HMB Crab-Fri-11-11

Water and weather was surprisingly nice in the morning, small rolling swell with a pretty long period and very light wind.  Anyway, as I paddled out I dropped a few hoops near the jetty and dropped 3 traps in about 60' about 1.5-2 miles sw of the jaws. Paddled back to the jetty and worked the hoops for a couple hours for 3 keepers.  Paddling back to the danielson rigs I could see a 12' alluminum boat hovering in the area then they cruised off.   As I got closer I noticed there was other pots in the area tied off to 2 liter bottles so I figured they belonged to the tin boat.  I pulled my pots to find them not only empty of crab but stripped of the bait jars and 2 lb trolling balls I had zip tied in them.  I don't know exactly who got me cause they're quite a few boats in the area and I didn't catch the tin boat red handed but some bastard got me and in broad daylight.  So, my final tally is 3 keepers.  

There was alot of small boats in the area so I'm pretty sure its getting hit pretty hard, next time I'm gonna try somewhere with less small boat traffic.  Linda Mar maybe.

  It is too bad that we are among a small percentage of people like that - - -  having placed a lot of traps in a former life, I know your frustration when it happens...

Jim

according to the book that Tom Steinstra published about Nor Cal fishing - he made mention about the thievery on crab traps in HMB. It's unfortunate but true.

Yeah, just like everything else in life there's a few that don't play by the rules.  Karma will catch up to them.......until then I'll probably be parked over my traps.

How deep are the crabs? On sandy bottom, are there a lot of sand dabs, or anything of interest to catch? It would be nice to fish right next to the traps, rather than paddle off to fish for rockies, leaving the traps unguarded...
 Andrew

It would be nice to fish right next to the traps, rather than paddle off to fish for rockies, leaving the traps unguarded...

That's the way I'd do it next time.  Plus if you fish in the same sandy areas as your traps, there's that chance at catching halibut too.

Last Wed, after Joe, Henry, and I dropped our traps/rings, we paddled about 1/2 mile to the green buoy to rockfish.  I really started getting a little paranoid when I saw a small aluminum boat with several guys on it start cruising around  near the traps.  That's about the same time we decided to quit fishing and paddling back to check our traps.  It might have been a good thing we did.

AGarcia... I'm sorry to hear some scumbags robbed you... but I agree with you.  Karma will catch up to them, and it probably won't be pretty when she does.

That's the way I'd do it next time. Plus if you fish in the same sandy areas as your traps, there's that chance at catching halibut too.

You can still catch halibut this time of the year?  How far out do they go in the winter?  What other sandy bottom fish could you catch?

Art,
That really sucks.  I guess when I go yak crabbing, I’ll be camping out.  Definitely better to go in a group so at least you can BS to kill time.

Truly a bummer, but I’m sure you’ll get them next time.

Stuart

i went out sunday and dropped one hoop. sat on it and fiught the wind and swells and saw three guys in a small aluminum boat trolling along the rocky areas pullin traps. i think its the same guys. i can almost bet it is because they were watching us kayakers like hawks. that place has more crab traps thieved than anywhere from what i hear. i used a bright orange freediving float to mark mine. just as soon as i was paddling into the harbor against the wind this asian man in an inflatable with two small kids told me he had his traps stolen. next time i go i will bring a camera. then i'll set a trap and see if they take it. i'll be ready to send the photo to the harbor police.

john

sorry folks, did not mean to sound off without a proper intro but my name is john, my wife katka and i love kayak fishing and we also skindive a lot around the bay area.  we live in redwood city.

i took particular attention to the HMB crab trap issue because those guys in their small junker were putting around my wife and gettin pretty close to her kayak. it was like 2 guys in their 30's and one older gentleman in his 50's i'd say. not to point fingers but i am almost positive they were the culprits. my friend ron almost lost a net to them as well til we paddled closed to our floats.

here is a tip for monterey area. halibut are still in pretty shallow. i landed one on halloween that was 39.5 inches in 35-40 feet of water off cannery row. i was pulling just a squid head with a sinker slider setup.

: )

have fun!

it was like 2 guys in their 30's and one older gentleman in his 50's i'd say. not to point fingers but i am almost positive they were the culprits.

Those were the same guys I saw.  The next time I go, I'll bring my camera, cell phone, and the phone number to the harbor police!

The skiff I seen near my gear looked like an older riveted aluminum 12 footer with what looked to be 3 guys and one child.

I didn't want to point fingers cause I never got close enough for me to positively say they had my gear and there were other traps near mine(about 40' away).

i would never usually point fingers but these guys were super suspicious and eyeballing traps and when one guy was pullin, the others were looking around. they ducked in the harbor after pulling traps and then came back out every 20 minutes or so. other boats i saw just went out while these guys were staying close to the harbor. they would go out and in like clockwork. then when they were making rounds they would motor by staring at us.

weird stuff out there. i think the best thing is to stay close tothe float you have. i had just one hoop net and stayed close. the wind was damn strong though and we huffed it to get back in the harbor.

take care and get those crabs! thanks for the cool forum!

im headin to fort ross this weekend for abalone and fishing. i'll do my best to post asap when i return! i might br crabbing there too but my scupper pro only hauls so much. im afraid to get rolled and have it look like a yard sale!

john

Hey chuckE, you be careful. All the rules of polite and even not-so-polite society go out the window when confronting the criminal element. Things can get ugly in a hurry.

I wonder if it's a form of localism as much as criminalism. you don't live here, don't crab here, etc.  that territorialism used to be super common amongst the surfers. cars they don't know vandalized etc.  I never heard of it amongst fisherman, but anytime there are more people than the resource, it happens. I mean it seems like a risky crime and not that lucrative. so I wonder if there is another motive.

I don't know how much it comes into play with crabbing but there's plenty of localism in fishing.  Check the Pacifica pier once the first salmon hits the deck and it gets elbow to elbow, tension city.  

With crab thieves I think its more a "poacher" mentality.  People who have no intent other than to score whatever meat they can and get away.