Why are my pots filled with Baby dungys?

Decided to take the AI out do you half Moon Bay on Tuesday and boy was it crazy. Had  to wait 45 minutes to use the launch and boater were grumpy.  The parking lot was completely filled so i had to park on Highway one.   Peddled a mile south and placed traps in 30-45  feet of water. Moved them every 30-60 min. For some reasons I kept catching baby Dungys.  This pot had 20. Used chicken and fish.  This is my second time out. What am I doing wrong?

Also caught this fish that looked like a trout on a sabiki.  Is this a salmon? If so it’s my first. I threw him back in so I can catch him again when he’s bigger.

You’re not doing it wrong!  The little ones eat the same things as the big ones.  There just aren’t many big ones this year so far. 

That’s a Chinook that likely hatched less than a year ago. 

Closer look on my phone = those aren’t Dungeness!  Slender crab. 

Yup slender crab.  Usually mistaken for undersized dungies.  4” legal size, most are smaller than that but it’s certainly possible to find legal ones.

Hey Michael! It was nice meeting you yesterday during our pedal out. I had the same results in my pots :/. Hopefully we get better results next time!

Hey Michael! It was nice meeting you yesterday during our pedal out. I had the same results in my pots :/. Hopefully we get better results next time!

It’s awesome randomly meeting NCKA members.  Your modular peddle kayak (point 65n) sure was cool. 

Closer look on my phone = those aren’t Dungeness!  Slender crab.

Yup. You are an encyclopedia of knowledge.  Thanks.

Could be a good sign or a bad sign of too many juivies when the season starts. What were you trying to catch? I am new so if this is a dumb question, sorry


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Closer look on my phone = those aren’t Dungeness!  Slender crab.

Well how about that, I learned something today. Never knew about these, and now I know how to tell them apart. Will have to look more closely before throwing back the undersized Dungies now.
https://www.dfw.state.or.us/mrp/shellfish/crab/images/cancer_gracilis_ID_ODFW.jpg

I've caught a couple of these snaring at Muir Beach before. Crazy how close they resemble an undersized dungeness.

Bumping, as I never heard of slender crab before?  I had seen a few YT videos where people commented that they didn't think what they were catching were dungies, and guess this is what they had?

Bumping, as I never heard of slender crab before?  I had seen a few YT videos where people commented that they didn't think what they were catching were dungies, and guess this is what they had?

The easiest ways to identify a slender crab is that their legs are hairless and they don't have any spines or ridging on their upper claws. The ones I've caught have all looked remarkably purple as well which usually prompts a closer look at the other characteristics.