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.

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California Waterfowl 2009 Dinners and Youth Events Calendar

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Albacore Sea Surface Temperature maps below: