Monday, January 18, 2021

      Our entry gate security cameras recorded this photo of a CDFW warden leaving the property with a couple of nice looking stainless steel crab pots in the back of his truck, along with an ice chest. I don't know the story behind this, but one wonders what will get your pots seized. The traps look well-made, so I assume that they have the required escape rings. No GO ID numbers on the buoy? Somebody else's GO ID numbers on the buoy? Or maybe the problem lies with the contents of the ice chest. A bunch of small crab? The way the crabbing has been it sure wasn't over limits of keepers. While I'd like to think a "pot pirate" got caught I think a bunch of shorties is the likeliest answer. 

    As mentioned, the crabbing is pretty slow. A few of the shore snaring crew here are having fairly consistent short crab action with an occasional keeper, but mostly there's more casting than catching. Gage's run as a greenhorn commercial crab deckhand has begun and ended. A weak first pull of the gear devolved to less than half the catch on the second run of the traps, ending the need for a bait boy. At least the desire for fresh crab and their lack of numbers have caught up with the price and the crabbers might actually get paid for their time on the water.

    Nothing in the way of fish going on here. There's been an on/off herring spawn in Tiburon over the weekend. At least we have rockfish reopening on April 1st and salmon scheduled to open on April 3. Of course, the final decision on salmon will be hashed out over the next few months with information posted here: https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Regulations/Salmon/preseason
 

7 comments:

  1. This is the starving time, looking forward to April 1st!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Willy I am reading rockfish opens march 1 this year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. South of Point Conception it does. We open on April 1st.

      Delete
    2. They could care less about pot pirates! All they are concerned with is busting someone 4 smoking it!

      Delete
  3. April 1st ocean conditions - 15 kt winds with up to 30 kt gusts 5-7 foot swells at 7 seconds with 3-4 feet wind chop.

    Ill be home waxing the boat - if I find a boat:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Re starving time
    My grandfather was Sicilian, he moved to New York before world war two married an Irish girl And had four sons. I remember a lot of fishing stories and I still even have some of the old gear. right before World War II they dredged the harbors to let the big war ships in and The fish went South. One night they fished all night and caught nothing. Rather than return empty-handed he had the boys scavenged the rocks and pilings for periwinkle’s. Did I mention he was Sicilian?
    They brought them home and boil them with lemon, vinegar and salt and put them in a huge mound on the table with pasta and attacked them with pins and laughter. There is probably a lesson to be learned here, but at the moment I feel too sluggish to pursue it.
    Richard

    ReplyDelete
  5. Re starving time
    My grandfather was Sicilian, he moved to New York before world war two married an Irish girl And had four sons. I remember a lot of fishing stories and I still even have some of the old gear. right before World War II they dredged the harbors to let the big war ships in and The fish went South. One night they fished all night and caught nothing. Rather than return empty-handed he had the boys scavenged the rocks and pilings for periwinkle’s. Did I mention he was Sicilian?
    They brought them home and boil them with lemon, vinegar and salt and put them in a huge mound on the table with pasta and attacked them with pins and laughter. There is probably a lesson to be learned here, but at the moment I feel too sluggish to pursue it.
    Richard

    ReplyDelete