Crabbing continues to be fairly decent (for some) inside the bay. Outside, well, I hear the commercials are already starting to see a drop in their catch. When the first pull has females in it the keepers aren't thick. (FYI: The large male Dungeness crab are, lets say, pushy. If there's a lot around they will crowd out the females that aren't as big or as pushy. In a good year you catch only dudes for the first month or so. If you catch females on your first drop it doesn't mean the season is over but it sure ain't a sign of plenty.) There will still be plenty of crab out there for everybody that can do a long soak but for us day fishermen the good times are pretty much over. Not too much commercial gear in the outer bay and none in Tomales Bay, so the mediocre crabbing can continue unabated. Rockfish and crab guys, tomorrow is your last chance until April. 

     So, as reported on here a few days ago, a gentleman told me that he saw "black-out-the-meter" baitfish at the weather buoy in Tomales Bay. Well, I like herring for bait (and eating) so Wrybread and I took a little trip today to see if they exist. While we did not find the quantity reported earlier I can say that the fish do exist. The deep hole immediately south of Pelican Point has pinhead anchovies, jack mackerel, sardines, herring, shiner perch, and mackerel in it in 50 to 60 feet of water. My list is from most to least. Probably 50 'chovies to only one mackerel with a half of a five gallon bucket to convert to tray bait and dinner. Wrybread's tempura anchovies and jack mackerel were damned tasty. If only they were larger. After last year's tray bait shortage, and the consideration that really, nothing has changed to make tray bait more plentiful, the vast majority of our catch went on cardboard and into the freezer. Will it be good bait? I guarantee that it will better than no bait at all. We're hoarding for an uncertain future. PS, if you think that salmon aren't interested in mackerel to eat, you've clearly never tried it. They like eating little blobs of fat as much as any red-blooded American. Think Homer Simpson and donuts. I don't know how long the baitfish will stay there but, at 48º, the water says not long. The fish may say something different, though, as pelicans are still around in large numbers as well as whales and feeding birds offshore (I hear). I'd say global warming but 48º seems like the wrong number for that. Whatever, they're there now; get 'em while you can.

   

    I hope everybody had a good winter solstice holiday, Christmas, Hanukkah, whatever it is you may celebrate. It worked and the days are starting to get longer. It also worked in that my wife bought me the reel I wanted. Life is good. The total tally for the family by the end of Christmas makes me happy for my neighbors at the Outdoor Pro Shop. A reasonable amount of their sales were under our tree this year. Most of it wasn't mine, but still. I hope everybody got what they wanted, or at least, as the Jagger said, what you need. 

    The day after Christmas, the 26th, was the day for commercial boats to drop their traps, starting at 8:01 AM. Gage missed Christmas dinner with his mom and dad to go out with his cousin on a commercial crabber (more food for me). He heard of three boats requesting help from the Coast Guard on the 26th. Two were sinking when they called. One, a Farallon, sank (rolled over) just outside the jaws of Pillar Point harbor. At least one other may have been a boat out of San Francisco. I have no facts, but it is reasonably common for boats to roll over or sink on the opener with too much gear on board or on deck. What's too much? I don't know, but marine architects have math to say what's okay. My rule is that if it looks iffy then it is not okay. If I'm not sure then it's iffy. As a man I can tell you, if you think there may be a problem then there probably is (we tend to underestimate danger. Testosterone is a rough drug.) . Be sure and be safe. As far as we heard, everybody made it home safe, but still. A ride home in your own boat is way better then a ride home with the Coast Guard.

     There were only three launches out of here today and they did okay on the crab. Nobody left the bay but they all came home with crab. Low boat had six Dungeness and high boat was limited, so it sounds like there's still a few crab in the bay. Or there were. I heard yesterday that there was "black -out-the-meter" bait just south of Hog, near the yellow buoy. Could be herring. The time is right. The time to catch next season's blue label bait is upon us. Also, they're pretty damn tasty. 

   

   So, Gage, Giuseppi Maselli, Brian Rocha and I decided to give the rockfish and crab a try today. The weather was not quite as advertised but at least running south into a south wind meant an easy ride home. The ride down? Well, let's talk about the nice things. The crabbing was good. This pictured pot had a three hour plus soak. It was our best trap with ten jumbos and two 6"ers. Out of seven traps, we came home with our forty Dungeness, 6"+, and six traps. Note to self, when someone gives you rope saying they don't trust it for their traps and you use it, assuming that your hand pulling won't break it, then you buy a pot puller, you should change your rope. Don't worry, all my crappy traps are okay. Only the good stainless one is gone. Dammit. I had to buy a pot puller after reading on Coastside Fishing Club that anybody without a puller was obviously a pot pirate. You'd think a good pirate would spend his money on a puller rather than traps since one gets the other, but, I bow to the accumulated knowledge of the discussion boards there. That bowing cost me a pot but Gage is still walking upright, so... Break even I guess. The commercials drop on Sunday, so the crabbing awesomeness will likely drop off soon after, but the fishing was stupid. Biggest problem? Too many lings. It is hard to concentrate on rockfish when the lings keep assaulting your gear. We released, conservatively, twenty keeper sized lingcod today, not counting the fish that came off the hook on the way up. Giuseppi said to me, " I've never heard you curse before." Well, he'd never seen me lose a big ling before, either. That fish felt like I'd hooked the bottom except that it was coming up. Dammit. It was a good day, but the ones you lose haunt you. For the record, We crabbed and fished off of Ten Mile, best fishing and crabbing south of Abbott's Lagoon. 

