GOLDEN GATE


 

January 31, 2010    Headlines

 Dungeness Limits!


After two weeks of wet and windy weather private boats were back out trying to track down their gear. Some found most while others who left gear inside of 100 feet found many of their pots were tacked. Talking with a couple of commercial friends one snapped off 6 pots several out of a short string left in just over 100 feet of water. That's tough when you are only seeing 3 pounds per pot at the end of the day.
 Counts remain good with most private boats reporting limits of dungeness in 100 + feet of water off of the North Bar and up to Double Pt. Most of the crabs are small but we should continue to see limits through the Spring.
Gear left in shallower water (less than 80 to 100 feet) has a tendency to be sanded in after the big swell like we saw last week so fish deeper waters or bring the gear in. January and February tend to be the two months with the highest average swell. In the Spring the swell will lay down and we will see more crabs migrate into the shallows.
Other than crabs there isn't a whole lot to do offshore. (Perch and sand dabs?) The Emeryville Sport Center is running Sturgeon trips through March and halibut trips will being in April after the bay waters have cleared.


Dungeness Crab Season Opens on November 7th.
The 2009 sport Dungeness crab season opens state wide on November 7th. Previously the waters north of Pt Arena opened to sport crabbing on the last Saturday of November. The Cal Fish and Game Commission decided it would improve sport opportunity and be less confusing to have a uniform opening state wide.
This fishery has attracted a huge following among saltwater anglers. With the rockfish season now closed north of Pigeon Point party boats will be making both "crab and dab" trips out of the Golden Gate. Anglers can expect to catch 25, 50 or more sand dabs to go with the party boat limit of six crabs.  Most other ports do not have the sand dab fishery and far fewer party boats are offering trips this season.
2008 was a low of the crab cycle and we will start to see a rebound in the numbers this year. Last season many sport anglers saw catches of just 2 to 4 crabs per pot. Some did better and others fared far worse. This season it looks like we are going to see an explosion of smaller sport size crabs (5 3/4 to 6 1/4) but larger crabs will be fewer in number. Commercial boats won't likely see a huge increase in their catch but they will do better this season compared to last year's "bust". There is a huge biomass of smaller crabs and I expect that next season (2010) is going to be excellent for sport and commercial alike.
Top bet for Golden Gate anglers lie along the edge of the North Bar in 12 to 15 fathoms or if you don't mind traveling the waters around N buoy and south Drakes Bay in 15 to 30 fathoms are also top producing areas. To the south the sandy bottom from Mussel Rock to Pacifica is another good area but usually best in the Spring time when the crabs migrate into shallower waters. Navigating the hazardous bars outside the Gate is for experienced anglers only and when the swell is up a far safer bet is to book a trip on one of the many party boats that offer trips.
Crabbing is expensive but even with  the cost of gear and gear lose, fuel and bait it is much more satisfying to catch your own. If you don't want to invest a couple of grand in gear jumping on a party boat is less expensive and a great way to spend a day on the water. Out of the Golden Gate Emeryville Sportfishing is offering crab and sand dab trips daily beginning next Saturday. 510 654-6040.


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Party boat contacts:
The Emeryville Sportfishing Center is currently booking potluck and sturgeon trips. They have a great promotion that when you take six trips your "lucky" seventh trip is free. This is good on any of their boats. Reservations can be made at 510 654-6040.

The California Dawn / Berkeley 510 773-5511
 

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5-day plot - Wind Speed at 46026

5-day plot - Wave Height at 46026

 

 

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