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.
Upcoming Events:
USAFishing proudly
supports the many
fishery and wildlife
organizations that
benefit anglers and
hunters throughout
Northern California.
Does your organization
have an upcoming event?
Contact us at
fishsite@aol.com and
we will gladly post your
group's
information on our
reports pages.
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
Great Links
Fishermen, check out
DF&Gs easy-to-use
California Ocean Sport
Fishing Regulations Map.
Simply click the marine
location where you plan to
fish, and you will access a
list of Sport Fishing
Regulations for that area.
If you are looking to stay
on top of the action check
out the
Northern California Hotsheet
These in-depth fishing and
weather reports covering all
of Northern California are
emailed direct to your
desktop three evening per
week. The Hotsheet is a
major source of support for
USAFishing and helps to
maintain this website.
Albacore Sea Surface
Temperature charts below:
Be sure to check out the
California Fish and Game
regulations
before you go. Regulations
vary and you need to pay
attention to bait and hook
restrictions.
We recommend you check
Caltrans road conditions
as well.
Caught
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