      

   Brad Stompe sent a report :"Hey Willy,

Thanks for the heads up on rockfish reg. changes.  I find it interesting that you have caught so few quillback considering the results we had Saturday fishing between the end of Pt. Reyes and Abbots Lagoon.  I think browns were the most prevalent, but quillback were abundant.  We did well on vermillion and canaries too fishing 150 - 200' of water.  It was one of those beautiful days with little wind that made it easy fishing the deep water.  Also plenty of crab on 10 Mile with easy limits for 3.

Regards,

Brad Stompe"

   Well, Brad, for the record, the first fish we caught today was a quillback, but at 5" long, Gage wouldn't keep it. His pride got in the way. We suck at quillback, but part of that might be our focus on schoolies. In that area we like to find schools and fish them until they quit biting. They clean easier and bite quicker, usually. Today? We think the post-spawn lingcod have the rockfish a bit nervous as they are hungry. The rockfish were schooled up 20 feet off the bottom or more. Seven of eight of our lingcod were spawned out. Try for lings. They were stupid for swimbaits today. 

  

 

     There's a few new rules on the way. It appears that, starting next year (or maybe sooner) the limit for vermillion rockfish will drop from the current five to four fish. Quillback and copper rockfish will have limits of only one of each. The Pacific Fisheries Management Council has concluded that these three rockfish are overfished and need lower limits to help their numbers bounce back. The quillback should be the easiest one to stay legal with, as I rarely see them around here. I think Gage and I have boated three in the last two years, so we'll need to increase our quillback take dramatically to limit out. I'll probably just keep doing what I'm doing. Four vermillions per person is still a pretty good number. You could go over that in the right spot but, probably not. Only one copper, though, will see many a fish tossed back (or should, at least). It's a good thing for coppers that they're nearly indestructible. If they can survive five hours in my ice chest they will probably survive a release. 

   

 No traps tomorrow. Traps open here on Friday at 9:00 AM. So, those of you that purchased your $2.42 Crab Trap Validation, you have sixteen days to use it in Fishing Zone 3. 

"

California Department of Fish and Wildlife Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program Update

December 15, 2021

CDFW Director Bonham has completed an assessment of marine life entanglement risk for the recreational and commercial Dungeness crab fisheries under the Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP). Recreational Dungeness crab trap fishing in Fishing Zone 3 (Sonoma/Mendocino county line to Pigeon Point) will open under a Fleet Advisory beginning at 9 a.m. this Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. The commercial fishery will open in that area under a Fleet Advisory at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, with a pre-soak period to begin at 8:01 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021. The commercial fishery 40-fathom depth restriction will also be lifted in Fishing Zone 4 beginning at 8:01 a.m. on Dec. 26.  Based on data collected during the most recent risk assessment, the Director has determined that risk of entanglement has declined, and it is time to provide fishing opportunity in all fishing zones. However, informed by requests from port and crab boat owner associations in zone 3 to promote a fair and orderly fishery, the season delay in zone 3 will continue until Dec. 29. These groups have requested additional time to prepare and set gear for an orderly start to the commercial fishery. This also gives the remaining whales additional time to leave the fishing grounds, further reducing risk of entanglement when the season opens.  To see the full news release please visit the CDFW News Room. For more information, please see the FAQs for the new recreational crab trap regulations or CDFW’s Whale Safe Fisheries Webpage.

"

   The spotter plane flew on December 10 and now a new California Department of Fish and Wildlife Initial Assessment of Marine Life Entanglement Risk and Preliminary Management Recommendation exists as a result. The CDFW staff recommends lifting the trap restriction in Zone 3 at 9:00 AM on December 16. They recommend commercials be allowed to drop gear on the 19th at 8:01 AM for the "pre-soak." The California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group had differing opinions about opening and, as they are primarily comprised of commercial interests, their interest was in delaying the opening a bit until January 1, mostly. I don't know how much pushback was involved during the last couple of Working Group meetings but I do know that the Director went with the staff recommendation. There are still a few (more than a few?) "actionable species" around, so there's a decent chance the season may still get delayed. Either way, a pronouncement is extremely likely tomorrow. My guess is that the Director will go with the staff's recommendation and we will get to drop traps on Thursday morning (Not in the ocean. 10 to 12 foot swells will lock me in the bay for sure). The commercial fishermen could decide to postpone their start themselves in order to minimize the possibility of an interaction with an "actionable species." Or the fact that the fish processers and buyers are having the same luck finding employees as anybody else (which is not much). Luckily the world needs more drama. Tune in tomorrow to find out what happens....

    

   This just in. Matthew Vansickle reports: "My buddy Lenny and I (Matt) drove out from chico on friday, got limits of crab on fri, ate well! ½ limits on Saturday ,lost  3 hoops on the afternoon out going tide(oops), then on sunday found 1 hoop about a mile from where it was dropped, then (in the middle of talking about how it's too late in the year and the water cooled off too much) caught this halibut on a jig and lost a better one at the surface about 5 mins later. There is still schools of chovies from the landing down to hog ! Love camping at Lawsons and can't wait to come back!" Sorry you got Tomalesed Matthew, but nice job on the bugs and 'but! You'd think that with all those crab in the net it couldn't drag. 

