What a month it's been. The crabbing has been better than it has been in a couple of years. It's not awesome, but probably about 40 to 50% of peak crab. That's better than the 10 to 20% we've had the last couple of years. Lots of 4" crab in the hoops would seem to indicate a really good season in a couple of years. There's a cycle and we're finally off of the wrong end of it. That said, not everywhere is good. That's peak crab, and we aren't there. We still gotta work for 'em, and the work can be very difficult. The outer bay has been pretty good but the numbers are dropping off. I didn't hear of any skunks from there but numbers for some have dropped to single digits. There's still some guys killing it, but if you're like me you need lots of crab around to catch a few, and the outer bay has many less crab now than a month ago. Ten Mile has been lightly crabbed, so far, but even there you better work your gear if you're looking for limits. There's blank spots even in the promised land. Points north of Bodega Bay have been very productive for some but still require a test before just leaving your gear for rockfish. Trust, but verify. Inside Tomales Bay they're still catching crab but again, the numbers are dropping. I didn't hear of any boater skunks this week but a lot of single digit catches. Shore snarers a lot of non-catching of Dungeness but there were still quite a few happy casters. The few that ventured farther from the parking lot seemed to have better results, go figure. I generally do better with less competition, as I only need to attract the thing I'm trying to catch, not out-attract critters from somebody else. I'm just not that pretty. 

    The east wind this week made rockfishing hard in the Ten Mile to Carmet gap as the wind made productive drifts very short at best. It eased around noon most days and let a dedicated few catch some out front, although the guys that went and fished in the lee of the coastal mountains had much better success. Locally, a few guys caught a few fish. Sam Winglewich caught a nice pair of lingcod right off Tomales Point yesterday. Gage caught a nice limits of rockfish on Wednesday but he was snapshot fishing where he'd find a school of blacks/blues and drop on them, hooking one (or occasionally two) before drifting off the school as he reeled up. 

      

      Holiday weeks are sure busy but hard on free time to post but here's an attempt at it. We've had lots of people trying for Dungeness. The boaters have mostly caught, maybe not many, but something to show foe their time on the water. For sure the crabbing is slowing down inside and outside the bay as pressure, well, pressures the crab, as it does. The numbers I heard from inside the bay today ranged from zero to eight Dungeness. Outside was much better but not a slam dunk. Even Ten Mile (yesterday report) required a bit of moving gear and chasing the sweet spot. Limits for the Ten Mile crabbers but not on the first pull. Run that gear. Move the non-productive hoops. Repeat until limited. Also, keep that bait fresh. If it's the scent that draws them in, have bait that sending that seductive smell. Bait washed out? Replace it. 

   There was a halibut caught in front of Bird Rock last weekend and another, 31"er caught inside Tomales Bay today. So, halibut fishing isn't dead, it's only mostly dead. Cameron sent me this meme to post. Princess Bride watchers will know:

   And now a roller coaster of press releases from CDFW and CDPH. It's yin and yang all at once! Yes, it's two different things, but a clearance and an avoidance in the same area at the same time, even for two different reasons, is pretty fricking funny. Now I'm not sure if I'm coming or going. Anyhoo,....

CDPH Warns Consumers Not to Eat Sport-Harvested Bivalve Shellfish from Sonoma County

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is advising consumers not to eat sport-harvested mussels, clams, scallops, or oysters from Sonoma County.   

Dangerous levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins have been detected in mussels from Sonoma County. The naturally occurring PSP toxins can cause illness or death in humans. Cooking does not destroy the toxin. 

Paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins affect the nervous system, producing a tingling around the mouth and fingertips within a few minutes to a few hours after eating toxic shellfish. These symptoms are typically followed by loss of balance, lack of muscular coordination, slurred speech and difficulty swallowing. In severe poisonings, complete muscular paralysis and death from asphyxiation can occur. 

This warning does not apply to commercially sold mussels, clams, scallops, and oysters from approved sources. State law permits only state-certified commercial shellfish harvesters or dealers to sell these products. Shellfish sold by certified harvesters and dealers are subject to frequent mandatory testing to monitor for toxins. 

Please view the most current information on shellfish advisories and quarantines by calling CDPH's toll-free Shellfish Information Line at (800) 553-4133 or by viewing the recreational bivalve shellfish advisory interactive map. For additional information, please visit the CDPH Marine Biotoxin Monitoring web page.  

