Crabs?

On the Bean Hollow trip, we can do a Plan "B" trip to Davenport (not too far South). The cove at Davenport is sandy and is usually protected by the wind and swell. I never dropped a trap there but who knows- 

Cool Mooch!  That will be good to keep in mind.   It would have to be pretty ugly (breakers consistently before and through the cove) to dissuade me from BH, but you never know what you'll see until you get there. 

I'll have stowage below deck for everything, including crab/fish, so I am not worried about being tossed while landing.  I just hate to launch soaked and sandy from a spill....

If I knew the day before that BH was out, I would try to set my sights on Dux-to-Stinson area w/Bolinas Launch, or Muir if others preferred.

I am going to drop my crab gear in 70 feet, wherever it is.  If I see sand at 30', I will just keep paddling to find it deeper.

Davenport = tax collector. I will not launch from Davenport this time of the year.

What about Tomales bay? Calm water?


-Brian G

Tomales bay ....  I'm not sure you'd get many dungeness, probably just red rock crabs.  Same goes for Bodega Harbor.   As for calm, yeah their wouldn't be huge waves, but the wind would be difficult to deal with. 

A better bet for Dungies would be Bodega Bay (the area between Tomales Bay and Bodega Harbor) but you're in a sharky area (esp Tomales Point and Bodega Head), but it's fairly protected although probably not protected enough given the 15-25 kt winds and the 9-11 ft swell + 3-5 ft wind chop.

For those of you who are still looking for traps, there's a big stack of plastic coated wire mesh traps at Gus's Discount Tackle in SF.  They go for $24.50 but you still have to buy all the hardware; harness, 100' rope, float, bait box and gauge.  The trap folds and seems a little heavy but I suspect that it'll last since its all metal.  It looks like the Eagle Claw trap on the Cabelas ($44.99) website.

I mentioned that I was a kayaker and the lady behind the counter got a little twinkle in her eye and mentioned that kayakers come in here all the time.  She pointed to a picture tacked on the ceiling and its our lover boy, Ben (Guitarzan)...Anita, better watch your man.  

Ben, I've caught my reds straight out due west of the mouth of BH.  I don't seem to catch them further north but have caught them a little south.  I think I was with Eugene (Paddlefish) and his Dad when I saw him catch a red also.

I'm interested in joining the crowd this weekend, sounds like an epic crabfest in the making.  To tell you the truth my family will trade a limit of fish for some fresh Dungeness crab in a heart beat.  OK, maybe we wouldn't trade a halibut...

Gary

Good info Gary!  Thanks and it would be great to see you out there - somewhere.

And now for something completely different.

.FRI NIGHT...S WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT.
W SWELL 5 TO 7 FT. A CHANCE OF RAIN.

.VETERANS DAY...N WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT.
NW SWELL BUILDING TO 10 TO 12 FT. A CHANCE OF RAIN.

.SUN...W WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.
NW SWELL 9 TO 11 FT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN.

.MON...W WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.
NW SWELL 9 TO 11 FT...BUILDING TO 12 TO 15 FT.
A CHANCE OF RAIN.

Yech....

"PLan C" ....Lake Mendocino  or Lake Del Valle

Good info Gary!  Thanks and it would be great to see you out there - somewhere.

And now for something completely different.

.FRI NIGHT...S WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT.
W SWELL 5 TO 7 FT. A CHANCE OF RAIN.

.VETERANS DAY...N WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT.
NW SWELL BUILDING TO 10 TO 12 FT. A CHANCE OF RAIN.

.SUN...W WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.
NW SWELL 9 TO 11 FT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN.

.MON...W WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.
NW SWELL 9 TO 11 FT...BUILDING TO 12 TO 15 FT.
A CHANCE OF RAIN.

Yech....

Wow, Veteran Day's forecast is a great day for windsurfing.  If this forecast is true, crab pots will defitely walked out if there's not enough weights on it.  Not worth the days to go crabbing; nobody can go out in that kind of weather.  Did you see any "small craft advisory" for this weekend's forecast?  might as well go windsurfing instead...

I'm hoping the swells will make the crabs "go to ground" and not eat for a while.  When the weather finally breaks I'll be out there hoping they'll be hungry enough to run into my traps.  Anyway, that's what I keep telling myself to make me feel better about the nasty swell forecast.

Brian

Small craft advisory through tomorrow night.

Friday looks not bad.  Sat-Tues are yukky.  I expect small craft advisory posted Friday for the weekend.  But, it's still 2 days away...  It could be that the nice weather Friday can be stretched til Saturday afternoon.

I am thinking there might be some people out on the water after midnight Friday or pulling pots at dawn - wait and see thing.

Next break in the swells forecast appears to not be until after mid-next week.

Here is the Scripps animated swell forecast.  Note the slim window 54-60 hours from now.  You can stop it by hitting the STOP button on your browser window when the ticker gets to 66 or 72 hours, to see where it's predicted to be Saturday.

http://www.lajollasurf.org/images/calanim.gif

I am not quite giving up on Saturday morning yet.  But at this point it would likely be an early on-early off day.  Ben has final say, for me.

Somehow I hear a helicopter again......

Be safe if you go out guys!

This is one bonus of seasickness, I can't even consider this weekend.

MolBasser

Small craft advisory through tomorrow night.

Friday looks not bad.  Sat-Tues are yukky.  I expect small craft advisory posted Friday for the weekend.  But, it's still 2 days away...  It could be that the nice weather Friday can be stretched til Saturday afternoon.

I am thinking there might be some people out on the water after midnight Friday or pulling pots at dawn - wait and see thing.

Next break in the swells forecast appears to not be until after mid-next week.

Here is the Scripps animated swell forecast.  Note the slim window 54-60 hours from now.  You can stop it by hitting the STOP button on your browser window when the ticker gets to 66 or 72 hours, to see where it's predicted to be Saturday.

http://www.lajollasurf.org/images/calanim.gif

I am not quite giving up on Saturday morning yet.  But at this point it would likely be an early on-early off day.  Ben has final say, for me.

Thanks for the info Craig and the weblink.  It's funny how Scripps in La Jolla (San Diego) which is 500 miles away can have a forecast on our local weather condition.  That's amazing!

-Ron

Ron, no probs... I am guessing they use NOAA data and buoys up and down the whole coast.

Somehow I hear a helicopter again......

Be safe if you go out guys!

Thanks Mol...  No worries.  My yak doesn't leak and I am sure we would be sticking together anyway.  The toughest thing would be launching, I figure.  Once out of the cove, big swells would probably only keep me off of the most productive reef/structure (fast 35-55 ft drops) due to reef break.  I have it in my GPS.

A break in the big weather from Friday-Sat. morning would probably be good for crabbing.  Just gotta make sure the swells aren't TOO big.

I dont care about the landlord, just know I would be bummed without a camera. Id love to see him. Touch and count coup. Cafecraig, Im so jealous I could spit. Went right under you.
Mooch, Davenport would be fine with me, I guess we'll decide a little closer.
Who's in for the beach crew?
                                                    ><(((*>

LOL! Just re-read the post about Gus tackle. Yup, Im right next to Tim and his 2 Linda Mar monster stripers. We can have a wall of fame in her place just for us NCKAers! The pioneers of kayak fishing. Lets all bring in a pic.How about Mooches big LM salmon and those 3 BIG cabbies from BH.