them over at quartermaster harbor. He must have really hit the mother load, not to mention over limit. Plus they were decent size. His traps were left over night, he got lucky again, most times those would have been stolen in that area he was in.

For those wondering where Quartermaster is, it is south Vashon island

[tolly28]

I got five nice keepers (plus a few more keepers that I threw back) in about an hour at Hunter Bay. Left the pots overnight and in the morning had at least ten, so picked the best five. So far so good!

[kirkster5]

Pretty sure that the State regs dont allow overnight soaks.

[1northernstar]

Overnight soaks are okay per the WA regs. What's not permitted is pulling pots earlier than 1 hr prior to official sunrise and 1hr after official sunset, during the open period of Wed at 7am to Saturday at 7pm.

[kirkster5]

Thanks for the clarification. Just about to go throw out my pot this morning. I can allready taste the Crab Louie!!

[Fred P]

Does anyone have a good way to cook a crab while on the boat? We will be spending a week or so on the boat (24') in the San Juans the end of the month. We have a Magma BQ. I am thinking to bring a 8 qt pot and cooking them one at a time. I do not want to cook them in the cabin nor do not want to pack the crab cooker and have to deal with a propane tank and where to put it when not in use and the fire hazard. Has anyone just cooked the legs on the grill? I thing that it would be ok with F&WL if you save the backs to show that they were 6 1/4" and that you had 5 or less / day.

Fred..............

[tolly28]

I think steaming them is the only way to go....

I use a post with a steamer/ strainer basket in it like you would use to cook pasta. Put an inch or so of SALT WATER in the bottom of the pot and get it boiling good. I clean the crab before cooking and can cook five at a time no problem. Steam for 15 minutes or so (I always lose track) until they look done. Dip the strainer overboard to rinse and cool the crab a bit and serve with a nice cold beer...

Steaming is so much quicker because you are only boiling a small amount of water. I use a single burner propane cooker in the cockpit, and and using less water is much safer in the event of a tip over scenario with bare feet!

I've tried cooking legs on the grill, but it dries the meat out terribly. Try steaming!

[SomeSailor]

I thing that it would be ok with F&WL if you save the backs to show that they were 6 1/4" and that you had 5 or less / day.

You're allowed to have one "possession" limit on board, in addition to your daily catch limits. It has to be cooked and prepared, but doesn't count against your daily catch limit. I wouldn't be catching and cooking at the same time... but having prepared crab aboard while away for a week long won't interfere.

Generally, a "possession limit" is one daily "catch limit" (not one per person either).

So... at the end of the week, if two people hit shore, you can have 5 each for the daily limit + 5 more cooked and or frozen, for a total of 15. make sense?

[1northernstar]

hmm....I'll have to re-read. I thought it was 5+5 for each license, so in your example it could be total of 20.

[bradc344]

Hi cook mine just like Tolly it is very easy that way and no mess plus the crab are'nt laying in the water

[bradvo]

Does anyone have a good way to cook a crab while on the boat? We will be spending a week or so on the boat (24') in the San Juans the end of the month. We have a Magma BQ. I am thinking to bring a 8 qt pot and cooking them one at a time. I do not want to cook them in the cabin nor do not want to pack the crab cooker and have to deal with a propane tank and where to put it when not in use and the fire hazard. Has anyone just cooked the legs on the grill? I thing that it would be ok with F&WL if you save the backs to show that they were 6 1/4" and that you had 5 or less / day.

Fred..............

Fred, when I had a 24 footer I did choose to use a small propane burner and the smaller cylinders (It took a long time to boil water then). I cleaned the crab first and could cook a couple at a time. Generally i find with just me and my wife I only need 2 crabs tops anyway. I gave up long ago trying to keep more then i could eat at one setting, I like the crab fresh from the pot.

Our boat neighbors some years back owned a trawler , they were just getting into crabbing and they tried to grill a grab, they said it turned out horrible.

