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Topic: Crabbing/fishing in front of the dog park in Edmonds marina?  (Read 3386 times)

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  • Location: Edmonds
  • Date Registered: Oct 2017
  • Posts: 58
With the winter crab opener I was thinking I would try to launch out of the dog park there due to the proximity to both A9 and A10. 

The plan is to drop a crab trap in front of the dog park out in ~50ft, making sure to stay below the PBs/marina entrance but above Pt.Edwards which should keep me in A9 then paddle south until I pass the point to start fishing in A10.  I have scoured all the links I could but thought I'd see if anyone knew of a reason *not* to crab in that area? 

Any general tips about that region regarding crab/salmon would be great too.  I launched there for the first time last week but had only a few shakers and some huge swells to deal with, along with a gnarly current pushing me towards the ferry route the whole time.


Trident 13

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Kent
  • Date Registered: Jul 2016
  • Posts: 791
Tides and winds are really important there.  Not sure if you have experience crabbing in areas like that and while the concept sounded great if you dropped any today I’m hoping you you had then weighted pretty well.   Not sure if you went out or not, but it would likely be a good idea to try loading, dropping and retrieving in a more sheltered area without the big tide we had today. You mentioned some excitement last week, and adding pulling heavy pots with that kind of current and traffic would be a challenge. Thinking about kayak point next Saturday.


  • Location: Edmonds
  • Date Registered: Oct 2017
  • Posts: 58
Thanks for the reply.  Pulled and only had a red rock/females during the low tide after about an hour so I dropped again intending to pick it up later during high slack but as you may have deduced, I seem to have donated a trap to the sound.

I am going to check and see if it is recoverable during the low tide in hopes that maybe the buoy got dragged under but probably going to avoid that area in the future.  I'll probably check out picnic point or mukilteo area next -  is kayak point worth the extra distance covered? 

As far as the fishing goes, probably half as many boats as last week and only saw a couple jumpers with no nets flying.  Thinking it might be over for the salt silvers. 



Trident 13

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Kent
  • Date Registered: Jul 2016
  • Posts: 791
I was afraid if you dropped one with the size of the tide it was going to be interesting.  Lets hope it surfaces.  I lost my first pot earlier this summer but am sure it was to another boat, but still doesn't feel good.

Is it worth the extra distance to run to Kayak Point?  Well, truth be told, if it was economy I had in mind I'd be talking with the fish mongers, lol.
Kayak Point is a nice place to put in, but you have to watch where you drop as there's a steep dropoff of over several hundred feet.  You'll see where other pots are in general and stay well north of the pier people fish off.  I've done well 75 feet from shore in 30 feet of water, although it can be a pain when you're set for 100.  Just tie off some long knots and it works fine.  There's other places to go, I just don't get out that often. All said, weighted pots are important in tide runs and that adds a level of skill that’s good to hone in some sheltered areas.
« Last Edit: October 16, 2017, 09:19:05 PM by Trident 13 »


Trident 13

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Kent
  • Date Registered: Jul 2016
  • Posts: 791
Smoke, the weather is looking better toward Sunday/Monday, with a slack tide for a few hours around noonish and lighter winds, but from the south isn't my preference.  That said, it's 6 feet of tide vs 10+.  I watch when the direction of the wind aligns with the direction of the tide and expect that going any other direction will be a challenge.  Still wondering about Kayak Point on Sunday launching about 10:30-11ish and soaking them for a couple of hours.  Economical?  Not really, but fun?  Not sure it's a factor, but at Kayak where's there's a huge drop off to the south, when the tide comes FROM that direction, have to wonder if it's bringing any crab delight up with it that puts them on the hunt?  Don't know for sure, but it's a theory, lol.
« Last Edit: October 17, 2017, 11:27:11 AM by Trident 13 »


  • Location: Edmonds
  • Date Registered: Oct 2017
  • Posts: 58
Right on - I've been trying to wrap my head around matching winds/tides/current and that helps quite a bit. 


Trident 13

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Kent
  • Date Registered: Jul 2016
  • Posts: 791
There are lots of things to consider and when fishing inside the sound, planning is 1/4 (?) of the fun and really affects the time on the water. It's fun learning, estimating and then going back and seeing where you missed something.  Wind and tide are very important but also currents.  This is a link to a current chart of puget sound.
http://nsgl.gso.uri.edu/washu/washuc77001/washuc77001_part1.pdf
You can change the 1 to 2 for the middle basin and then to 3 for the lower sound. 

It took me a bit to figure out, but look at what the tide is doing in Seattle (follow the ball) and then look at what's happening with the currents where you're heading.  It's quite possible to have a strong outbound current in many areas with an incoming tide.  I'd worked my tail fighting the current only to realize I could have ride it in a large circle and let the inside current take me back close to where the tide pulled me away.  Translates to me as more quality fishing and less paddle pounding.
If you look at the highlighted area it's (should be) Kayak Point.  The BIG dropoff is at the bottom of the highlight.  About 11-ish I can paddle off shore and while doing the inevitable fiddling to get ready to toss the pot, at worst I'm moving back into shallower water rather than dropping a pot only to realize there's no bottom and having to pull it back up, store it and fight back to where I wanted to go.  I know the story all to well.
So, since I don't have a lot of time choice to fish and have to go when I have time, I really need to look at all of the factors for this old fart to have fun. 
A good example is the frisky Point No Point on an outgoing tide.  If you pay attention, you can go to the Point, let the current carry you out and slowly paddle part way in and you end up doing a large loop with limited paddling and higher quality fishing time.  These are hard lessons I've learned and been told by others, glad to pass them on.
Kind of interesting that the tide never flows from north to south on the west side of Vashon Island.  On the outgoing tide it naturally goes out.  On the incoming tide, more water goes around the east side and and hits Gig Harbor almost going a little north, raises a bit and makes the incoming tide split and part circles back on the west side going north and the other heads under the Narrows.
Don't laugh at the graphics, but you can kind of see this happening in the map.  I also made some squiggles where you want to be careful on outgoing tides below the Tacoma Narrows.  On the outgoing tide, all the water heading out is coming south around the island and runs into the north bound water from the south.  It's called popcorn.  Add wind and it can be fairly unpleasant.  Plan it right and I've made it from Nisqually/Olympia to Alki beach in a sea kayak in 9 hours.  Sorry to be long, but it's kind of fun.
« Last Edit: October 17, 2017, 08:05:08 PM by Trident 13 »


RoxnDox

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Native Propel
  • Location: Gig Harbor, WA
  • Date Registered: Sep 2013
  • Posts: 674
hey, those graphics were pretty good for a 1977 publication!

I was out on Sunday from Gig Harbor.  Rode the incoming currents down to the Narrows Bridge, then back up to the Harbor.  The overall flows are affected by underwater topography too - whenever you have a bend, a point, an underwater ledge or shoal, you can get lots of eddies and they can get pretty turbulent.  Enough that a kayak has to keep alert!  Plus moving areas of chop when incoming meets outgoing that can also get interesting, like the one Trident mentioned. 
Junk Jigs "BEST USE OF ACTUAL JUNK" category - "That tape should have been a prized possession and not junk. That will be a collectors item in 30 years!” & “There sure is a lot of junk in there.”


  • Location: Edmonds
  • Date Registered: Oct 2017
  • Posts: 58
Don't worry about the length, got an audience for it here!  The idea of planning loops and paths to minimize the struggle out there is extremely appealing - I'll be studying that current map closely for sure. 


