Crab, Rockfish Taken to Limits
Thursday, December 28th, 2000Sometimes, as party boat skippers like to joke, you just have to tell your statistics to shut up.
In the past 14 trips on the New Seeker and C-Gull II out of Emeryville, there have been a total of 205 people catch 1,230 Dungeness crabs and 2,050 rockfish — that works out to limits every trip for all aboard, 6 Dungeness crabs and 10 rockfish per person.
“Despite some of the talk of a down season, there’s plenty of crabs and rockfish out there,” said Craig Stone, owner of Emeryville Sportfishing. “When the commercial crab season opened in mid-November, there were a lot of stories about how the catch was down. But we are measured by different standards and it’s been great.”
A party boat with 10 people aboard, for instance, can catch 60 Dungeness crabs (limits) that total about 125 pounds, a great day. Yet that same catch that would be a disaster for the commercial fisherman, who needs about 1,000 pounds of crab per trip to make his business work.
The numbers are even more revealing when you look at the dollar costs.
To board a party boat on a crab combo, that is, fishing for both Dungeness crabs and rockfish, it costs roughly $65 to $70 out of Emeryville, Berkeley and Bodega Bay. If you catch limits, it equals about 10 to 12 pounds of crabs, and on the average, about 15 pounds of fish fillets. Put that in your cash register: It means you are taking home $50 worth of crabs and $50 worth of fish, the one fishing trip where you actually “make” money.
You also spend a glorious day on the salt, enjoying the open sea, the beauty of the Farallon Islands and the boat ride through the landmark sights of the Bay, and maybe even see a few whales or dolphin.
The crab combo trips have been boosted by good sea conditions for most of the past month.
“Except for some large swells last weekend, we’ve had superb weather,” Stone said. “We’ve only one turnaround trip in a month. That’s pretty amazing for this time of year.”
The trips depart at 5:30 a.m. en route to the Farallones, and will either pick up the crab pots on the way out, or on the return trip. The best crabbing in the past two weeks has been in 100 to 175 feet of water, roughly in a line between the entrance to the Bay and the Farallon Islands. The crab pots are baited with rockfish carcasses and squid; over the course of the season, you will find that squid is the preferred entreaty for Dungeness.
For owners of private boats, one strategy is to launch out of Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay, then set a series of crab traps outside the breakwater. Early in the season, there has been good crabbing in as little as 30 feet of water here. No more. The crabs have moved to deeper water, at least 100 feet deep, and seems best off of Montara.
The reason the crabs have moved to deeper water is because of a severe inshore surge that started a week ago, the result of large swells rolling in from a storm 300 miles offshore. Anybody who has visited the coast in the past week can tell you about the big waves and the foam line, in some spots even extending out 100 yards.
Yet some of the calmest days on the briny deep are in winter, between storm fronts. That is when owners of boats can get a load of four or five friends, set a half dozen crab traps, and then spend a morning working them.
On private boats and from piers, the limit is 10 crabs per angler with a minimum size per crab of 5 3/4 inches. So a private boat with five people aboard could catch 50 crabs, quite a haul. On party boats, the sport limit is 6 crabs per angler, with a minimum size of 6 inches per crab.
Without a boat, it is possible to catch Dungeness crab at Pacifica Pier (at Sharp Park). But as with a boat, a calm sea is not only helpful, but critical. Pacifica Pier provides direct access to the ocean past the breakers, but when the surf is up, the crabs will head out to quieter water, out of range.
Note that while legal-size Dungeness are almost never caught in the Bay, it is possible to catch rock crab at two San Francisco piers, Fort Point Pier and Muni Pier.
Of course, you could also just show up at the fish market and pay a fortune, $10 to $12 a crab. For a small New Year’s Eve party, 10 crabs for six people, guess what? It would cost you $70, the same price of a fishing trip for one.
Like they say, tell your statistics to shut up.
——————————————Crabbing Getaway:
CRAB SEASON: The season for Dungeness crab runs through June 30, 2001 along the Bay Area and Sonoma coasts. The season continues to July 30, 2001 off Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties.
LIMITS, PRIVATE BOAT: 10 per person, minimum size 5 3/4 inches. No more than five baited hoop nets per person, not to exceed 10 per vessel.
LIMIT, PARTY BOAT: 6 per person, minimum 6 inches.
COST: Combo trips for Dungeness crab and rockfish cost roughly $65 to $70. A state fishing license ($29.40) is required, which must be displayed above the waistline. Note: No fishing license is required at Pacifica Pier, Fort Point Pier or Muni Pier.
PARTY BOATS: Emeryville Sportfishing, (510) 654-6040; Berkeley Marina, (510) 849-2727; Bodega Bay Sportfishing, (707) 875-3344; Rumblefish, Fort Bragg, (707) 964-3000; All Aboard Fishing Adventures, Fort Bragg, (707) 964- 1881.
PIER: Pacifica Pier, (650) 355-0690.
INFORMATION: Hi’s Tackle Box, S.F., (415) 221-3825.
PHOTO
Crab, Rockfish Taken to Limits
THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
December 28, 2000
Author: TOM STIENSTRA
Estimated printed pages: 3
Edition: FINAL
Section: SPORTS
Page: E8
Column: OUTDOORS TOM STIENSTRA
Index Terms: FISHING; SPORTS
Copyright 2000 The Chronicle Publishing Co.
Record Number: 3157652