 Here's the official word on no traps here still but traps okay elsewhere, soon:

"

California Department of Fish and Wildlife Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program Update

December 9, 2021

CDFW Director Bonham has completed an assessment of marine life entanglement risk for the recreational and commercial Dungeness crab fisheries under the Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP). Fishing Zone 4 (Pigeon Point to Lopez Point) will open for recreational Dungeness crab trap fishing under a Fleet Advisory beginning at 9 a.m. on Dec. 10, 2021. The commercial fishery will open in Zone 4 under a Fleet Advisory and Depth Constraint at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 16, 2021, with a pre-soak period to begin at 8:01 a.m. on Dec. 13, 2021. Commercial fishing activity will be limited to depths of 40 fathoms and shallower across Zone 4 and be required to have an electronic monitoring system onboard. Information about electronic monitoring is available here. The commercial fishery will continue to be delayed in Fishing Zone 3, from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line to Pigeon Point, due to the presence of high numbers of humpback whales in the Gulf of the Farallones. The temporary crab trap restriction for the recreational fishery will also remain in place in Zone 3 until it can be evaluated at the next risk assessment, currently expected to occur on or around Dec. 15, 2021. To see the full news release please visit the CDFW News Room. For more information, please see the FAQs for the new recreational crab trap regulations or CDFW’s Whale Safe Fisheries Webpage.

" So, we wait a bit longer, as expected.

    Since our power was out this morning I decided to give the Tomales Bay Dungeness a try. I learned a couple of things. First, when the forecast says Gale Warning, there's a pretty good chance that the wind will blow. Hard. This was definitely a day for the conicals as I was pulling everything sideways. You know you're skidding your gear when the nets come up with clam shells in them. Second, I learned that a Gale Warning will clear most of the other boats out. Once I got a few hundred yards from the Landing it was just me. It would have been peaceful if the wind wasn't trying to suck my stocking cap off. Third, you'll be drier and warmer if you wear your foul weather gear. I didn't wear mine. Finally, I tried a few spots but found that the area towards the mouth from Marker 5 and closer to the sand bar was the best place I tried. I finished with nine in a couple of hours using three conicals and I threw back a dozen maybe-legals (they were right on the line with my gauge but not worth a ticket if my gauge and the warden's gauge disagree) and probably three dozen just-shorts. Next year will be good, as will the season end in May and June. They'd be better as jumbos but keepers are all better than shorts. I did see several buoys around with nobody servicing them. Most were lost gear (I was tempted to bring in a trap in four feet of water with a seaweed beard five feet long, but showing up on shore with crabs and a trap in the boat? Nah. Hopefully the cotton is rotten.) but I did see two recently serviced traps. Not coincidentally, Tomales Outlaw texted me this morning to remind me that commercial red crab trap fishing isn't closed. At least, that is our understanding. Neither of us are lawyers. Is it fair? Is any of it? The threatened lawsuit that started this whole mess targeted Dungeness traps, not reds. All the attention went there. I'm not complaining, as I don't want to be the proverbial crab in the bucket, pulling the other crabs back in. A smart crab would pinch the guy that put him in the bucket. I'm glad I didn't catch any smart ones today.

     More of the same crab report. Slow to okay in the bay, a little better in the Outer Bay when you can get there. The rockfish are still out there but I feel like they miss me as I haven't been out to visit them in a couple of weeks. Here's a report/question from a reader: "Hi Willy,

I really appreciate the blog and check it regularly.  I wonder if you might address in a future post the situation that there seems to be a lot of untended crab gear in Tomales Bay.  I was out crabbing with my brother and sister in law over Thanksgiving, using some heirloom hoop nets I stitched together since we couldn't find a store with nets in stock, and in each spot we tried (outer bay, near marker 5, and White's Gulch) we saw a fair number of what looked like crab floats that nobody came to check in a 2-hour span.  We did ok and brought home a smattering of dungeness and reds, but I was wondering if there are a lot of folks leaving their equipment unattended or even using traps and letting them soak for hours or days, either not realizing what the regs require, or just plain disregarding them.  It sure is frustrating to think others are not playing by the rules while we're honoring the gear and time limitations.  OTOH, if I'm mistaken about what I'm seeing and there's a good explanation for the apparently untended gear, I'd be glad to know it.

