Baker Beach Crabbing 3/18

Went out to Baker Beach.  Shore break was larger than day before which was surprising as swell was marked as lower.

Not too bad though.  Tried a new method of landing at Baker....once I got near the shore break I paddled backwards watching the waves waiting for a lull and then hopped off when chest deep or shallower and walked the kayak in.  I've had some sneaker waves hit me pretty hard here so was trying to avoid flipping.

I've been trying out Promar Ambush nets with pretty good success.  Much easier to paddle with than a metal cage.

Kept 2 Dungeness and 1 rock crab.  All legal Dungeness were female (I threw a few other legal females back that I had caught as I was hoping for males).

Maybe someone can help me figure this out, I'm really not understanding how the tides and current do not match.

I was out there on a incoming tide (11am and high-tide was 1pm) and current was being swept out to sea.  Shouldn't I have been pushed towards the bay on an incoming?

I've had this in Tomales where an hour after low tide the current was still being pulled out to sea.

Does this have to do with the ebb tide?

Anyone ever fish the man made tower out there for rock fish?  Was thinking of going there when season opens.

Thanks for the report and picture Don.  There's a different tidal time between the ocean/coast and the inlets (sometime over an hour) so it may explain why current is not matching that you saw.

Come join us out in Rockaway some time! A few of us went out yesterday and all got limits of dungy and about 6-8 jumbo rock crab eaxh. We had 2 pots and 4 rings between the 3 of us.

The man made tower is Mile Rock.  I've always did pretty well.  But I don't suggest going there in a kayak.  Current and swells are very strong and the swells are big.  Time it right on the slack tide and get out in around an hour.  Perhaps less. 

Maybe someone can help me figure this out, I'm really not understanding how the tides and current do not match.

I was out there on a incoming tide (11am and high-tide was 1pm) and current was being swept out to sea.  Shouldn't I have been pushed towards the bay on an incoming?

I've had this in Tomales where an hour after low tide the current was still being pulled out to sea.

Does this have to do with the ebb tide?

I've noticed the exact thing you're referring to. My theory is that the opposite currents are a result of a large "Eddy" current.

I'm down for some Rockaway.  Let me know next time you guys are going out!

Yep, RoadRunner is right, those are eddies and other currents that are generated by the actual subsurface geologic features.  There are also lags in current direction and force due to movement into/out of tributaries as well as the depth of a given location, not to forget that the shoreline also induces friction in the flow of water, which retards its movement.

It's best to understand that the generally cited tide times are just that, general in nature; so for example, at the GG Bridge, the tides are tracked right out in the center of the channel, which is the deepest, fastest moving, & highest volume spot of that broader location.  The delay between the center and the edges can be as much as 30 minutes!  Taking this into consideration, remember that that mass of water is a liquid that slips and slides past the rest of the surrounding water, and it therefore influences and is influenced by the behavior of those surrounding waters.  That means the delay develops gradually as one moves away from the center of the current.

To get a better idea of the real tidal delays, head over to a good sailing/boating chandlery, many bait shops, or West Marine and pick up one of the more detailed tide charts/books that they sell and sometimes hand out for free.  The good ones show enlarged maps of important locations (high traffic and hazardous) like SF Bay and calls out specific delays by detailed location, and they also show vector arrows for those locations.  From this you will graphically see that what you experienced is normal in the areas within a couple of miles of the GG Bridge (a choke point for the tides).

Yep, RoadRunner is right, those are eddies and other currents that are generated by the actual subsurface geologic features.  There are also lags in current direction and force due to movement into/out of tributaries as well as the depth of a given location, not to forget that the shoreline also induces friction in the flow of water, which retards its movement.

It's best to understand that the generally cited tide times are just that, general in nature; so for example, at the GG Bridge, the tides are tracked right out in the center of the channel, which is the deepest, fastest moving, & highest volume spot of that broader location.  The delay between the center and the edges can be as much as 30 minutes!  Taking this into consideration, remember that that mass of water is a liquid that slips and slides past the rest of the surrounding water, and it therefore influences and is influenced by the behavior of those surrounding waters.  That means the delay develops gradually as one moves away from the center of the current.

To get a better idea of the real tidal delays, head over to a good sailing/boating chandlery, many bait shops, or West Marine and pick up one of the more detailed tide charts/books that they sell and sometimes hand out for free.  The good ones show enlarged maps of important locations (high traffic and hazardous) like SF Bay and calls out specific delays by detailed location, and they also show vector arrows for those locations.  From this you will graphically see that what you experienced is normal in the areas within a couple of miles of the GG Bridge (a choke point for the tides).

Great info—thanks for all the detail.