Recreational Dungeness Crab Season Opens Today

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Peter Haan

Trad climber

Santa Cruz, CA

Topic Author's Original Post - Nov 1, 2014 - 12:08pm PT

Thought some of you would like to know!

chappy

Social climber

ventura

Nov 1, 2014 - 02:02pm PT

My wife's favorite!

Peter Haan

Trad climber

Santa Cruz, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Nov 16, 2014 - 07:37pm PT

And so commercial season is open now and we will see the new crabs in better markets!! Season looks good too.

Kalimon

Social climber

Ridgway, CO

Nov 16, 2014 - 07:47pm PT

Peter, what is the preferred method of recreational crab fishing? Can it be done without a boat?

Peter Haan

Trad climber

Santa Cruz, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Nov 16, 2014 - 07:55pm PT

Sure Kali. You can go off piers. Hard to do off most shorelines with the way traps work. But there are boat charters/trips, say in Santa Cruz and many other places. Google it; you will find several opportunities in Santa Cruz, for example. The businesses will have traps too. great for kids, requires less proficiency than trolling for pelagics like salmon or tuna or broadbill. Probably cheaper with crab to just go out to Half Moon Bay near the marina, Moss Landing etc and locate boats selling directly or just buy live in many markets. Do buy live though. WAY more wonderful.

Ronnie: yeah, I think of that too. Those way-expensive pelagics are not nearly as tasty even if they are ever so fancy. Species that swim zillions of miles and are so streamlined and incredibly gorgeous it's hard to believe your eyes, don't have the flavors and fatty essence that tacky-stay-at-home dudes like clams, urchins, crabs, abalone, mussels, sand dabs, etc have. But I have to say I am SO looking forward to tomorrow (Monday) when we can get some live Dungeness. Just wanting to share; I know there are a ton of foodies here. And this is a world-class delicacy.

Kalimon

Social climber

Ridgway, CO

Nov 16, 2014 - 08:06pm PT

Thanks Peter . . . unfortunately I won't be out your way any time soon. I have been fortunate enough to feast on fresh Alaskan Dungeness back in the day working in Cordova, AK. I can still see the baskets of "fresh off the boat" crab coming out of the boiling pots . . . sweet goodness.

I once returned a live crab to the ocean off the back dock of the cannery and my Japanese "Egg Room" boss asked me if I was trying to go to "Heaven"!

Wayno

Big Wall climber

Seattle, WA

Nov 16, 2014 - 09:41pm PT

Years ago my brother had access to a commercial fishing pier in Half Moon Bay. There was a processing operation there too, so the waters were rich with fish waste and hence, a lot of crabs. We would take a half dozen or so "star traps" and a ring net or two, a few five gallon bucks, a Coleman stove and a large pot of water, and a shitload of beer and reefer. That was some serious tasty fun. Along with Dungeness, we would also get red rock crabs and some kinda stone crabs which I preferred over Dungeness.The meat was much sweeter.

I caught a bunch of crabs in the Santa Cruz Boat Harbor once. We started to eat them and quickly realized why no-one ever did that. They were toxic. You must be aware that as bottom feeders, crabs can load the toxins. Be aware of where you get your crabs!

Please post up about how the catch goes.

couchmaster

climber

Nov 17, 2014 - 06:24am PT

The recreational season never ended up this way in the PNW. Here's some I got from a local bay with my lad, who, upon seeing crab in them, would excitedly yell each time we pulled the trap up.

mmmmm. We rebuild the deck, or I should say he rebuild my deck while my shoulder healed. Took the boat out AM and tossed traps, picked them up in the evening. Or I should say he hauled them up so my shoulder could heal, in the evening. Ate too many crab every day for a week.

rlf

Trad climber

Josh, CA

Nov 17, 2014 - 06:59am PT

We used to crab at Fossil Bay on Sucia Island in the Puget Sound when I was a kid. Yummy food. Put the remains of a cod in the trap, drop it over the boat, and come back in a day or two. Presto! Dinner.

Peter Haan

Trad climber

Santa Cruz, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Nov 17, 2014 - 08:57am PT

Fascinating and macabre GoPro video of crabs feeding on bait. Wonderful sound track of Clint Mansell (Lux Aeterna: Requiem for a Dream):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgxzSDU3kDA

neebee

Social climber

calif/texas

Nov 17, 2014 - 03:37pm PT

hey there say, peter... thanks for the share... our family loved crab, in south texas...

will never forget the first time my--at the time father in law--brought one home late into the night, after fishing in the arroyo... the thing was scratching loud noises in the metal sink, as he got ready to cook it... :))

wayno, thanks for sharing... we used to see those crabs there very often, as kids... :))

thanks, peter, for the boat-crabbing info, from santa cruz...

SteveW

Trad climber

The state of confusion

Nov 17, 2014 - 05:13pm PT

Don't get crabby with me!!!!

hee hee hee. . .

'Pass the Pitons' Pete

Big Wall climber

like Ontario, Canada, eh?

Nov 17, 2014 - 06:07pm PT

Oh, noooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111111111111

Ricky D

Trad climber

Sierra Westside

Nov 17, 2014 - 06:25pm PT

Used to catch Carolina Blue Crabs with nothing but a piece of string, a greasy chicken neck and lots of patience.

Finger over finger.
Wind the little grubbers into the shallows.
A quick fling of the string.
Crabs flying up and over into the stew pot.

Peter Haan

Trad climber

Santa Cruz, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Nov 17, 2014 - 08:17pm PT

Moosie knows how.

I used to abalone dive up there too Moosie. Camping with my partner out of my 928, hilarious. Eating abalone three meals a day for a few godamned days; it got to be disgusting, so rich. We began to crave really ordinary food. Abalone is such powerful meal. But so fun to hunt, certainly. The diving, the ocean, what's going on with the swell. And getting the suckers these days in not completely easy. There are photos of abs so dense that they are tiled at low tide and farmer were feeding them to the cattle. Down here on the North Coast of Santa Cruz at the turn of the century. At least that is what my accountant used to say.

TGT

Social climber

So Cal

Nov 17, 2014 - 08:21pm PT

Eating abalone three meals a day for a few godamned days; it got to be disgusting,

Same I guess would apply to lobster. Indentured servant contracts in the 1600's occasionally contained a clause that insured that they would not be fed lobster more than three times a week.

guido

Trad climber

Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific

Nov 17, 2014 - 08:30pm PT

Talk about rich Peter-have you ever tried Coconut Crab?

Tuamotus, French Polynesia, Taiaro lagoon. You Do Not want to get any digits any where near those pincers!