Many thanks and please keep posting,

Sean"  First off, Sean, for future reference, we have both kinds of nets in stock at the moment, although my guess is that by the end of the month you'll probably be okay to use traps again, legally. Probably. As far as a good explanation for all the unattended floats, well, you can be the judge. Obviously, I can't speak for every buoy, but here are my suspicions:

   Some of those are exactly what you think. There are probably a few traps out there, some from people that are blissfully ignorant of the new regs and some that are just unrepentant poachers. Some people leave nets out for multiple days thinking it gives them an edge (PS: Those people are beyond stupid. That is not how a ring net works. At all. Crabs aren't malevolent spirits that can be trapped in a circle. I kinda doubt that it works with the spirits). I haven't seen a warden here since.... September? August?
But that doesn't mean that they haven't been around. Wardens are like Great White Sharks to abalone divers; you may not have seen them, but they sure saw you. I'm guessing that trap/net enforcement on the water is less than we'd like (unless we were the ones with traps).  But I don't think that most of the buoys you saw were recent traps or intentionally set long-term-rings. As a purveyor of crab gear, I can tell you with some authority that A LOT OF CRAB GEAR gets lost in Tomales Bay. A LOT. The current sucks the buoys under or drags them to a new location. People can't find them and they go home. It is rumored that the name Tomales is from the Miwok word for "lost crab gear" (It isn't but it should be. "Didn't you leave with more gear?" "Yeah, but the current sped up and I got Tomalesed"). I lost a trap in the bay for over a week a few years ago. When I found it again I had the emotional rollercoaster of recovering my lost gear and then having to empty the rotten bait from it. I had an opportunity to go right back out and look because I'm here (and it still took over a week). For the folks that live in the valley? That gear is gone. So what can you do about it? Very little, legally, as it doesn't belong to you. You can, however, go here and report it, where someone may come to get it. Or not, but it lets those in a position to hopefully change policy know that there is an issue. We may not like their solution, however. Be careful what you ask for. 

     So, the new "California Department of Fish and Wildlife Initial Assessment of Marine Life Entanglement Risk and Preliminary Management Recommendation" is out. So far (twice), the Initial assessment has been accepted as the rule. If this streak continues, you can expect traps to open. Not here, of course, but elsewhere. Area 4, Pigeon Point to Lopez Point,  is recommended to open soon for traps. Area 3 (Gualala to Pigeon Point) can suck it continue to crab with nets. Not official, many things can be chosen instead, but if the short history of this regulation is any indicator, this will be the rule. Commercials will get to drop gear in Area 4 as well, with depth restrictions (again, if approved). I know this seems draconian, but just know that as the rules go, we can wrap up as many gray whales as possible with no impact to our crabbing. So, go shallow. I guess we don't care about them. (Okay, for the record, I do care. Whales are beyond awesome. I'm reasonably Christian in my upbringing, but when you see a blue whale, whoah... I now understand how people can assign godlike properties to animals. Those critters are BIG and possibly don't even recognize you and your boat as a thing, like Godzilla smashing Tokyo and not seeing the people. To be in their presence is to witness at least one of the grander works of a God with serious ambitions. There's just so much whale.)

     Luckily, ring nets work. They work better when they're conical, but all of the gear has been working. The flat rings require more effort, but the guys that have been successfully running them for years don't seem to be all bent by the new regs. They just keep quietly catching. So, like so many things, there's a learning curve if you choose to try. If you're a dedicated trap guy with no interest in learning (I feel you, brother) then the cones are for you. Tomales Bay was slow over the weekend, mostly due to king tides. Those excessively high tides are followed immediately by (and strangely, not mentioned in the media) excessively low tides. The eight foot tide change was great for gear loss, and a seller of crab gear I appreciate it. It was not good for actual catching. Outside in the ocean where the tidal currents are less the crabbing was still pretty good, when you could get there. The bar was...dicey at times. I think that expresses that the chances of dying on the bar this weekend were fair to middling. The weather this week looks to be in the crab's favor. The forecast currently calls for a bit of rain in the next week or so which bodes well for our shiny prey, the salmon. They got enough rain to make some babies. Now we need enough to keep them alive. I appreciate the hatchery fish (I eat enough of them, so I should) but naturals are even better. When you hook one, you know. 

    Mostly good weather here over the last week with only a couple of days you couldn't (breaking bar) or wouldn't want (windy) to head out to the ocean. The crabbing situation remains about the same; Ten Mile very good, Outer Bay good depending on location, and inside Tomales Bay good to bad depending on who you ask. Some insiders limited out pretty easily and some had a hard time catching a couple of reds. By and large, almost everybody had crab to eat but most would have liked more. No word on when traps will open yet but the state testing of crab for domoic acid has finally come up entirely clean now, so if you like the "butter", I guess you can "enjoy" it. 

    Rockfishing has been a bit slow near the mouth of Tomales Bay but definitely better when to get away from where everybody else has been fishing. Gage and I took a couple of buddies out for rockfish on Thanksgiving morning and we caught 40 rockfish and 5 lings to 15 pounds. We only dropped on schools of fish instead of blind drifting and probably spent as much time looking for schools as we did fishing them, but when they were decent fish (w e also stopped over a couple of schools of tiny ones) they were on the hook as soon we got to the bottom. Small jigs and shrimp flies for the rockfish and 8" swimbaits for the lings. 

   My lack of reports (and the boring ones I make when I do write something) correctly inspired Branden Mendoza to send over this report:

   "Hey willy late report from Friday. Went down to 10 mile for 2 limits of crab and a few rockfish and 2 lings. Proceed to make crab and salmon raviolis on Saturday was a great weekend." That looks and sounds spectacular. If your goal was to make me jealous, you succeeded. 

