With Puget Sound salmon fishing still in limbo, thoughts start turning to other possibilities. Such as … the fourth annual Speed Crabbing Derby?
Sure, why not? The event is billed as “unique,” and it certainly is that. Maybe even a little on the kitschy side, but with a serious aspect as well.
Dreamed up a while back by co-conspirators Eddie Adams and Adam Sinnett, the event is scheduled for July 9 this year, again benefitting the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.
And registration is now open for the world’s first and only such event, to be held at the Port of Everett 10th Street ramp, featuring teams of two, three or four crabbers racing the clock to catch and enter the 10 heaviest legal Dungeness crab in the shortest period of time. The field last year was made up of 27 teams that weighed in more than 450 pounds of crab. Adams and Sinnett said they hope to double those numbers this year.
The derby is free to all crab chasers. In addition to friendly competition, there are some seriously sweet prizes up for grabs: A Brutus Plus 40 Electric Pot Puller, two nights stay at the Inn at Port Gardner, a Deadliest Crab Pot with Neptune Triggers, and other good stuff. More importantly, the event allows avid crabbers to strike a blow against cancer simply by pulling pots and spending an enjoyable day on the water. Every pound of crab weighed in the competition is multiplied by the sum of the sponsor pledges and donated to SCCA. For those teams who want to do more, there’s also an optional team-powered giving competition, with a separate set of prizes awarded to the most charitable teams.
Teams are individually timed from the start signal until they cross the finish line. Those that come in early receive a weight bonus and those that finish late receive a weight penalty or worse, are disqualified. In addition to team prizes, there’s a special lunker award given to the individual who hauls in the single largest crab of the derby.
“Getting a good weight bonus is key to winning the derby,” Adams said. “It’s most often the deciding factor.”
More information can be found at www.facebook.com/SpeedCrabbing or www.twitter.com/SpeedCrabbing. To download the official rules, to register or to watch speed crabbing videos, visit www.SpeedCrabbing.com.
Kokanee winners
The kokanee derby on Lake Stevens on Saturday drew a good crowd and produced fish generally a little larger than last year, according to Greg Rockenbach at Greg’s Custom Rods in Lake Stevens. Some 209 adults and 48 youngsters answered the bell, about the same as last year, and they caught and retained a total of 629 kokanee, two rainbow trout, and one largemouth bass. The first-place kokanee in the adult category, worth $1,000, weighed 1.10 pounds and was caught by Kim Quiocho. That’s a significantly bigger fish than last year’s winner, at 0.86 pounds.
Placing second, worth $500, was Kenny Jans at 1.09 pounds; third, worth $250, was Chris Berg at 1.07 pounds; and fourth, worth $100, was split between Dave Hendrickson and Scott Kelley, both at 1.07 pounds.
In the kids’ category, first place and $100 went to Alex Davis with a kokanee of 0.97 pounds; second and $75 went to MacKenzie Ramsey with a largemouth bass of 1.96 pounds (second and third could be any species); and third, worth $50, went to Jace Stevens with a kokanee of 0.92 pounds.
The largest trout, worth $500 was caught by Lance Merz, a rainbow of 1.48 pounds. The heaviest boat limit, also worth $500, was claimed by Scott Kelley at 9.99 pounds (last year’s limit weighed 6.06 pounds).
Double winner Kelley was fishing a Dick Nite dodger with Kokanee DNA (a scent) at a depth of 6 to 16 feet.
Rockenbach said the fish were scattered all over the lake, and that most were caught shallow. “There were a lot of Dick Nite dodgers,” he said, “but the rest of the gear was all over the board.”
Trout derby
The new state Department of Fish and Wildlife-sponsored trout “derby” (see accompanying Pick of the Week) has been “an outstanding success,” according to the state’s inland fish program manager, Larry Phillips, in Olympia.
“If you measure success by license sales, we had the highest sales ever prior to this opening day,” Phillips said. “And we’ve had calls from (license) vendors who wished they had offered more prizes, and some who elected not to participate who wished they had.”
Phillips said an unintended benefit of the derby was to give trout managers a better idea of catch vs. planting patterns around the state. He also said the department was discussing expanding the derby, perhaps to include warm-water species in Eastern Washington.
Baker Lake sockeye
Brett Barkdull, Department of Fish and Wildlife’s biologist and manager of popular Baker Lake sockeye, said there’s been no final decision on how the fishery may or may not take shape this year. He said he’s guardedly optimistic about an opening on the lake, but not so much on the river. The reason for the uncertainty, of course, is the lack of agreement on Puget Sound salmon fisheries this summer in general, between the state and the tribes.
If predictions of the Baker Lake sockeye run size prove accurate, there should be plenty of fish available for spawning and harvest. Barkdull said the estimates are for a run size of slightly over 55,000 adult sockeye, compared to about 50,000 fish last year.
“That’s the largest forecast ever for this run,” he said, “and if the scenario plays out right, we can anticipate the largest return ever.”
Tony Bakke of the North Sound Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association said the club had been planning a Baker Lake sockeye derby for this summer, but that may not be in the picture. He said the club has to know whether the season is a go or not by about mid-June.
Shrimp results
The Puget Sound spot shrimp fishery is over in most marine areas, and shrimp manager Mark O’Toole at the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Mill Creek office said the season was generally a good one. The top areas were 10 and 11, Seattle/Bainbridge/Vashon, where at one point Elliott Bay shrimpers were checked with an average of 24 pounds of shrimp per boat.
“That’s incredibly good shrimp fishing for Puget Sound,” O’Toole said. “The average for all areas is usually around 16 to 19 pounds per boat. And at about 9 to the pound, those were big shrimp.
Marine Areas 8-1 and 8-2, our local waters, produced at about the same rate as last year — 17 to 19 pounds per boat. Both sides of Saratoga Passage were good, as was Camano Head. At 11 to 12 shrimp per pound, the size was about average.
Hood Canal, usually one of the state’s premiere spot shrimp fisheries, was down about 10 percent from last year, O’Toole said, and the shrimp were on the small side. There’s some quota left on the canal, he said, so it will reopen Sunday and Monday.
In the San Juan Islands, areas 7 South and 7 East will close at the end of the month, but 7 West will stay open, probably well into the summer.
For more outdoor news, read Wayne Kruse’s blog at www.heraldnet.com/huntingandfishing.
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