Tillamook Area - Presidents Day weekend - Crabbing and Fishing

I am headed out to Rockaway with the in-laws this weekend and hoping I can slip away for some crabbing and fishing.  Any recent reports from Tillamook bay or has the inflow been too much for crab and rockfish?   I have only fished ghost hole for salmon and never crabbed so would be nice to go with someone if others are going out.

Other options thinking maybe Nehalem or Netarts for just crabbing.  Tide timing this weekend doesn't look the best, but may try to make the most of it. 

Looks like some pretty sporty wind for Saturday and Sunday in the forecast.   I got four crab over at Netarts last night, at low tide wading in the shallows.   Not sure how the boaters are doing.

Yeah right after I posted I checked wind forecast and windalert predicting pretty stiff conditions through the weekend.  Between that, the fairly large tidal swings, first time kayak crabbing...maybe not the best weekend.   Also free fishing weekend sat-sun

In Netarts, were you picking them up or 4 in traps? 

I paddled by kayak over from near the boat ramp to the other side of the bay,  then I wade in the shallows at low tide using headlamp.  of course I'm in my drysuit.  I've  done alright at the minus tides capturing with a long handled net.

I live in Tillamook and as others will tell ya I’m fairly familiar with it, please don’t try it this weekend, there will be plenty of time to get at T-Bay for crab and small rock fish. Just keep lurking for the “let’s nail them”. Tillamook bay is no joke with 5 rivers feeding the outbound tide and the damn rain comes back Thursday. So this weekend don’t look promising or safe.
 Rant over, just stay safe and don’t be the guy we here about on the news 

Mojo,

Thanks for chiming in.  I had already read alot of your Tillamook posts so hoping you updated with current conditions.  Sounds like it wont be the weekend to be out there...oh well!

If you are set on getting in some crabbing then get yourself a Crabhawk, a large stiff spinning rod and reel combo, and a package of chicken legs and head to Netarts.  Crabbing with a crabhawk is a lot of fun!

Just bought crab traps this week, i think if I came home with more stuff the wife would finally have a fit about it!   I was reading there is some shore crabbing available at netarts? Can you toss a trap from the bank or is it too snaggy to risk that?

there's people who toss crabhawks from the riprap shore upbay from the boat ramp.  others toss traps from the end of the boat basin jetty at low tide.  The Coast Guard pier in Garibaldi is also open for crabbing.  I haven't been there but know a few people who have.  That might be the best bet given the wind forecast for this weekend but with all the rain flooding into the bay,  hard to say how many crab are inside Tillamook Bay.   http://visitgaribaldi.com/piers-end/

Yeah I have some coworkers who goto the garibaldi dock and have success.  May try that out for a few hours.

I crab at Netarts and have only lost one crabhawk and that was due to user error (someone reeled it in to a tree that was hanging out into the water).   There are some pull offs along Netarts Bay Dr that I pull off at and crab from the rocks.  Lots of crabs there last time I was there with the majority being Red Rocks but a decent sized Rock Crab is good eatin'

Beware the red rock crabs. Their claws are much stronger than a dungy, and will cause a lot more damage if they clamp down on you. Violin and piano players take especial care.

That having been said, while they yield less meat, you can keep more of them, and the meat is...how shall I say..."crabbier" and makes for a terrific crab/artichoke dip or casserole or however else you choose to prepare.

Garibaldi would definitely be easier to crab from the Port Pier but as alpalmer noted all of the rain might be pushing the crab out. It's a nice crabbing pier though and worth checking out if you haven't been there before. I have heard many times that the freshwater from heavy rains discourages the crab from entering bays. I don't have enough first-hand experience to know how much difference it really makes, so if you do go I'd love to hear how it went.

I have seen a lot of people throwing crabhawks from the shore at Netarts. It is definitely workable, but I did have to save someone's crabhawk from the riprap when out there on my kayak (it was probably user error). So cast far enough out and don't stop reeling on the retrieve.

a decent sized Rock Crab is good eatin'

I couldn't agree more! I really feel like red rock crab are undervalued, and I don't understand why. For my palate they are every bit as tasty as dungeness and much more plentiful in some areas. They are a little harder to crack open, but I've found that the harder I work for my food the better it tastes.

In the first picture I'm holding a dungy but the rest are red rock crabs - all caught from shore with crab hawks. The second picture is to demonstrate how big the claws are on adult red rock crabs.

So with a crab hawk, are people using spinning or conventional gear typically?  And do you just let it soak then reel? or if you have a sensitive enough rod, can you feel when a crab is in the trap?