 The crabbers in powered boats have mostly been doing okay in the bay for Dungeness. I have heard of very few limits but even less skunks. Mostly boat are returning with four to sixteen Dungeness between Sand Point and Pelican Point. The usual spots, as usual, have had the most crab and the most pressure. The water around Marker 5 isn't solid buoys but it wouldn't take too many more to get there. The current has been running pretty hard in the afternoon and stealing gear. Don't let your rings linger in the channel too long. The Outer bay has been better on average but no guarantee of success. Don't be afraid to move around some. Ten Mile has definitely been more consistent but also has blank spots. 

    The official notice about no traps here (We are in Area 3) was released yesterday:

California Department of Fish and Wildlife Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program Update

November 19, 2021

CDFW Director Bonham has completed an assessment of marine life entanglement risk for the recreational and commercial Dungeness crab fisheries under the Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP). The commercial Dungeness crab fishery will open on Dec. 1 in Fishing Zones 1 and 2, north of the Sonoma/Mendocino county line to the Oregon state line. The recreational fishery for Dungeness crab is open statewide (all Fishing Zones) with a temporary crab trap restriction for Fishing Zones 3 and 4 (from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line to Lopez Point in Monterey County). The commercial fishery will also continue to be delayed in Fishing Zones 3 and 4 due to the presence of high numbers of humpback whales in the Gulf of the Farallones and Monterey Bay.  In early December, CDFW will re-assess entanglement risk in Fishing Zones 3 and 4. CDFW staff and collaborators have scheduled additional surveys in the next two weeks that, weather permitting, are anticipated to provide the data necessary to reassess whale presence. It is anticipated that the next risk assessment will occur on or before December 15.

     Amanda Rocha schooled Gage on lingcod yesterday and especially hurt his feelings with this 20 pounder. His feelings weren't hurt enough that he wouldn't share the picture, at least. This ling, and the rest of the ice chest full of rockfish, were caught between the Keyholes and Abbott's Lagoon in about 120 feet of water. The lings liked the brown 8" swimbaits from Pitbull. 

   Today Gage and I made a run on flat water to the far side of Cordell Banks to look for bluefin. I think we saw a couple on the fishfinder but we had no takers for our slow-trolled live jacksmelt and huge sardine. We did see quite a few whales, especially in about 300 feet of water on the way in where there were over a dozen "bird-nado" spots with clouds of birds feeding on bubble-netted bait (anchovies?) while humpbacks lunge-fed . I wish salmon season was open because it looked like easy limits. It also didn't look good for traps.

 

     Good news first. While the crabbing is far from red hot inside the bay, it ain't bad, either. I only spoke with two of the returning boats today but one had nine Dungeness and the other, sixteen. The snare-throwers are still catching some from the bank. The outer bay has more crab but you still need to work to find them. They ain't everywhere. Nobody has been down to Ten Mile since the weekend but nobody that went then complained about the crabbing or fishing. The crab aren't a thick carpet down there, either, but there's probably more good spots than bad spots. Run the gear and move it until you know you're in a good spot. Then consider rockfish. 

    The bad news: It looks like no traps until at least mid-December. There are still whales. Hey, at least most of us don't have house payments that depend on us catching crab. For those that do, sorry. Here's the link to the Assessment, and here's the link to the data. If you've been on the fence about buying rings, just know that it's not just this year for the restriction. Consider your purchase an investment towards your future. And if you look at the data, page 6 shows the largest concentration of humpbacks to be at Cordell Bank. What does that mean? Concentrations of baitfish, maybe? Big, fat whales gotta eat. So do big, fat bluefin. Correlation is not causation, as they say, but the next largest concentration of Humpbacks is just west of where the Santa Cruz boats are still catching tuna. Well. Cordell isn't far....

    I'm not sure of these folks' names but I believe that they're part of the Carl Rhodes group here. It sounded like the first couple of days of crabbing they caught a few, but by today they were limiting on crab and rockfish and they even caught one of Gage's fish. Gage says it wasn't big as his big one but it looks bigger than the one I caught. Not everybody did as well, but it mostly wasn't sadness today. Even the beach-bound snare-chuckers caught pretty decent crab today. I even heard of a young man with four commercial-sized crab from the surf side of the beach today. The beach fishing is kinda meh right now. But the crabbing from shore isn't bad. 

 

     Here's a report from today from Richard Baratta: "Hey Willy, we Follow the advice of a certain fishing blog today and ended south by the big beach in the slop and chop. Had to move the hoops three times Found some big ones for two limits and 70 feet some nice rock cod to but no lingcod due to the strike because of the recent demise of their leader. Nice to see the beach so busy even with more beach.

Richard" Well, Richard, I was watching Gage and it turns out the trick is to wait a bit before reeling up your hooked rockfish. Gage was marveling at the fight that canary was putting up before it suddenly stopped wiggling and just went to serious dead weight. The ling never twitched, as it was busy trying to anaconda a seventh of its weight. In my humble opinion, there are likely bigger ones out there as the deep water has been off limits for a long time now (close to 20 years) and lings make lots of babies. It is probably lucky for the other rockfish that lings also eat their own, or there'd be no other rockfish. Gage advised a few other boats that had similar success today, limits of rockfish and Dungeness but no lingcod. 

    Richard also sent this video of a conical net in use. I think they work okay.

