Regarding the West Coast commercial Dungeness crab fishery, participation in the fishery has steadily declined over the years (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/california-dungeness-crab-pot-fishery-mmpa-list-fisheries). The fishery had 1,475 participants in 1996. As of 2022, the fishery has 471 participants, a decline of about 68%. Despite the decline in participants, catch rates have remained relatively steady over the last couple decades (https://marinespecies.wildlife.ca.gov/dungeness-crab/the-fishery/). Dungeness crab roughly follow a seven-year population cycle, with "highs" in the cycle equating to high catch rates and "lows" equating to, well, low catches. There's a cool bar graph in the first link where you can spot the seven-year cycle.

The Dungeness crab fishery is arguably the most productive fishery on the West Coast (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/west-coast-dungeness-crab-stable-or-increasing-even-intensive-harvest-research-shows). Commercial fishing catches nearly all the legal-sized male Dungeness crab every year for the last several decades, yet the population appears stable or even increasing. From the link: "The secret to the success of the Dungeness crab fishery may be the way fishing regulations protect the crab populations’ reproductive potential. Male Dungeness crabs mature and begin reproducing one to two years before they can be caught, so crabs can reproduce even with heavy fishing pressure. Female Dungeness crab can store sperm for more than a year, allowing them to reproduce even in the absence of numerous males."

Given that it's a limited entry fishery, coupled with relatively low prices in recent years, the only way I can see the fishery being overexploited is if there was a sudden surge in demand that caused prices to increase and thereby spur more fishermen to partake in the fishery. The numbers don't really point to that scenario happening anytime soon though. The way the fishery is managed, the sublegal male crabs have one or two years to spawn before they're legal to harvest. One can argue that it's the most well-managed fishery in the country.

Folks interested in learning more about humpback whales, their status, and where these new crabbing regulations come from, can check out the most recent humpback whale stock assessment here: https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/2022-08/2021-HumpbackWhale-CaliforniaOregonWashington%20Stock.pdf

The CA/OR/WA Stock of humpback whales was recently removed from the Endangered Species Act, but is still protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The stock is considered "depleted", meaning the stock is considered below its optimum sustainable production. The 2022 stock assessment estimates the CA/OR/WA population to consist of a little under 5,000 whales. The stock is growing at a rate of about 8.2% per year.

The potential biological removal (PBR) level is defined by the MMPA as the maximum number of animals, not including natural mortalities, that may be removed from a marine mammal stock while allowing that stock to reach or maintain its optimum sustainable population (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/laws-and-policies/glossary-marine-mammal-protection-act#strategic-and-depleted-stocks). The PBR for the CA/OR/WA humpback stock within US waters (within 200 miles of land) is 29.4 whales per year.

According to the stock assessment, commercial fisheries impart a 24.9 PBR per year on the whales. Estimated vessel strikes are 22 PBR per year. Throw in the 1.4 PBR for "non-commercial sources", and the total PBR is 48.3 humpback whales annually. The commercial fisheries PBR consists of documented incidents, and does not account for the undocumented mortality or serious injuries that go unreported, so it's a conservative PBR.

All that being said, the stock assessment says this at the end: "Despite impacts of anthropogenic-related serious injury and mortality of humpback whales along the U.S. West Coast, the number of humpback whales in the region has been increasing at 8.2% annually since the late 1980s (Calambokidis and Barlow 2020)."

Quote from: Clayman on March 22, 2024, 08:03:08 AM

If trolling plugs or spoons at a decent clip (over 2mph), try a topshot of 10 lb fluorocarbon. It's strong enough to withstand hard hits, and it'll get just as many bites as a lighter leader. When mooching bait or jigging soft plastics, bump it down to a 6 lb fluoro leader. Seaguar 6 lb fluoro is incredibly thin, it looks like 4 lb at first glance. An excellent option for finesse techniques.

When toplining trolling, keep your setback in mind. If the water's clear, put that plug back 100 ft behind the kayak. A setback of 30 ft vs 100 ft can be the difference between catching fish and skunking.

This is exactly what I was thinking and planning for.

How long of a top shot should I use for trolling? I was thinking about 20ft or so. I usually troll at least 100 ft behind me, but tough to be 100% with a spinning reel, haha.

Depends on the water clarity. I've done fine with a 10 ft topshot in up to 15 ft of visibility. If the water is Tahoe clear, you'll probably want to do 20 ft or more.

Just like last year's run, the 2024 adult fish are the progeny of the punishing 3-year drought period of 2019-2022. Given the trucking of hatchery fish (higher survival but crazy-high stray rates), combined with very poor in-river natural recruitment in the 2021-2022 water year, the run forecast is not surprising.

The bulk of the 2025 run will consist of three-year-old fish that hatched during a much improved water year. Doesn't necessarily mean it'll be a robust run, but it'll likely be better than the current one. In-river natural production accounts for roughly half of the total fall-run Chinook abundance in the Central Valley rivers, with hatcheries accounting for the rest.

I use really large swim baits, or slow pitch jigs so I’m hoping this type of setup will work:



I’ll carry some extra weight just in case.

That might work on really small rockfish, but any rockfish over a couple pounds will require a lot more lead to descend. I often end up descending a few rockfish when fishing in 80-120 ft. A 5 lb downrigger weight and Shelton descender gets the job done for me, even on these larger yelloweye.

It sucks when you want to descend a rockfish and don't have enough lead to do it. Trust me, I've been there. Bring five pounds of lead, or stay in <50 ft of water.

Mind = blown

Pedal vs petal vs peddle: https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/petal-pedal-peddle-usage-difference

I think of a "peddle" kayak as a kayaker selling wares and trinkets on the water. Is this incorrect?