Well, that was exciting. Anyhow.....

     It turns out that there are still a few halibut to be caught in the bay. Last week's wind cooled the water a couple of degrees, not enough to really call it over but enough that the halibut were unhappy for a few days. After it stabilized the fish bit again. The sweet spot must be across from Lawson's, as there were a few boats there pretty steady Sunday through Tuesday. Probably rockfish would have been a better choice for putting fish in the box, but conditions were not good for getting out to the ocean from here. Maybe tomorrow morning there will be a window. And maybe not. The roar of the surf has faded but the swell is supposed to pick back up again. 

     Dungeness is scheduled to open on the 1st this year. It seems the whale-searching-flights are done and the recommendation is (Gasp!) the usual, no commercial season yet and sport can open but hoops only off Sonoma and Marin counties. SNAFU, right? At least the hoops work pretty well if there's some crab around, and preliminary unofficial hearsay reports sound pretty good. There's some crab out there. judging by our timing in the Dungeness crab cycle, it is likely not going to be a good year for crab but better than last year. "Better than last year" doesn't mean much, as it kind of sucked for most people. So, hopefully this year will suck less. If you found a place to catch reliably last year, you'll probably be fine. If you struggled all season, well, I guess the struggle is real. Think of how much better a crabber this adversity is making you! Of course, if you aren't catching but you keep sticking to the same spots, well, shame on you. Isn't that the popular definition of insanity? Move. No crab there? Move. Repeat until happiness. Pay attention to your depth, the speed of the current, your very specific location. Twenty feet can make or break you. Fresh bait. Dungeness don't care for the rotten stuff, mostly. Weight your hoops and traps in the bay heavy as they will walk in the current (The biggest thief of crab pots in Tomales Bay is Tomales Bay. There are pirates but the current steals many, many traps/hoops) Avoid the fast current spots when the current is going fast. They can fish well when it is slack but when the water starts moving GTFO. And for God's sake, don't go out the mouth of the bay if you're not sure. That bar has killed far better men than me, men with more experience and better equipment. I'm terrified of the break. You should be too. Eat crab, don't feed them.

     Also, new rules are coming. When they go into effect could be at the opener or next year, as they haven't been fully approved yet and no timeline exists. The ones we need to know:

Hoops can have only one main buoy with a maximum size of 6"x14", any color. You can have a second, trailer buoy but it must be no larger than 6"x14" and orange and have two large "H"s on it at least 2" high and lines no less than 1/4" thick. My suggestion? Stick to one buoy. Make sure your GO ID number is on it. Traps need the red buoy behind them to show that they're traps. Absolutely no red buoy behind your hoop buoy. 

You can't use rope that is black and either yellow, red, or purple. These fancy two-tone lines are reserved for commercial crabbers from Oregon, Washington and California, so if a whale gets  entangled they know who to blame. They're making the commercial Dungeness guys buy all new rope. It may not save the whales but it sure is lucrative if you sell rope. I guess they need to throw the rope guys a bone before they outlaw rope altogether. Good times. Or I guess, awesome. Tim , the old man of the sea, says that when I say things are awesome they're actually in the toilet. So, awesome I guess.