That's foor PSP. Here's the report on domoic acid:

CDPH Lifts Warning About Consuming the Internal Organs of Sport-Harvested Dungeness Crab from One Area of the Northern California Coast

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has lifted the shellfish safety notification for sport-harvested Dungeness crab internal organs (viscera) caught in state waters located at: 

Sonoma/Mendocino County line (38° 46.125' N. Latitude) to Point Reyes (37⁰ 59.73' N. Latitude) 

CDPH has lifted its Dungeness Crab Internal Organs Advisory dated October 24, 2025, where consumers were warned against eating Dungeness crab viscera. Recent laboratory analyses show that the domoic acid levels in Dungeness crab harvested along the coastal area of Northern California have declined to low or undetectable levels. There have been no reported illnesses associated with this event.  

Consumers are advised to always discard the viscera and cooking liquids and adhere to the following best preparation practices to avoid any inadvertent exposure to domoic acid that may be sporadically found in the crab’s viscera. It is always best to remove the viscera and rinse out the body cavity prior to cooking (i.e., before boiling, steaming, or frying). If whole crab is cooked in liquid, domoic acid may leach into the cooking liquid. The cooking water or broth should be discarded and not used to prepare dishes such as sauces, broth, soups, or stews (for example, cioppino or gumbo), stocks, roux, dressings, or dips. 

Symptoms of domoic acid poisoning can occur within 30 minutes to 24 hours after eating toxic seafood. In mild cases, symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache, and dizziness. These symptoms disappear within several days. In severe cases, the consumer may experience trouble breathing, confusion, cardiovascular instability, seizures, excessive bronchial secretions, permanent loss of short-term memory, coma, or death. 

Test results are updated as laboratory results become available and can be viewed on the CDPH Domoic Acid web page. Please visit CDPH’s Domoic Acid FAQ for more information. To receive updated information about shellfish poisoning and quarantines, call CDPH’s toll-free “Shellfish Information Line” at (800) 553-4133. 

    So domoic acid is low and you can eat the guts of crab again (ew) but unsurprisingly, CDPH recommends that you don't eat the gooey stuff. That's what I do. I always have some hanging bait in my hoops or traps to keep the crab inside until I pull them. When you clean them ahead of cooking you get to see how much of the stuff you put in for bait is now in the crab. If you're gonna eat it it, bait with stuff you want to eat, 'cause you're gonna eat it. For the record, yuck on my part, but if you like it, good for you. Also, I sell bait, so.....

     First, a report I just received from Kelley Roy: "Willy, just a note to let you know we crabbed yesterday in the outer bay.

We dropped nets shallow and deep with both depths getting crab but the shallow probably did a little better than the deep. Some nice, very nice jumbos in the mix.

 We were able to get 3 decent limits - easy day."  Very nice. The outer bay has been pretty consistent when you can fish it from here. There's some blank spots and some great spots and a lot of in-between spots. Make sure you put your hoops in a not blank spot before you give them a soak. I have heard that 30 to 50 feet of water has been pretty good. 

     Gage and I saw a narrow window to get out and fish before the wind hit today, so we went for it. Upon arriving at the Landing to launch we saw three wardens writing tickets to some snare casters. No truck though, as they came in a boat. Upon their departure, they stopped and pulled two hoops in front of the Boathouse and kept them. Cameron trotted down to the water and asked the question: Why? One of the buoys was improperly marked (I'm guessing no GOID numbers) and the other had been in the water. unpulled, for over two hours. So, if you were wondering, yes, they check. Maybe not as much as they should be checking, but that's another reason to pull your hoops early and often. I don't know what the snare guys got ticketed for but I've seen some crab shells in the dumpsters that looked borderline legal and I know that when you're not catching keepers those clickers look awful tempting. Don't do it. I won't even keep ones that are barely legal, as pretty much all crab gauges are made fast and cheap, and what if mine is a little different than the warden's gauge? Nope. 