    Other people caught fish and crab today, but Gage wants you all to know that he caught this 23 pound lingcod. As you might notice, it was a hitchhiker on a 2-3 pound canary. It was our largest fish by far. We ended with four lings 5 to 23 pounds, twenty rockfish 2 to 6 pounds, and 20 commercial-sized Dungeness down on Ten Mile. We put our rings in 70 feet of water and fished in 120 feet and bounced back and forth. There's definitely a proper time for a soak with nets and it seems to be somewhere between 20 minutes and an hour. When we pushed toward the two hour limit our numbers dropped. Also, everybody that paid extra to get a conical hoop net should know that it was money well spent. I believe that our single cone caught at least 10 of our 20 crabs and beat our three ring nets pretty easily. I think that is partly because it was difficult to raise any of them straight up and the crab bailed out of the flatter rings quickly. The "Type B" hoop has walls. As there will likely continue to be whales in the ocean in the coming years, I think that we may have to add another couple "B"'s to our collection. The few other guys that I spoke with did well on the crab down there and caught some rockfish, too, but Gage wants me to assure you that they didn't do as well as him. 

    Inside Tomales Bay the Dungeness crabbing is slower but not dead. One gentlemen fishing from shore told me that he and his friend had caught 12 Dungeness and 5 big reds from the beach. He was camping here for a few days so I don't know if that was a daily total or for a couple of days, but either way it ain't a bad number. I believe that he was using squid for bait in his snares. The powered boaters are returning with 0 to limits in the bay with the average running pretty close to four keepers per boat. Remember, if the average is four and a couple of guys caught 20, a lot of people caught very few. Remember, if you're not catching in a spot, move. It may not get any better but it the catching won't get any worse.
 

       After replying to many questions on here, in the email, and by text, please allow me to, again, share my understanding of the regulations. Then I'll post those so can make your own interpretation.

      

   These are legal to use now. This is a "hoop net, Type B". You'll see it in the rules to follow. The classic ring net is also kosher. So are snares with no more than six loops. There is significant pressure on the powers that be to open traps soon, and likely, if they have a borderline report on turtles/whales they may open sport traps and commercial. Commercial in the area between Point Reyes and Gualala may have to wait a bit longer as there's some dirty crab near the Russian River. Not very many, and not very dirty, but there's just enough domoic acid to screw their season over and yet allow us to fish with a "clean before eating" advisory. No "butter" for you. Ocean conditions seem good for salmon and whales, so it remains to be seen how many whales are actually counted in their official survey.  I'm seeing way too many pelicans around to feel very hopeful. Pelicans leave when the food leaves. Like Doug.

  Here's the official regulations :

29.80. Gear Restrictions for Recreational Take of Saltwater Crustaceans.

(a) General Provisions:

(1) Saltwater crustaceans may be taken by hand.

(2) Nets, traps or other appliances may not be used except as provided in this Section.

(3) It is unlawful to disturb, move, or damage any trap; or remove any saltwater crustacean from a trap, that belongs to another person without written permission, including permission transmitted electronically, in possession from the operator of the trap. Any person with written permission from the operator of a crab trap will be in compliance with subsection (c)(3)(A)(1) if the written permission contains the operator’s GO ID number that matches the GO ID number on the buoy of the crab trap being fished.

(b) Hoop nets may be used to take spiny lobsters and all species of crabs. Between Point Arguello, Santa Barbara County, and the United States-Mexico border, not more than five hoop nets shall be possessed by a person when taking spiny lobster or crab, not to exceed a total of 10 hoop nets possessed when taking spiny lobster or crab per vessel. The owner of the hoop net or person who placed the hoop net into the water shall raise the hoop net to the surface and inspect the contents of the hoop net at intervals not to exceed 2 hours.

(1) Hoop Net Defined: There are two types of hoop nets allowed for use:

(A) Type A: Fishing gear that is comprised of one to three rigid ring(s), with each ring measuring no greater than 36 inches in inside diameter nor less than 10 inches in inside diameter, which is/are connected to soft mesh thereby forming a circular-shaped net with an enclosed bottom. Lift lines shall be attached only to the top ring. A second and third rigid ring(s) may be connected by soft mesh to the top ring; however, each ring must be equal in size to or smaller than the ring above it. When the net is being raised the top ring shall be above and parallel to all other rings, with the enclosed bottom portion of the soft mesh even with or hanging below all other rings. All parts of the hoop net shall collapse and lie flat when resting on the ocean floor in such a manner that the gear does not entrap or restrict the free movement of crustaceans until lifted. When suspended from lift lines, the entire hoop net shall measure no taller than 36 inches. The ring material shall not be thicker than one inch in any dimension.

(B) Type B: Fishing gear that is comprised of two to three rigid rings (not including the bait ring), with each ring measuring no greater than 36 inches in inside diameter and the top ring measuring no less than 15 inches in inside diameter. The upper ring or rings shall be connected to the bottom ring and supported by no more than six rigid support arms, and the assembled frame shall measure no more than 10 inches tall. The rings and support material shall not be thicker than one inch in any dimension. All rings shall be connected by soft mesh, thereby forming a net with an enclosed bottom, and lift lines shall be attached only to the top ring. When suspended from lift lines the enclosed bottom portion of the net shall be even with or hanging below all other rings, and the entire net shall measure no taller than 30 inches. A bait ring may be attached to the net as long as the ring is not part of the rigid frame.

