Crabbing HMB Sunday 2/23

I woke up not feeling well so I decided to stay home today. How did you guys do today?

I am curious to hear as well. How was the wind?

I went out today for the first time and conditions were great.  I was late to launch so I missed the meet up.  I ended up sorting out my gear and tooling around the harbor until I adjusted the Outback to my liking.

On my way out, there were a few folks coming back in with limits by 10:30 or 11.  I only spoke with a couple other guys on the water and most only had two or three keepers.  I took home two rock crabs because they were the only things in my traps.  I'm guessing I wasn't out far enough.  I'll have to rig my FF for the next trip.

Ling-A-Ding, thanks again for the traps!  Sad news though, I had a newbie f'up near the end of the day.  I pulled the pot with the baitbag and spooled up the float to move sites.  When I dropped the pot at the new spot, I let the line out by holding the float and letting it spool off like a spinning reel.  I didn't catch the knot that was in the line in time so it took the float with it!  So, someday, a pot may wash ashore with your ID on the float.

Traildad, the winds were nonexistent until the afternoon.  It picked up around 2, but I was in the Outback and didn't have any problems. 

sorry about your trap but most of us have lost a trap or two before, learning process.
at least you got dinner.

An eventful day for me. Met Earlyo, Craig, Antonio, and Tim at HMBK, paddling out to my previous location and dropped the pots. Crabbing was very slow compared to last week, a lot of small and female dungies. Got two legal dungies and one huge rock crab in the first hour or two, then flipped my yak and dunked myself in the cold water, with my iphone5 still playing music in a ziplock bag, my brand new goPro still recording, and my FF beeping. Probably not a big deal for most people, but this was my first time flipping a yak, and I panic a little. Thanks for the guy on Hobie AI (I even don't know his name), Craig, Tim, and Earlyo for coming and rescued me, now I am really happy that this did not happen last week when I was alone. I lost the crabs and a few other things as the result of this, but surprisingly iphone and gopro were still there when I flipped over the yak. I started over again, and went home with 3 7"+ dungies. Overall, an otherwise slow day got busy by me flipping my yak

Nice meeting all the NCKA brothers on the water! Once I figure out how to edit gorpo video, I am going to post the clip of me flipping the yak.

So why did the yak flip over. Was it from pulling the trap or another reason.

How is everyone storing your crab while crabbing?  Dive bags? Live wells? Milk crates? 

I didn't think about this issue until I made my first catch.  I just kept the rock crabs near my feet, but that didn't last long when they started fighting each other, me, and my Mirage drive.  Then I threw them into the hatch but figure it's not the best way to keep them alive.  School me!

I use a burlap sack. I keep it bungied to my kayak in case I flip.

So why did the yak flip over. Was it from pulling the trap or another reason.

Well, a number of mistakes. First, I have the seat on my Predator at the high position, which gave it a higher center of gravity. Next, I put the pot more on the left side of the yak instead of in the center, which already tip the yak to the left. Last and probably most importantly, I was reaching inside the far left corner of the pot to get a crab, which is a little far from where I was sitting. The shifting of the weight just flipped the yak, without any indication. It happened probably in less than half a second of time. All these mistakes only became clear afterwards

I also used a burlap sack. Since I did not tie it to the yak, I do not have a burlap sack anymore . For the last 3 dungies I caught, I just throw them behind the seat, which worked just fine.

First, I have the seat on my Predator at the high position, which gave it a higher center of gravity. Next, I put the pot more on the left side of the yak instead of in the center, which already tip the yak to the left. Last and probably most importantly, I was reaching inside the far left corner of the pot to get a crab, which is a little far from where I was sitting. The shifting of the weight just flipped the yak, without any indication. It happened probably in less than half a second of time. All these mistakes only became clear afterwards

Glad you were able to flip it back over.  Based on the videos I saw, those Predators seemed super stable.

I use a dive bag, but it's a pain to get them out.  Just remember to keep a good count before dropping them in.

Ling-A-Ding, thanks again for the traps!  Sad news though, I had a newbie f'up near the end of the day.  I pulled the pot with the baitbag and spooled up the float to move sites.  When I dropped the pot at the new spot, I let the line out by holding the float and letting it spool off like a spinning reel.  I didn't catch the knot that was in the line in time so it took the float with it!  So, someday, a pot may wash ashore with your ID on the float.

Hummmm.  eelkram,  If someone called me about finding my trap with 10 crabs in it, I have to think hard to exposed previous ownership or consealing it .  I'm just pulling you leg, of course I would turn over the crabs and the trap. 

I forgot to tell you.  I wrap up the line on the float to make it easy storage and transport.  Not as a spool on a retrieval.  Your suppose to let the line float away with the float first before dropping your traps.  That way there is never a tangle on the rope, because you can see the line and float on the up wind side.

Just to make you feel better, at least you did not pay full price for the traps.   

I use a dive bag, but it's a pain to get them out.  Just remember to keep a good count before dropping them in.

I was thinking about asking what others do to keep track. I was pretty sure I didn't have more than ten, but just to be sure I counted them on the beach just in case. It was pretty easy to lose track.

Everyone has flipped their kayak one time or another, no big deal. The important thing is to not panic and be able to self rescue.

Good thing you had the GoPro mounted to the kayak, and not wearing it on your head. Or it would have been a very expensive day.

Flipped my yak last year in HMB wearing sunglasses and they were still on my head after 2x dunkings, so a gopro on a head mount should still be good.

I keep my crabs in a big dive-goody bag (mesh kind with locking handle) attached by bungie to my yak handle. Bungie is super tied to the bag so it'll pretty much not come loose. When I'm pullling pots or just waiting around, crabs stay in the water. I keep the bag hanging off the opposite side of the yak that I pull on to counter balance myself. Sometimes I'll keep the bag in the water moving from pot to pot if not in a rush. When it's really time to move and/or there's a lot of wind and swell I pull the bag in to my yak. The bungie is long enough that I can either put it up front between my legs or behind my seat and milk crate. I usually just toss it between my legs when OTW, but when I'm gearing up to head back in, they go in the back, helps keep my nose up out of the water a little more and leaves room for my rings/traps up front. Then again, my system is a little weird since the yak is weird. Check out a Native watercraft Magic 14.5

Also, just keep a good count of your crab. Counting on the beach is all well and good, but if you come up with 11, you could be SOL. I've been checked by DFG (DFW?? wtf..) right after landing at HMBK.