Another choice is to use the cabin, which i know you said you did not want to do. I also did not like to use my galley for such things but after being on a friends boat and he used his galley often for crab and clams I got over my fear of the dreaded fish smell. It really does air out pretty quick with the windows open .

[SomeSailor]

hmm....I'll have to re-read. I thought it was 5+5 for each license, so in your example it could be total of 20.

Hmmm... I dunno.

I'm not sure if the possession limit is one per person. It might be though. I've never had a biologist ask anything more than "How many did you catch today... and may I take a look at them?"

They have no probable cause to search your whole boat, so even if you had a week's worth, I don't suspect they'd ever know if if you showed them all the live crab you had aboard (daily limits).

[Randygh]

You're allowed one daily possession + one processed daily limit per person with valid shellfish license. Be sure to mark your catch record cards as soon as you have brought your catch of keepers onboard.

A fish and wildlife officer can inspect any area in plain view where the catch is stored in a "usual or customary" container or manner. In other words, if you store the prepared crab in an ice chest in your cockpit or even in the cabin, a F & W officer can enter the cabin and look in the ice chest or refer. However, if you stuff a cooler with crab in your bilge a F & W officer may ask to inspect the bilge but can't open the bilge and look without a warrant based on probable cause. HOWEVER, if an officer observes you putting illegal crab in the ice chest and saw you hide it in your bilge, you'd better be ready to sign here, press hard, 5 copies. Our state's RCW is much less stringent on requiring a warrant by F & W officers to inspect living spaces for illegal taking than other enforcement agencies looking for evidence in motorhomes, trailers etc.

[SomeSailor]

I watched a couple of F&W Officers arrest a pair of Vietnamese guys at Everett one day. They simply said they "observed them placing something under the seat... may we have permission to look?" Whatcha gonna say? NO?

:)

Anyhow, they had a 7-11 plastic bag full of females and juvenile dungees under there. Later I asked the F&W guy how they prove something like that and he showed me his partners spotter's scope with the digital camera built in. They clamp it on the edge of the truck window and watch you from across the lot hundreds of yards away.

Too funny talking to him though. He said if they had thrown the females in the buckets, even played along to pretend measure them, they never would have bothered talking to them, but when someone takes a crab out of a trap, and places it in a plastic bag INSIDE the car... pretty sure sign you've got something... :)

[Randygh]

Great bust. Actually, if the officer saw the guy stuff the crab in a plastic bag and saw him put the bag under the seat, the officer could have searched under the guy's seat without his permission. However, it is always sweet when you ask for permission and the guy says ok, that way if the case goes to court there is no question about illegal search and seizure.

F & W officers are good. Spotting scopes, sneaky parking locations, plain clothes ops., unmarked craft, night scopes and irregular working hours work great for catching poachers.

[Jiff]

Good to hear a bust for taking females. I could see taking a size challenged male if you're hard up, but never a female. We did okay at Burrows Bay on the 5th after an overnight soaking, but not much on the 6th and 7th. Expected to do much better considering the Indians hadn't been in there this year. Guess they knew better. From yesterday's P-I:

"QUICKLY: Crabbing opened July 4 in many areas, and so far the reports are not good. Some Dungeness are being taken, but catches appear down significantly in all areas, including Hood Canal, Port Gardner and Saratoga Passage."

[voyager]

I crabbed outside of Oak Harbor on Saturday. Dropped the pots at 9 am pulled them at 5:00 pm. One had a samll rock crab and the other had two under size males. My friends on Camano are reporting the same results, four keepers over two weeks so it may be possible the area has been picked clean.

[Stompor]

We just got back from a 12 day trip to the islands. We put our traps down in Hunter bay on July 5th and had full pulls in less than 4 hours. In my two traps I had 17 males all over 7 inches, 1 female, 1 rock crap and one softshell. I have never had such luck.

My buddy did just as well, so we pulled our traps, set some crabs free to get down to our limit, and had one heck of a feed for dinner. Now I have eaten crab for the last couple of weeks and still have a couple of pounds.

Life is good. :lol:

[SomeSailor]

... Now I have eaten crap for the last couple of weeks and still have a couple of pounds.

Life is good. :lol:

I'm hoping that's a typo? ;)

[1northernstar]

We crabbed along Whidbey and had 9 keepers in the first 90 minutes (4 pots). Dropped again in the same spot and 2 hrs later...nothing but a few females and a few red rocks.

Not sure what happened on that second pull, but something changed....

[Stompor]

I'm hoping that's a typo? ;)

:oops:
Well yes and no....
I was eating crab all week, but on the trip home we pumped out in LaConner and I had a eruption of **** for some reason. I have heard stories but never see it before, the most unpleasant experiance of my life. The wife thought it was real humorous and has had non stop poop jokes. :?

[Tedster]

Scott, it is most likely a plugged vent if you had pressure at the deckfill.

[SomeSailor]

Yeppers... ask Bob about that one. He's got a funny (OK... maybe not so funny) story about that.

If you get a plugged or colllapsed vent tube... the sides of the tank are sucked in. The pump can only pump so hard, and when the poop stops... you thinks you're done. You lift the hose and BAM!! The tanks walls pop back and you're sporting a poop mustache!!

:eek:

[voyager]

Is anyone finding any crab in the everett area? Or camano island area?

[SomeSailor]

One spot that's always been very productive for me is on the edge of the shelf right next to the Steamboat Slough obstruction marker in Port Gardner. Where the water drops off from 30-35 feet to 65-70 feet, the crabs seem to congregate the waiting for the tide change and the flats to fill back up. All of those crabs have to go somewhere on a negative tide, and I've had pretty good luck in there.

It does make a difference with the tides though.

[voyager]

That sounds like a good place, I am going to try to get out this weekend and if I do I'll give it a try. I have had terrible luck up around oak harbor and camano island. Two of my friends who live on camano have told me the same thing. One of them has not gotten any yet and the other one has gotten eight since the season opened.

[SomeSailor]

Since I'm not out there I'll share two more. :)

Northwest corner of Gedney Island. Drive directly towards the beach until you hit water consistently in the 30' range. Turn a 180 and slowly drive back out directly towards Camano Point. The water will drop pretty sharply to 50' and then hold on a shelf until dropping to 90+ and then to hundreds. You'll be in 55'-60' feet for that whole shelf, but keep 90+ of line on the pots. Great place to soak em and since the water i greater than 50' a lot of folks stay out.

The other is a bit of a drive, but head across towards Tulalip. Follow the coast up and around to Kayak Point (5 -6 miles), and then a little further you'll see the whole bay get muddy (STOP). You're now at the confluence of the Stilliguamish River and the Sound. GREAT crabbing, but you wanna staying in the sand and grass just outside the muddy / sandy water. I've done well up there too.

[voyager]

Thank you I will give them a try.

[voyager]

Tried the obstruction marker on Saturday. Dropped the pots in 40ft of water just south of the marker about an hour before low tide. I let them soak most of the day and pulled them around 4:00. They had lots of crab in them, all males but most were slightly undersize or soft. I did end up with three keepers so it was still a good day.

[Jiff]

Went out in the San Juans Thursday 7/30 for two nights. Planned to drop traps around Center Island but coming through Lopez Pass saw Indian buoys as far as the eye can see. Cruised around Lopez as far as Fisherman Bay and there were buoys, thick, all the way, including as far as I could see toward East Sound. I'm talking thousands of buoys in depths to 150'. Had no idea there are that many Indian traps in Western WA. We did find a half-way vacant area near Shaw and got a few.

[SomeSailor]

Tried the obstruction marker on Saturday. Dropped the pots in 40ft of water just south of the marker...

Sorry you didn't get more. It gets hit pretty hard out there. Sometimes moving a bit northwest of the marker to just at the edge of the shelf you'll get some big ones. Timing it for the return of a big negative tide can help. The crabs have to go somewhere... hopefully you can catch 'em on the way back into the shallows.