HMB Opening Day Limit

This was my first time crabbing on opening day. The wind report had me worried that I wouldn’t be able to go, but I decided to make the trip and hope it was calmer than the forecast. I arrived at 5:30 and it was dead calm. I headed out before daylight hoping the wind wouldn’t arrive before I had a decent amount of time to get some crab. As it turned out it was a beautiful day. It was so calm that the surface of the water was smooth. The wind didn’t pick up until about 1:00 but by that time I had my limit. I dropped my nets at three waypoints I have from past trips. The first pull came up with two crabs about an inch and a half wide. The second pull got me three crabs about three inches wide. Then I got several empty pulls. I heard someone on the radio say they got a nice one at fifty feet so I left my net at that depth even though it had come up empty for me. I moved my other two to that area in the hope that it would get better. Around the time the tide slacked off I pulled up one with four keepers of good size. Then every pull had at least one keeper until I got my limit. The last pulls of the day all had undersize only. That was around 1:00 and the wind was starting to pick up. According to Willy Weather real time wind it was blowing around 12-13 mph, so not horrible but it did make the paddle in more difficult. All the crabs were bigger than the gauge and some were nice jumbos. All in all it was a great first time opening day. 

Nice limit and thank you for the detail report.

Paul

nice, and congrats! the weather reports are often like that.  They need to report the worst possible so sailors and pilots can plan.

Congrats and thank you for the report.

Well done + thanks for the report.

I may try kayak crabbing next weekend if the weather looks OK.

Congrats on the limit.  Thanks for the report and pictures E Kayaker.

Well done getting a limit!  I swear that almost every year the forecast says the opener will be bad, but then it's not.   

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?

Nice work!

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?

I started with 2, caught plenty of limits with 2. Just takes a little longer sometimes. I do fish in between soaks, especially if rockfish is still open. Tough to beat crab and lingcod combo!

Nice work!

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?

I started with 2, caught plenty of limits with 2. Just takes a little longer sometimes. I do fish in between soaks, especially if rockfish is still open. Tough to beat crab and lingcod combo!

Nice, can’t wait to try that out!

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.

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?

I run 3 ambush nets with no weight added.  2 would be fine and 4 would be too many for my tastes.  I don't fish in between.  I pull every 30 minutes, so I set my hoops in a triangle that takes 20 minutes to work and take 10 minute breaks to just smell the roses.  I've considered bringing a sabiki rod along to make bait for next time while crabbing, but haven't actually done it... it never feels right when I'm loading up.  The simplicity is nice to me.

3 hoops, 1 rod, 1 net, 1 50lb active German Shorthaired Pointer with her snacks and water. Super relaxing.

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.

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.