Crab and all you want
squid are on tap for
Bodega Bay anglers. On
Wednesday 2-3
Rick on the New Sea
Angler took 19 anglers
out to the squid grounds
along the edges of
Cordell Banks. They
found fast, arm burning
action on the surface
and put in about 400
(impossible to count) to
about 60 pounds (too
slimy to weigh) in three
hours time. Rick is
running trips as often
as interest and weather
permits.
On the crab front Vince
on the Miss Anita was
out on Sunday and found
too quick of limits. It
took them just three
pots to score 3 limits
of crabs (6 to 8 legal
crabs per pot) and they
were back at the dock in
less than 2 hours time.
Vince has room for combo
squid / crab trips this
Saturday and Sunday.
They have a few anglers
on the books and need to
fill the roster for them
to do run combos this
weekend. These trips
will sell quickly so get
on the phone and grab
the last three spots
available and have a
superbowl crab feed.
After being tied up in
port for the past 12
days due to weather the
New Sea Angler was back
on the squid grounds on
Saturday 1-30.
Rick said it was a
beautiful trip out under
the stars with a full
moon reflecting back off
the open water. With all
the recent high south
winds and big seas it
was questionable if the
squid were still going
to be around. They
dropped down and found
them quickly with 350
squid tiring out the 27
anglers in about 3 hours
time. They are averaging
35 to 45 pounds with a
few pushing 60 or more
and they were back in
port a bit after the
noon hour with tentacles
hanging through the
scuppers.
On the crab front
private boaters were out
picking though what was
left to their scattered
gear. Some found all of
it others were not so
lucky. The good news is
that after a long soak
most reported 2 to 6
sport size crabs per
pot. It's that time of
year when counts will
start to climb in the
outer bay. For those in
smaller boats this is an
ideal time to work for
dinner inside the safety
of the Bay. The weather
looks great for Sunday
but the winds and light
rains return on Monday -
Wednesday.
With a biomass
of 10s of millions this
is not even a ding to
their numbers and there
is no telling what harm
these southern migrants
are doing to our
offshore rock and salmon
fisheries. They
are incredibly veracious predators and
through they die at just
one year of age will
grow to 50 to over 100
pounds in that short
period.
You can
learn more about the
Humboldt squid here
or check out this video
and
additional info here.
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.
The best bottom changes
year to year. Last
season was decent (at
best) for sport crabbers
but this season looks
more promising. Many
anglers prefer the
protected waters of the
Outer Bay. It can be hit
or miss but in a good
season anglers will find
plenty of crabs working
the waters south of
Doran beach in 40 to 70
feet + of water. Its
unusual to lose gear in
the Outer Bay even
during large storms and
in a "good" season there
is no need to fish
unprotected waters if
you can get limits in
the outer bay. The best
producing waters but
offering no protection
are from Salmon Creek to
the Russian River in 70
plus feet. The
commercial fleet works
these waters hard and
for good reason, they
often produce the
largest catches. Yes
there are lots of crabs
to be caught inside of
this line but if you are
leaving your gear in
overnight you are taking
a chance. Deeper is not
always better but the
further offshore you
fish the less likelihood
of having your catch
robbed. Bodega Bay is
one of the more popular
ports and on opening
weekend it's not unusual
to see over 200 private
boats launching, all the
local campground will be
full and the tap, tap,
tap of crab being
cracked around the fire.
We
appreciate all of our readers support and we will continue
delivering timely fishing reports.
All we ask in return is
for your support of the
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
We are working hard to keep you
on top of the fish and the CSPA is working even harder to
protect them.
Become part of the solution!
Mike Aughney
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 the
information on our
reports pages.
California Waterfowl 2009
Dinners and Youth Events
Calendar
Party
Boat Contacts:
The Bodega Bay
Sportfishing Center
is currently booking
trips on the New Sea
Angler.
They also book the six
pack Sandy Ann,
Profishn't and during
the summer the Predator.
Reservations can be made
at 707 875-3344.
The 34'
Miss Anita
captained by Vince
Orsini, 6 passenger
catamaran charter 707
875-FISH
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 maps below: