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.