By Wayne Kruse
For the Herald
Serious crab grabbin’ comes on line Saturday morning with the opening of arguably the most popular fishery in Puget Sound. Each year, sport fishers catch more than a million pounds of Dungeness crab, and while the forecast for this season is down a little from the two record years of 2015-16, there should still be enough crab to keep the pot-and-buoy crowd happy through the summer months.
In fact, the main hurdle to catching your share of that million pounds this weekend will involve getting your boat in the water, not a lack of crab. The crab opener, plus the start of a four-day weekend for many folks, is certain to create a circus at area boat ramps. So get there early and prepare for a wait.
Prepare also to enter any crab caught on your summer report card the minute they’re in the boat. This is always an important management tool, but Tom Nelson said this weekend there’s a particularly vital reason to do the right thing.
Nelson, a Tulalip resident and host of “The Outdoor Line” on 710 ESPN radio, said the tribes are contesting the accuracy of non-tribal harvest numbers and have asked the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to put more enforcement in the field. The idea, of course, is to check the accuracy of the existing report-card system. If it turns out a substantial percentage of recreational crabbers are cheaping the system by not reporting crab, the tribes would have a basis to insist on a higher quota.
That would not be a good thing for recreationists, Nelson said, nor is the fact that hiring more monitors is expensive.
But expect more attention to card compliance, he said, both on the water and at the ramp.
Marine Areas 4, 5 and 11 (Neah Bay, Sekiu and Tacoma) opened June 16 to run through Sept. 4; Area 12 (Hood Canal) opened June 24 through Sept. 4; Areas 6 (east Strait of Juan de Fuca), 8-1 (Deception Pass), 8-2 (Everett), 9 (Admiralty Inlet), 10 (Seattle), and 13 (south Sound) open Saturday through Sept. 4.
Because the crab molt in the San Juan Islands occurs later, Marine Area 7 South runs July 15 through Sept. 30, and Area 7 North runs Aug. 17 through Sept. 30.
In all areas of Puget Sound recreational crabbing is open Thursdays through Mondays only, and crab must be recorded on a catch record card immediately upon harvest.
Nelson likes the BeauMac octagon trap with entry tunnels, saying a pot of this type out-fishes a flat folding pot at least four to one. Most traps need more weight, Nelson said, both to prevent loss and because crab don’t like a pot moving on the bottom. If you’re a salmon fisherman, just attach one of your downrigger balls.
Nelson uses at least 150 feet of line per pot.
John Keizer, salmon expert and fishing entrepreneur, uses Danielson Octagons,with entrance ramps, a built-in bait holder and weighted doors. He also uses 150 feet of line.
First choice for bait would be a fish carcass, Nelson said. His second option would be turkey or chicken legs, or other parts, soaked in Pro Cure Crab Attractant.
Location? In our local waters, it may be hard to find an area without crab. Nelson said he seldom goes farther than Hat Island and usually stays closer than that. Promising areas include both sides of Saratoga Passage; the huge flat between the Everett Jetty and the north side of the Snohomish River delta; Port Susan; Elger Bay; Skagit Bay north of Rocky Point on Camano Island; the Tulalip Bay area, both sides, and others.
A short note: Eddie Adams’ popular Puget Sound Speed Crabbing Tournament has been canceled because of “a lack of time and resources.”
It was a lot of fun while it lasted, Eddie.
Ilwaco, LaPush and Neah Bay opened to salmon fishing Saturday to some surprising results, according to Wendy Beeghley, coastal salmon manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
It often takes a couple of days for charters and private boats to find the fish on a coastal opening, but Beeghley said both Ilwaco and Neah Bay probably will show close to a fish per rod when the data is in. LaPush was slow, however.
The second surprise was the mix of species at Ilwaco, normally known as a coho fishery early. Beeghley said the reverse was true this time, with a much higher percentage of chinook than coho, with the former going 8 to 12 pounds with a few in the high teens.
“The daily bag could contain one chinook,” she said, “and we saw a lot of one-king limits.”
A strong tidal run made for rough water in the morning, Saturday, but it calmed down later in the day.
The mix at Neah Bay also was chinook over coho, along with a handful of pinks, but Beeghley said the surprise was that a fair number of chinook were landed inside the Strait. It’s more usual for early chinook to lie outside, she said.
All in all, a very good opener on the coast.
Skagit sockeye
The number of Baker Lake sockeye showing up in the Baker Dam trap picked up late last week. As of Monday, 367 fish had been trapped and 123 had been transferred to the lake. The total trapped in 2016 was 24,990, and the 2017 preseason forecast was for 47,000 fish.
The trap counts typically peak between June 29 and Aug. 3.
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