JasonM

  • Lingcod
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  • Location: Snohomish
  • Date Registered: Jun 2017
  • Posts: 282
Thanks for posting all of that info, Trident. I can't say that I understood it well, but it did make it clear to me how little I understand about kayaking in the salt and how far I am from ready to do it. :)


Trident 13

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Kent
  • Date Registered: Jul 2016
  • Posts: 791
Glad it helped, looks like there will be at least several days where some planning time will be safer than paddling.  The old current chart is a sailing chart.  When you're going 4-6 knots you don't want to be heading into a 3-4 knot current.  I'm sure there's better ones out there now and finding them is part of the fun.  You realize pretty quickly it's not like fishing for perch in the pot holes.
We can watch the weather and maybe plan a good current run sometime, and Rox, do pay attention where the Fox Island outflow runs into the Nisqually up flow.  It happened to me one time on a windy marginally safe paddle day in the sea kayak and just developed around me.  If you watch however, it's like a rip tide on the ocean.  It's tough to fight, but forget the direction you want to go and look for the path out and you usually don't have to go more than a few hundred hards or less to be back in better water.  Nice call on the underground topography, if you find a hole and catch the water coming from deep up over  it's a great place to look for bait. 
This is a pretty good chart for depth
http://www.nauticalchartsonline.com/charts/NOAA/Pacific-Coast?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiIXF9If71gIVjjuBCh2rmw_rEAAYASAAEgKPq_D_BwE


RoxnDox

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Native Propel
  • Location: Gig Harbor, WA
  • Date Registered: Sep 2013
  • Posts: 674
This is one I keep bookmarked.  It's an online data viewer application, and it takes a few clicks to get down to the best parts, but the results are fabulous.

https://maps.ngdc.noaa.gov/viewers/bathymetry/

Click the box to uncheck and turn off "Multibeam Bathymetric Surveys"
Zoom in to the area of interest (Puget Sound, OR coast, etc)
Click the box to check and turn on "BAG Color Shaded Relief Imagery"
{optional} Click the box to check "DEM Color Shaded Relief Imagery"

Areas that have been mapped with their best high-resolution imagery (such as much of the Sound) will show up with a darker color gradient shading from shallow/orange to deep/dark blue.  Ordinary resolution has a light blue gradient and obviously far less detail.

Take a look under the Narrows bridge and it'll show the debris from old Gertie ;)

Jim
Junk Jigs "BEST USE OF ACTUAL JUNK" category - "That tape should have been a prized possession and not junk. That will be a collectors item in 30 years!” & “There sure is a lot of junk in there.”


Trident 13

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Kent
  • Date Registered: Jul 2016
  • Posts: 791
Rox, very impressive.  I think some combination of several of the tools makes a lot of sense.  Nice to have GPS coordinates of where you're looking.  I just need to figure out how to use the GPS on the Lowrance, lol
« Last Edit: October 18, 2017, 07:06:37 PM by Trident 13 »


  • Location: Edmonds
  • Date Registered: Oct 2017
  • Posts: 58
That is a sweet map, really good to put a detailed visual on some of the numbers and contour lines. 
Definitely some interesting stuff happening on the bottom there in front of the park.


RoxnDox

  • Salmon
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  • Native Propel
  • Location: Gig Harbor, WA
  • Date Registered: Sep 2013
  • Posts: 674
Rox, very impressive.  I think some combination of several of the tools makes a lot of sense.  Nice to have GPS coordinates of where you're looking.  I just need to figure out how to use the GPS on the Lowrance, lol

Me too. Ive only been out with mine twice, still figuring it all out!

Smoke, when you're looking at those terrain features, think about what it would have been like back in the last ice age as the glaciers melted back.  Deep channels gouged out, with steep sides like a fjord, and a crapload of loose sediment all around.  All that stuff gets washed downhill and into the gouged out grooves, accumulated as the sea levels rise towards today's level.  Loose sediments slump and collapse downslope, just like the Edmonds and Mukilteo hillsides do today above water.  Tidal currents wash the fine stuff around and form those sand ripples you see toward the bottom of that screenshot, based on the shapes the ice left behind.  It's just like looking at water flowing in a riverbed, except it changes directions... 

(Can't help myself, I work with all this stuff so I get a little long winded about it :) )
Junk Jigs "BEST USE OF ACTUAL JUNK" category - "That tape should have been a prized possession and not junk. That will be a collectors item in 30 years!” & “There sure is a lot of junk in there.”


 

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