What's up with the crabs?

[plumbertom]

I see no crabbing reports this year.
Have the commercial crabbers cleaned them out to the point it's not worth going?
Seems like last year there were regular glowing reports of bay crabbing.

 

[rogerdodger]

I haven't been out for a while and was surprised to hear several recent 'not so good' reports.

one way to view the commercial take, their minimum size is 6.25", so they are just clearing out larger males. I'm always cool with a limit of 6 to 6.25" crabs.

problem now is many of those males are molting, so it's time to start sorting out the real soft ones and sending them back.

big tides this week, many years this triggers the first big push of crab into the estuaries. I'll be crabbing next week for sure.

 

[Throbbit _Shane]

Went bottom fishing out of Newport last weekend. Our boat dropped 6 pots and had 3 keepers. Fishing was good for bass and lings though!

 

[plumbertom]

Went bottom fishing out of Newport last weekend. Our boat dropped 6 pots and had 3 keepers. Fishing was good for bass and lings though!

Sounds like the fishing was good.
My small boat restricts me to fishing and crabbing inside the bays.
I'd love to be able to get out into open water to do both.

 

[rogerdodger]

I spent the 4th of July at the CoosBay north jetty (cribs), real strange seeing a 30" commercial fishing boat perched up on the jetty.
Crabbing was slower than earlier this year, lots of soft crabs now but I came home with 7 solid keepers and "4 deuces" (four 2 pound black rockfish). Tried hard to find a lingcod but just not happening today in the bay..

Happy 4th of July!

 

[plumbertom]

Yeah , Rodger, you would post something like this.
I really wanted to go to Coos Bay today but my fishing partner wasn't up to it.
So I'll be looking for a window of opportunity next week.
Looks like some wasn't paying attention when entering the bay.
Shows us small boaters we have to be alert to the traffic around us.
That boat could just as easily have ran down someone fishing there.

 

[William Charles]

rogerdodger That's awesome, great looking bunch of crab! I'm currently out of town on a 3 week business trip. I'll be back in Oregon in the middle of July, do you think crabbing out of Tillamook bay will be hot for the rest of summer? Like others, I haven't heard a whole lot this year on crabbing reports up and down the coast.

-William

 

[rogerdodger]

rogerdodger That's awesome, great looking bunch of crab! I'm currently out of town on a 3 week business trip. I'll be back in Oregon in the middle of July, do you think crabbing out of Tillamook bay will be hot for the rest of summer? Like others, I haven't heard a whole lot this year on crabbing reports up and down the coast.

-William

very common for many of the bays and estuaries to really heat up and stay good starting the first strong tides in July and stay hot right on through September, but it is not uniform, some areas will be the best each year, others a bit less fun. there should be some people on here that have first hand Tillamook experience. cheers, roger

 

[Gulfstream]

the way I look at it is..... can't catch em at home!

 

[plumbertom]

the way I look at it is..... can't catch em at home!

Well, the way I look at it is ..... I have a limited amount of cash to spend for fishing so having a productive day on the water helps to stretch the budget as it puts food on the table I don't have to buy at the market.

 

[Crabbin503]

I went crabbing once this year at the end of May during high tide and did terrible (2 keeper dungies and like 5 rock crabs) and know someone who went several months later and only got 2 dungies in 2 days of crabbing. Was in Yaquina Bay off the South Beach Pier Dock. The time I went no one really did significantly well and from what I gather from my friends trip it was the same case. Seems like this year has not been a very good year for crabbing.