    So with a rejuvenated fear of God and wardens, Gage and I headed out. We dropped our four hoops in 40ish feet of water between the TB buoy and Dillon Beach. We went back and pulled the first one as soon as we had the last one in the water and it had a couple of short Dungeness, so we considered the spot as not blank and reset the hoop. Then off to rockfish. The rockfish bit pretty good today when you were on top of a school, but staying on a school got more and more difficult as the narrow wind window turned out to be narrower than we thought. We had to give up on the 150' of water spots in front of Bird and headed in to 50-60 feet where we finished the day with 18 schoolie rockfish (blues, blacks, Deacons, yellowtail and a canary) and a lingcod. The timer was ticking down on our two hour maximum soak so we had to go pull our hoops. The hoops ended up producing 14 keeper Dungeness. We probably would have caught more if we had stayed and worked them but when you try to do two things you end up kind of half-assing both of them, I've found. Still more than we can eat, so it was a good day, and off the water before noon and the combers started. I still had to carefully wash all the accumulated salt off of my sunglasses when we got back. It got choppy today. Even finishing "early" we weren't done cleaning and cooking crab until almost 3:00PM. First world problems. 

Here's a report from yesterday that I missed (as usual). "

A tale of two crab trips. 11/9 I stayed with the fleet near marker 5. Not great, not terrible. 22 rock crabs, 3 dungies in five hours. Pockets of greatness in a sea of mediocrity was dead on. 

"Vulture" got brand a new Yamaha and a bunch of work done and I wasn't feeling bold enough to perform a shakedown run on the big pond.

Moving to the outer bay today was like flipping the "decent crab" switch. Every pot came up with at least one keeper male dungie or dinosaur male rock crab. I couldn't get a "zero" pot. By my second set, I had dungie limits. By set three, I was culling six + inch dungeness.

I won't say what part or particular depth of the outer bay, but the five guys in the 24ft cuddy-console know, and if you're reading this, 1) shhhhh....  2) I hope the juicy brined rock cod carcasses and juicy intel was very productive for you as it was for me. 

Also, new tasty treat. Dungie sized yellow rock crabs. I grew up in Marshall and could drive a skiff and run crab gear long before I could drive a car. I do not remember these ever being this big until this year. I remember them being palm size, and incorrectly assumed they were juvenile pacific rock crabs. You've been on the bay far longer than me, what's your 2 cents on these fellas? 

 - Wingle / Sam W " Nice work, Sam.  Those yellows show up periodically. Those are some big boys you caught. Surprisingly, they are currently considered closer to Dungeness than the red crab and are in the same genus as the Dungies. These things change, though, as science is not carved in stone and is closer to an argument, especially in the realm of taxonomy. Dungeness used to be Cancer magister but are now Metacarcinus magister. Yellows are Metacarcinus anthonyi (previously Cancer anthonyi) and red crab are and have been Cancer productus. Apparently taxonomists thought they were all cousins at one time (all Cancer crab) but they've now split them up and thrown yellows in with the Dungeness, because I guess coloration is more important than morphology? Whatever, all that matters to us sport fishermen is the yellows fall in with reds and rocks as far as regulations and have a separate 4" minimum size and 35 crab limit from the Dungeness. Until someone in CDFW decides different.  Your crab were monsters, as they only need to be 4" and yours were Dungy legal. Good work on all the crab, as not everybody was killing it like you.

    The weather has mostly stopped most folks from getting out of the bay this week. There were a few passable days and guys did well outside, again, when they looked around. Inside and outside the bay, crab are plentiful in patches. Don't drop on a patch and don't catch. Move early and often. 

 

     Somehow I missed this email from Nate Baker yesterday. Sorry Nate, but nice work on the critter catching. Here's his email: "Howdy Willy, 

Robert and I went out with Scott Mason and Andy Nickell today and spent the day meandering between Elephant and Abbotts. Wind and swell were pleasantly manageable and we scored 4 limits of crab, 20 rockfish and 1 ling (Robert's first). Tons of bait and birds down there. 

Best, 

Nate Baker"     I think Robert looks like he's ready to do it again. That's how you raise a kid, IMHO. Hook 'em on something as expensive as drugs but more socially acceptable, like fishing. The fishing industrial complex thanks you. And way to hook a kid. Fishing with Scott Mason is a bit of a contact sport, as it should be. We should all be so lucky as to go with Scott. 

      The last couple of days have been slower crabbing but not bad crabbing. Unsurprisingly, the inner bay where most boats have been confined has gotten less awesome. There's still crab but not as many as a few weeks back. It is still better than at almost any point last season. And bad news for commercial guys (this year; next year for all of us, maybe) but when I was driving back from Petaluma today I saw a bunch of humpback whales jumping in about 200-300 feet of water off of Bird Rock. When the splash draws your attention from miles away, it was a big splash. Whales now being bad for crabbing (commercial this year; maybe everybody next year...) seeing them from miles away seems like a bad crab omen. They sure looked cool, though. 

