HMB Opening Day Limit

Nice limit! Thanks for sharing.
I want to try crabbing from the kayak, do you think starting with 2 pots is reasonable? Do you also fish while soaking the traps?

So do you know what the regulations are for crabbing? The wording of your question has me wondering if you know what the gear restrictions are?

like many others here, i do 3 hoops and it works out very well.... though there are days i wish i had squeezed in a pole and sabiki because i swear every time i go crabbing i run into the most massive bait balls lol

Nice limit! Thanks for sharing.
I want to try crabbing from the kayak, do you think starting with 2 pots is reasonable? Do you also fish while soaking the traps?

No I don’t fish while crabbing. Mostly because it’s more gear than is reasonable for my kayak. Also I believe crabs like sand and rockfish prefer rocks. Since I use hoop nets I can’t leave them soaking for the day while I go fishing. The main limit to the number of pots is stacking and transporting them safely especially when doing surf launch and landings. When I was new I spent quite a while in fresh water getting comfortable on my kayak which made me better at handling the swells on the ocean. If you’re comfortable in rough conditions you should be ok crabbing.

I’m totally new to it, so I guess I’ll start by trying them separately and see how it feels. I was targeting HMB as a place where to spent time initially to get comfortable with waves.

If you are still getting used to kayaking, probably a good idea to stick to one activity at a time.  Santa Cruz, Capitola, or Monterey would all be good choices also - easy launches and more protected waters.  Not the best locations for crabbing, but good for getting familiar with kayaking in the salt water.  Decent fishing within reasonable distance to the launch also.

Thanks for the tip!

Nice limit! Thanks for sharing.
I want to try crabbing from the kayak, do you think starting with 2 pots is reasonable? Do you also fish while soaking the traps?

So do you know what the regulations are for crabbing? The wording of your question has me wondering if you know what the gear restrictions are?

I’m planning on using hoop nets, Promar Ambush (5lbs), so check at most every 2h and buoy with my GO ID on it. I hope I’m not forgetting something important 😅

Nice limit! Thanks for sharing.
I want to try crabbing from the kayak, do you think starting with 2 pots is reasonable? Do you also fish while soaking the traps?

So do you know what the regulations are for crabbing? The wording of your question has me wondering if you know what the gear restrictions are?

I’m planning on using hoop nets, Promar Ambush (5lbs), so check at most every 2h and buoy with my GO ID on it. I hope I’m not forgetting something important 😅

Maximum time between checks is 2 hours. Does anybody know why they care how long a hoop net sits on the bottom?

Nice limit! Thanks for sharing.
I want to try crabbing from the kayak, do you think starting with 2 pots is reasonable? Do you also fish while soaking the traps?

So do you know what the regulations are for crabbing? The wording of your question has me wondering if you know what the gear restrictions are?

I’m planning on using hoop nets, Promar Ambush (5lbs), so check at most every 2h and buoy with my GO ID on it. I hope I’m not forgetting something important 😅

Maximum time between checks is 2 hours. Does anybody know why they care how long a hoop net sits on the bottom?

My understanding is that the time limit is what allows them to keep hoop net season open while there are whales in the area -- the idea being that you are close enough to see whales in the area and mitigate risk or immediately report an entanglement.  Why 2 hours?  I imagine that's arbitrary.  I don't know for sure, though.

 

Nice limit! Thanks for sharing.
I want to try crabbing from the kayak, do you think starting with 2 pots is reasonable? Do you also fish while soaking the traps?

So do you know what the regulations are for crabbing? The wording of your question has me wondering if you know what the gear restrictions are?

I’m planning on using hoop nets, Promar Ambush (5lbs), so check at most every 2h and buoy with my GO ID on it. I hope I’m not forgetting something important 😅

Maximum time between checks is 2 hours. Does anybody know why they care how long a hoop net sits on the bottom?

My understanding is that the time limit is what allows them to keep hoop net season open while there are whales in the area -- the idea being that you are close enough to see whales in the area and mitigate risk or immediately report an entanglement.  Why 2 hours?  I imagine that's arbitrary.  I don't know for sure, though.

I think two hours is probably to give you just enough time to drop hoops, then zip over to a reef, catch a ling cod or couple rockfish, then go check hoops.... I mean, that's my strategy anyway, haha.

If I’m not mistaken that has been in place before they made these changes. When I started kayak crabbing you could leave a pot down all day but had to check hoop nets every two hours.