saturday launched from the HMB harbor Old Pier

Hey folks,

my wife and i went paddling out of HMB old pier and paddled out of the harbor and zipped around a bit. choppy seas but very clear water. all through the harbor we could see bottom for a while and it was rel blue and clear.

after paddling outside and came back in i paddled against the inside west jetty of the harbor where some latino guys were crabbin on the inside with chicken legs and a rock for weight. they were bagging rock crabs. i paddled closer and talked to them and saw something under the surface in about 4 feet of water. they were dungeness battling one another like mad. i got off the kayak about 10 feet away and used one of the guys chicken pieces and slowly lowered it between the crabs that were getting ready to fight and they held onto it. i slowly lifted them into the kayak and laddled over and gave the chicken and crabs to the guy who was nearby. he was pretty excited being that all they had so far were rock crab.

while i was walking around in there i saw black perch schooling. about 7-8 inch ones i think. water was super clear and lots of kelp too.

storm was rolling in slowly and wind picked up a lot. saw some guys going to paddlie surf kayaks at mavericks. that looked pretty brave with helmets and all.

no fish or crabs for myself though. just paddling around yesterday.


john

Hi, John

Does HMB old pier is nearby West Point road? I was there 1 week ago. Water was a little muddy then.
I had no idea where Dungies live - whether inside jetty or outside jetty (pillar point harbor). Can you share some tips?

Hi, John

Does HMB old pier is nearby West Point road? I was there 1 week ago. Water was a little muddy then.
I had no idea where Dungies live - whether inside jetty or outside jetty (pillar point harbor). Can you share some tips?

Yep! Thats the place, the old pier near West Point road. That place that always has dog craps lying around in random places. Part of the fun is navigating your way to the water. The water is usually muddy there though.

I paddled out for a while and then came back in because winds were picking up. i just paddled and watched birds along the inside of the jetty wall. the water was super clear and saw a bunch of perch schooling. the dungeness were just walking around and fighting each other on the bottom in like 3 feet of water.

I think paddling out of the jetty and going to the outside would yield better crabs faster though. you can paddle out, drop your traps and come inside for some wind protection.

I think inside the harbor are mostly rock crabs.

i saw the kelp beds outside of the harbor and they looked good. nice bull kelp all still intact ready for rock cod season opener.

Sssshhhh that is the "secret launch" 

Sssshhhh that is the "secret launch" 

oops! me ane my big mouth again!! 

Nice drawing! Thanks for the tips. I caught a half dozen of crabs outside jetty, but they are rock crabs. I am yet to look for dungies. ChuckE is an expert and knows the crabbing spots in HMB.

Nice drawing! Thanks for the tips. I caught a half dozen of crabs outside jetty, but they are rock crabs. I am yet to look for dungies. ChuckE is an expert and knows the crabbing spots in HMB.

i had seen some dungeness crabs there scuba diving once when i was just messing around with a friend but it was away from the jetty walls. i think if you drop a trap near the mouth it might be good. closer to the rocks generally yields more rock crabs i think but maybe what i saw was unusual. the tide was going out so i think it was drawing the crabs to the outside edges of the harbor.

john