    Well, look at that! John Knott from Sacramento found a halibut that wasn't pinned under a crab hoop. This odds-beater weighed 26 pounds and was caught on a Gibbs minnow near Marker 5, where the crab buoys and crabbing boats compete for space. Nice work, John. Way to beat the odds by catching a halibut and not snagging a crab net. The not snagging may be more impressive.

     The hundreds of nets in the bay are producing crab but the numbers are definitely starting to slip. The number of boats pulling out early in the day with limits is dropping and the number of guys pulling out late in the day with long faces is increasing. The crabbing is still better than any time last year, but it ain't awesome. The outer bay has more crab than Tomales Bay but you still have to look for them there. There's pockets of greatness but acres of mediocrity and quite a bit of nothing. Keep moving. Unless you're catching. 

    

     Crabbing in the bay is starting to drop off but remains better than at almost any time last season. That's not saying much, as last year was pitiful. Almost everyone in a boat is getting a few keeper Dungeness at least. Heck, I even caught five in an hour on Thursday. One boat came by as I was landing number five and said he'd caught four so far in the channel. I went home, cooked my crab and cleaned the boat, and when I returned to the shore to share my crab guts with the birds I saw the same boater pulling out. After I left the tide turned and he and his crew put another 50 crab in the boat. I'd almost think I left too soon, until I started picking crab. Five was good. Tasted good, too. Bur the same boater, yesterday, only caught twenty on the tide turn. Now, twenty sounds pretty good for in the bay, and it is, but not to a boat full of people that had fifty the day before. Maybe if they'd been picking all those crab they'd feel different? Either way, today in or out of the bay was slower but didn't suck. For sure, if you go, drop your hoops where you think it's good. Then go back to the first and pull it. If there's some crab around you should have at least one in ten minutes. No crab, stack it. If you find a spot with crab, plug it with your hoops. If you don't, keep moving and try again. No matter how good a crabber you are, you can't catch what isn't there, and they seem to be clumped in smaller areas. Keep moving until you find them, then soak them up. Don't drop your hear and go fish for rockfish. It isn't that good of a crab year. You can fish after you locate the crab. Remember your priorities. 

 

     I mentioned a video about a boat crossing the bar a while back. Alec decided to make it a PSA so it took a while to prepare (he does actually work). Here is the finished product. Apologies for the cameraman who flinched during a jump or two. A little PTSD? Maybe. But you can get the gist of it.

     Day two of the Dungeness season and the crabs held up. Mostly good reports from the bay again. Nobody went out today as the bar was constant sadness. This morning you could hardly see the channel from the fog spray coming off of the breakers. Who needs out when there's  crab inside? Standard rules for Tomales Bay apply: Avoid strong current areas except at the tide turn when you want to hit them momentarily, weight your hoop so it doesn't travel, pull early and often and move if no critters are present. Universal rule; it is hard to catch anything if the thing you want to catch is not there. Move. Move again. Sometimes the move is 20 feet. But don't dedicate your day to dead holes. 

 

      It looks like there's some crab in the bay. Well, less now, but still quite a few in some areas. Some folks knocked 'em, like these folks, but many others struggled. It is better than last year, but last year sucked so bad that's not really a compliment. It's like, "the bleeding has slowed" or "the fire has ceased forward movement." This, of course, speaks for inside of the bay. Getting outside the bay today was difficult in the fog, early, and then almost impossible later when the fog lifted, the tide turned and the swell picked up. I say almost, as someone in a SAFE Boat jumped the bar going out this afternoon. They made it, but I'll bet they're sore tomorrow. Those that did make it out did well. The outer bay has crab, and quite a few in spots. But the forecast keeps calling for more big swell, even bigger tomorrow. Parts of Bodega Bay proper should be fishable tomorrow in the wave shadow of the Head, but beyond that, I don't know. Not from Tomales Bay for sure. It's a long season. Wait for better days. A boat flipped out of Half Moon Bay today and three guys were pulled from the water. Let's not start that up here again. There are crab in the bay and they're being caught pretty well, so don't try going out tomorrow. You can catch Dungeness without risking your life. 

    Here's a reminder of why we don't cross the bar when she's breaking. This is the boat from two weeks ago, floating upside down near the lovely American Challenger. By the next day she was ashore aside the other hulk, getting smashed by the waves.