The mixed aromas of spoiled crab bait, stale beer and a bit of marijuana and cigarette smoke floats about the shoreline. Boaters in a rush cut off snares as they race by. Snarers cast out directly on to boats. Drunk crabbers pass out under parked, empty boat trailers. Miles of polypropylene rope stretch across the surface of Tomales Bay. Hey everybody, Dungeness season is officially open! And the results so far are mostly just okay. Reports from people casting snares from shore were mostly bad, although, as referred to earlier, a few of them were actually too drunk to crab, so they may have driven the average down. Tomales Bay by boat was fairly typical, with the best crabbing being from Tom's Point to the mouth. The guys that have their spots figured out and usually catch, caught. Those that are still learning mostly caught less, although a few newbies brought home more crab than they expected. Numbers there ranged from limits to zeroes with a median around 6 or 7 per boat. Outer bay? Mostly good if you monitor your gear and move the unproductive rings around until they start producing. Ten Mile? Good for the few that made the trip, and best of all, everybody there was running their own gear and not "sharing." One fellow tried up at Salmon Creek for nothing, then brought his rings down to the outer bay and got quick limits. They're out there if you look for them and the crabbing probably won't get any better this season.

    The Coastodian sent over a few pictures on what it looked like in other local launches. These photos are from Miller Park and Westside. The boat without a plug was at Miller. I had heard that it almost sank, but this photo ain't almost. That's sunk. As far as I know, though, it sounds like nobody died out there today. Good job, everyone! 

   Here's your obligatory crab pictures, also provided by the Coastodian; "Some mean crabs caught today.

The guy that belongs to the hand got bit hard while they were cleaning them. His buddies gave him a hard time to which he replied "hey, I already lost one finger"" Yes, folks, even half a crab can still pinch hard. Save your fingers.