(2) Any hoop net abandoned or left unchecked for more than 2 hours shall be considered abandoned and may be seized by any person authorized to enforce these regulations.

(3) Hoop nets used south of Point Arguello, Santa Barbara County, shall be marked with a surface buoy. Except as provided below, surface buoys shall be legibly marked to identify the operator’s GO ID number as stated on the operator’s sport fishing license or lobster report card. This section does not apply to hoop nets deployed by persons on shore or manmade structures connected to the shore.

(A) The surface buoy of hoop nets deployed from commercial passenger fishing vessels shall be legibly marked to identify the commercial boat registration number of the vessel.

(B) The surface buoy of hoop nets provided by a licensed guide to clients for use on guided trips shall be legibly marked to identify the guide license number of the accompanying guide.

(c) Crab traps:

(1) Crab traps shall have at least two rigid circular openings of not less than four and one-quarter inches inside diameter so constructed that the lowest portion of each opening is no lower than five inches from the top of the trap.

(2) Crab traps shall contain at least one destruct device of a single strand of untreated cotton twine size No. 120 or less that creates an unobstructed escape opening in the top or upper half of the trap of at least five inches in diameter when the destruct attachment material corrodes or fails.

(3) Trap Gear Identification: Every crab trap shall be marked with only a main buoy and a marker buoy, except as noted under subsection 29.80(c)(3)(C) below.

(A) A main buoy is a surface buoy that is at least 5 inches in diameter and 11 inches in length.

1. The main buoy for traps deployed by an individual shall be legibly marked with the operator’s assigned GO ID number.

2. The main buoy for traps deployed from a commercial passenger fishing vessel shall be legibly marked to identify the commercial boat registration number of that vessel.

(B) A marker buoy is a red buoy 3 inches in diameter and 5 inches in length attached no more than 3 feet from the main buoy.

(C) In addition to marking the buoy pursuant to subsection (c)(3)(A)2., traps deployed by commercial passenger fishing vessels shall be legibly marked to identify the commercial boat registration number of the vessel.

(4) Crab traps shall not be deployed and used in ocean waters seven days prior to the opening of the Dungeness crab season.

(5) Every crab trap shall be raised, cleaned, and emptied (serviced) at intervals not to exceed 9 days, weather conditions at sea permitting, and no crab trap shall be abandoned in the waters of this state.

(6) Trap Limits:

(A) An individual shall not operate more than 10 deployed traps, except an individual may service up to 10 additional traps if the individual has in possession written permission from the operator(s) of the additional traps whose gear are identified in accordance with subsection (c)(3)(A)1.

(B) A commercial passenger fishing vessel shall not deploy more than 60 traps per vessel.

(7) Starting at least 5 days in advance of the opening of the recreational Dungeness crab fishing season pursuant to Section 29.85, the director shall, on at least a monthly basis until the season opens statewide and March 1 through June 15, evaluate and respond to risk of humpback whales, blue whales, and/or Pacific leatherback sea turtle entanglement with recreational crab fishing gear as follows:

(A) The director shall evaluate entanglement risk based on marine life concentrations as defined in subsection 132.8(a)(10), Title 14, CCR, and consistent with the acceptable data and numerical triggers outlined in subsection 132.8(c)(2).

1. If data are available, and marine life concentrations meet the numerical triggers for any species as specified in subsection 132.8(c)(2)(A) 4. (in the fall) or 132.8(c)(2)(B) (in the spring), the director shall take action pursuant to subsection 29.80(c)(7)(B) below.

2. If data are unavailable prior to the recreational Dungeness crab season opener, the director shall take action pursuant to subsection 29.80(c)(7)(B) below until data are available, at which point subsection 29.80(c)(7)(A)1. shall apply.

(B) If required under subsection 29.80(c)(7)(A) above, the director after consulting with the president of the commission or the president’s designee, shall implement one or more of the following recreational management actions that the director demonstrates protects humpback whales, blue whales, and/or Pacific leatherback sea turtles based on best available science. Recreational management action shall be determined based on consideration of information outlined in subsection 132.8(d):

1. Advisory notice to recreational crab fishers to employ voluntary efforts and/or measures to reduce the risk of entanglements (e.g. best fishing practices).

2. Recreational Dungeness crab season delay and continuation of the crab trap prohibition specified in subsection 29.80(c)(4), whereby the director shall prohibit the deployment and use of recreational crab traps until new data indicates the numerical triggers for any species as specified in subsection 132.8(c)(2)(A) 4. (in the fall) are no longer met, at which point the director shall lift or modify the Dungeness crab season delay as appropriate.

3. Season closure, whereby the director shall prohibit the deployment and use of recreational crab traps until new data indicates the numerical triggers for any species as specified in subsection 132.8(c)(2)(B) (in the spring) are no longer met, or the normal end of the Dungeness crab season specified in subsection 29.85(b)(2), at which point the director shall lift or modify the closure as appropriate.

(C) Recreational management action may be implemented statewide or by fishing zone(s) (as defined in subsections 132.8(a)(7)(A)-(G)), if the director demonstrates less-than-statewide action protects humpback whales, blue whales, and/or Pacific leatherback sea turtles based on best available science.

