Slow crabbing at Doran

Pulled out two keepers at Doran today after scoring a last minute campsite a few days ago. Of all the other kayakers I talked to on the water and snare group from shore, not a single person had pulled up a Dungeness crab. Was told one tall tale from a guy that heard from another guy of a kayak crabber that pulled his limit on his first pull. Only people that had good numbers were people on boats going 100+ feet deep. Anybody else have luck out there?

I wonder if this is a sign of a bad season or if they tend to come in later in the year sometimes?

I worry about stuff like green crab infestation and changing water conditions.

FWIW, I hit Doran about a week ago for a dual-purpose scouting run and red rock crab attempt.

The reds were slow compared to normal.

I caught (and threw back of course) literally only one keeper size dungie, and that one was actually during a random test-drop near the launch ramp - I saw no dungies once I got outside the jetties except for some babies.

That was definitely way less productive than I would have expected.

Granted, I've only been out kayak-crabbing in Doran starting last season, but I went probably a dozen times at this past year and never once skunked completely on dungies (and even when they were slow I could usually land a load of reds every time).

Of course all of this could have just been random luck too heh.

last year we started about 5 weeks later I think, hoping maybe that's why its a bit slow now.  Was a bit slow at HMB as well, though better than what I read from Doran.  I've also heard the crabs move in and out of the shallower areas with the storms

hopefully gets better.  Got 3 keeper dungies in HMB in about 3 hours of soaking.

just two...everyone I talk to said about the same... zero, one or two 

Thanks for the reports guys.  My friend went to Pacifica pier and got 4 Dungies.   Got to love the "combat" fishing 

We went home with 4 keepers, working the area between the head and bodega rock with 8 pieces of gear for almost 6 hours in the snot and rain. Total grind, lots of rock crabs, lots of almost keepers but the good ones were very few and far between. Hopefully things pick up in the coming weeks.

Got 3 dungies and 10 large rock in 30ft of water. Did talk to one kayaker back on the beach and that went way out and caught a limit. We we’re both off the water by 11:00. Got way to bumpy out there for my comfort. Most kayakers stayed in shallow waters 1-300 yards off the beach.
Steve

Ooh... Doran was where I was planning to go till the rain and wind scared me off. Thanks for the report. I don't feel so bad now.

How big was the swell over the weekend?


Scotty

How big was the swell over the weekend?


Scotty

Hey Scotty, I was in close and the swell was not bad. It did get a bit rough around 10:00ish and the boat traffic created more wind waves. The rain wasn't so bad but chased some away. Wasn't so bad, but not so good. 

Glad to hear some people had some success. I was thinking it might be a gloom and doom start to the season from the dialogue I was getting out there. Don't know if I'll do opening day again. 1 or 2 boats gave me some close calls and almost flipped me in their wake. Thought I'd be safe from that being inside the jetty but apparently that's not the case.