The
2009 Dungeness crab seasons
kicks off tomorrow
Saturday 11-7. While
anglers may have dreams of
pots full of crabs Mother
Nature has other ideas.
There is a huge swell train
working down the coast. As
of Friday 11-6 @ 5:PM
swell heights are just
starting to push into double
digits off Bodega Bay and
down to Half Moon Bay.
Currently off Cape Mendocino
swells are a monstrous 26
feet and swells along the
Bay Area coast will only
increase in size to the two
story level overnight. Most
party boats have canceled
their trips for Saturday and
if you are booked for Sunday
call before you go. Sunday's
trips may very well be
canceled as well. For you
private boaters our advise
is to be safe and wait for
the weather to improve. The
crabs will still be there
when the weather improves.
Currently the best weather
window of the next several
days looks to be on Monday
as the winds look to ramp
back up on Tuesday. Be safe
and patient and you will be
rewarded. Make an unsafe
decision and you may find
your self in Ma Natures
"pot". For those of you who
are determined to "go take a
look" I will remind you that
as the operator of a pot you
are responsible for the
safety of all on board.
POINT ARENA TO PIGEON POINT
10 TO 60 NM OFFSHORE-
230 PM PST FRI NOV 6 2009
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR
HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT
THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON...
TONIGHT NW WINDS
5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO
3 FT. NW SWELL 8 TO 12 FT AT
17 SECONDS INCREASING TO 16
TO 18 FT AT 17 SECONDS.
SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS
EARLY.
SAT
NW WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND
WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. NW SWELL 16
TO 18 FT AT 17 SECONDS.
SAT
NIGHT NW WINDS 15
TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5
FT. NW SWELL 15 TO 17 FT AT
16 SECONDS.
SUN
NW WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND
WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. NW SWELL 14
TO 16 FT.
SUN
NIGHT NW WINDS 10
TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4
FT. NW SWELL 12 TO 14 FT.
MON
W WINDS 5 TO 15 KT. WIND
WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. NW SWELL 10
TO 12 FT. CHANCE OF RAIN.
TUE
NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND
WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. NW SWELL 8
TO 10 FT. SLIGHT CHANCE OF
RAIN.
VETERANS DAY N
WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. WIND
WAVES 4 TO 6 FT. NW SWELL 8
TO 10 FT.
Dungeness
Crab Season Opens on
November 7th.
The 2009 sport Dungeness
crab season opens state wide
on November 7th. Previously
the waters north of Pt Arena
opened to sport crabbing on
the last Saturday of
November. The Cal Fish and
Game Commission decided it
would improve sport
opportunity and be less
confusing to have a uniform
opening state wide.
This fishery has attracted a
huge following among
saltwater anglers. With the
rockfish season now closed
north of Pigeon Point party
boats will be making both
"crab and dab" trips out of
the Golden Gate. Anglers can
expect to catch 25, 50 or
more sand dabs to go with
the party boat limit of six
crabs. Most other
ports do not have the sand
dab fishery and far fewer
party boats are offering
trips this season.
2008 was a low of the crab
cycle and we will start to
see a rebound in the numbers
this year. Last season many
sport anglers saw catches of
just 2 to 4 crabs per pot.
Some did better and others
fared far worse. This season
it looks like we are going
to see an explosion of
smaller sport size crabs (5
3/4 to 6 1/4) but larger
crabs will be fewer in
number. Commercial boats
won't likely see a huge
increase in their catch but
they will do better this
season compared to last
year's "bust". There is a
huge biomass of smaller
crabs and I expect that next
season (2010) is going to be
excellent for sport and
commercial alike.
Top bet for Golden Gate
anglers lie along the edge
of the North Bar in 12 to 15
fathoms or if you don't mind
traveling the waters around
N buoy and south Drakes Bay
in 15 to 30 fathoms are also
top producing areas. To the
south the sandy bottom from
Mussel Rock to Pacifica is
another good area but
usually best in the Spring
time when the crabs migrate
into shallower waters.
Navigating the hazardous
bars outside the Gate is for
experienced anglers only and
when the swell is up a far
safer bet is to book a trip
on one of the many party
boats that offer trips.
Crabbing is expensive but
even with the cost of
gear and gear lose, fuel and
bait it is much more
satisfying to catch your
own. If you don't want to
invest a couple of grand in
gear jumping on a party boat
is less expensive and a
great way to spend a day on
the water. Out of the Golden
Gate Emeryville Sportfishing
is offering crab and sand
dab trips daily beginning
next Saturday. 510 654-6040.
This
is your last chance to stock
up on white meat and also
put some carcasses in the
freezer for the upcoming
Dungeness crab season. Party
boats are reporting solid
fish per rod to limits of
lings on top of limits of
rockfish out at the Islands
the past few weeks. The
Captain Hook out of
Emeryville went up the Marin
coast on Sunday 10-25
for 280 rockfish and 10
lings to 10-pounds for 31
passengers. Yesterday's
trips to the Farallons and
the Marin coast and in the
bay by the New Seeker, New
Salmon Queen, New Huck Finn,
Captain Hook and C Gull II
produced limits of rockfish
with 712 rockfish, 5 lings
to 12-pounds, 5 halibut to
12-pounds and a five-pound
striper.
Sheryl Jimno at the Rusty
Hook in Pacifica said things
have been a bit slow in the
area with most fishermen
eagerly anticipating the
opening of Dungeness crab
season. There have been
numerous red and rock crab
taken off of the pier with
good scouting reports of
Dungeness crab. Hopefully,
these crab are making it
back into the ocean from the
nets. There are a few
anglers fishing for
stripers, but overall action
has slowed. We will post our
annual crab forecast this
coming weekend.
Upcoming Events:
USAFishing proudly
supports the many
fishery and wildlife
organizations that
benefit anglers and
hunters throughout
Northern California.
Does your organization
have an upcoming event?
Contact us at
fishsite@aol.com and
we will gladly post your
group's
information on our
reports pages.
Party boat contacts:
The Emeryville
Sportfishing Center is
currently booking potluck
and sturgeon
trips. They have a great
promotion that when you take
six trips your "lucky"
seventh trip is free. This
is good on any of their
boats. Reservations can be
made at 510 654-6040.
The California Dawn / Berkeley 510
773-5511
Great Links
Fishermen, check out
DF&Gs easy-to-use
California Ocean Sport
Fishing Regulations Map.
Simply click the marine
location where you plan to
fish, and you will access a
list of Sport Fishing
Regulations for that area.
If you are looking to stay
on top of the action check
out the
Northern California Hotsheet
These in-depth fishing and
weather reports covering all
of Northern California are
emailed direct to your
desktop three evening per
week. The Hotsheet is a
major source of support for
USAFishing and helps to
maintain this website.
Albacore Sea Surface
Temperature charts below:
Be sure to check out the
California Fish and Game
regulations
before you go. Regulations
vary and you need to pay
attention to bait and hook
restrictions.
We recommend you check
Caltrans road conditions
as well.
Caught
Fish?
Looking for timely
informative updates? Check
out a FREE trial to the
Northern California Hotsheet,
California's fastest growing
fishing newsletter. The
Hotsheet
is emailed three to four
evenings per week direct to
your desktop. No hunting the
web for information or
waiting on an outdated
magazine to arrive in the
mail. These in-depth reports
keep you on top of what is
happening TODAY so you can
catch more fish tomorrow!
Just $3.50 per month when
you subscribe for one year.
You can receive a free
week's trial copy by
e-mailing a request to
fishsite@aol.com