(D) Notice of a delay or closure pursuant to subsection 29.80(c)(7)(B) 2. or 3. shall be transmitted via a director’s declaration. The declaration will describe the following:

1. Data supporting the entanglement risk evaluation pursuant to subsection 29.80(c)(7)(A).

2. Relevant information informing management considerations from subsection 132.8(d).

3. Rationale for nexus between management considerations in subsection 132.8(d) and chosen recreational management action under subsection 29.80(c)(7)(B).

4. Duration of management action.

(E) The director’s declaration pursuant to subsection 29.80(c)(7)(D) shall provide a minimum of 5 days’ notice before the delay or closure becomes effective.

(F) The director’s declaration and/or any advisory notice shall be communicated via the department’s “Whale Safe Fisheries” web page located at https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Whale-Safe-Fisheries. At its discretion, the department may communicate declarations and/or advisory notices via additional formats.

(G) After the director implements a management action pursuant to subsection (c)(7)(B), he or she shall notify the commission and request that the commission schedule a public discussion of the management action at its next regularly-scheduled commission meeting.

(d) Crab loop traps may have up to six loops.

(e) Crab trap areas: Crab traps, including crab loop traps, may be used north of Point Arguello, Santa Barbara County to take all species of crabs.

(f) Shrimp and prawn traps may be used to take shrimp and prawns only. Trap openings may not exceed ½ inch in any dimension on traps used south of Point Conception nor five inches in any dimension on traps used north of Point Conception.

(g) Diving for crustaceans: In all ocean waters, except as provided in Section 29.05, skin and SCUBA divers may take crustaceans by the use of the hands only. Divers may not possess any hooked device while diving or attempting to dive. Divers may be in possession of spearfishing equipment so long as possession of such equipment is otherwise lawful and is not being used to aid in the take of crustaceans.

(h) Gear Restrictions. It shall be unlawful to use anything other than the following hand-operated devices to take sand crabs or shrimp: spades, shovels, hoes, forks, rakes, devices that use suction commonly known as slurp guns or clam guns, or rigid pipes used to prevent the collapse of holes when digging for sand crabs or shrimp. It shall be unlawful to use any other devices to take crabs or shrimp, including any hydraulic devices.

(i) Dip nets and Hawaiian-type throw nets: Shrimp may be taken with dip nets and Hawaiian-type throw nets north of Point Conception.

(j) Shrimp trawls: Shrimp beam trawls may be used to take shrimp only in San Francisco Bay waters east of the Golden Gate Bridge, and in San Pablo Bay. The beam trawl frame from which the net is hung may not exceed 24 inches by 18 inches. The trawl may be towed by motorized vessels but may not be retrieved by mechanical devices. Any fish, other than shrimp, caught in the trawl must be returned immediately to the water.

29.85. Recreational Take of Crabs.

(a) Any individual who fishes for crabs using crab trap(s) pursuant to subsection 29.80(c), shall have in possession a valid Recreational Crab Trap Validation for the current license year (Section 701, Title 14, CCR).

(b) Dungeness crabs (Cancer magister):

(1) Dungeness crab may not be taken from or possessed if taken from San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay, plus all their tidal bays, sloughs and estuaries between the Golden Gate Bridge and Carquinez Bridge.

(2) Open season: Fishing rules for Dungeness crab may be changed during the year or in-season by the director under the authority of subsection 29.80(c)(7). See subsection 29.80(c)(7) for additional information.

(A) Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino counties: From the first Saturday in November through July 30.

(B) All other counties: From the first Saturday in November through June 30.

(3) Limit: Ten.

(4) No vessel that takes Dungeness crabs under authority of this section, or Section 29.80, shall be used to take Dungeness crabs for commercial purposes.

(5) Minimum size: Five and three-quarter inches measured by the shortest distance through the body from edge of shell to edge of shell directly in front of and excluding the points (lateral spines).

(c) All crabs of the Cancer genus except Dungeness crabs, but including: yellow crabs, rock crabs, red crabs and slender crabs:

(1) Open season: All year. Fishing rules for crabs of the Cancer genus may be changed during the year or in-season by the director under the authority of subsection 29.80(c)(7). See subsection 29.80(c)(7) for additional information.

(2) Limit: Thirty-five.

(3) Minimum size: Four inches measured by the shortest distance through the body, from edge of shell to edge of shell at the widest part, except there is no minimum size in Fish and Game Districts 8 and 9.

(d) All crabs of the genus Cancer, including Dungeness crabs, yellow crabs, rock crabs, red crabs and slender crabs, may be brought to the surface of the water for measuring, but no undersize crabs may be placed in any type of receiver, kept on the person or retained in any person’s possession or under his direct control; all crabs shall be measured immediately and any undersize crabs shall be released immediately into the water.

These are the standard rules. Now we are operating under the "no traps" provision. Yes, it's complicated. If it were easy everybody would do it. It already seems like everybody does do it, so imagine if it were simple? CDFW is concerned because less people are buying fishing licenses. They think that making a 12 month license will bring more people back to fishing. I think that it will make those that fish happier but a lot of people are turned off of fishing by the complicated rules. Longer licenses won't make the rules less complicated. So, rejoice! Those that can figure it will have less competition. Blessed are those that read.