PC crabbing 7/25

I have the PC fever! Yes, I went out again today, probably against better judgement. This time I had crab on my mind. Truth is, I've never had Dungeness crab.

But it's all I've heard about since I ever mentioned guys were catching crab at the beach.

Despite the poor forecast, I decided to get on with my crab adventuring while the crabbing is hot. I took a buddy who has been dying to get crab on the water with me today for the maiden adventure.

There were a lot of delays getting going today, but we finally managed to get to the beach well after everyone else had come in. With minimal knowledge we headed south of the rock, aided by the gale force winds   
After getting the trap rigged and battling the wind to look for structure, a white cap deployed my trap for me in 60'. I went to help my buddy get the other trap together when plunk, goodbye one wall of the collapsible trap to the depths. Oh well, at least I learned to zip tie those loosely for safety, I suppose. Now we're down to one trap for the day.

Pulled the trap after an hour for a few shorts, and decided to head closer inside for some respite from the wind and swell. Dropped the trap down again for the hell of it in 20', threw some swimbaits while catching our breath, and pulled a trap with only one keeper. Thinking we were done, I released the keeper and we headed in.

After some lunch we had our second wind and decided to give it one last hoorah. Thinking I could trust people to not walk away with a crab pot when we were fishing so close to shore, we left the one missing a wall up by the car. Unfortunately, I give strangers too much credit, and someone helped themselves to my trap, rope, and buoy... lesson learned. Good thing I got a good deal on all those traps! 

Anyhow, after fighting our way out past the inside swells, I dropped my one pot in 20', sunburnt and tired. We fished another 30 minutes before deciding to lick our wounds and just call it a day, since conditions were going from bad to worse. But as I pulled my trap, I realized dinner plans were back on! After sorting through the bunch, we split 20 keepers from that one pot. That's a successful first attempt in my book.

All in all, a good day is becoming a better night... Garlic aioli is settling, water is about to boil, beer is cold, and butter is ready to clarify.

Cheers!

I'm glad you got some crab but man, what a costly day.  At least you learned some lessons out there.  I've only crabbed a couple of times from the kayak and to be honest it's not my favorite thing to do.  Maybe I'm just not that comfortable with it yet but I don't like having all that extra line on the boat, I worry about getting tangled if I roll (I don't really leash things for the same reason).  Maybe the more I do it the more I'll get comfortable with it because I sure do enjoy eating those little sea spiders!

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Wow, 20 in 30 minutes!  I think I'll get a trap.

Great report, thanks! I still have never crabbed at PC - no room on the tandem. Maybe next time we're out in the singles. Looks awesome.

I'm glad you got some crab but man, what a costly day.  At least you learned some lessons out there.  I've only crabbed a couple of times from the kayak and to be honest it's not my favorite thing to do.  Maybe I'm just not that comfortable with it yet but I don't like having all that extra line on the boat, I worry about getting tangled if I roll (I don't really leash things for the same reason).  Maybe the more I do it the more I'll get comfortable with it because I sure do enjoy eating those little sea spiders!

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I like to bungee my down pretty well and wrap the rope up and place it on top of the trap with the buoy ready. If I roll I can the bungees should keep it together if done properly. If you cannot flip the kayak. With them attached in bungee them and let them drop. Come back to the buoy and pull it up after you have re flipped the kayak. If this occurs in the surf then things may be a little different.

Sounds like your 2nd drop was timed right for the flooding tide & it appears you have the relentless spirit of a true fisherman. You'll get better at it each time you do it. Lots of good advice from the Salts on this forum. Bon appetit!