October 13, 2022: Fortunately for me, we Puget Sounders failed to harvest our recreational quota of Dungeness crabs this summer. That meant the season reopened in October and I got to launch my faithful red kayak to turn salmon carcasses and clam guts into primo crab meat. This magical transformation feels even more valuable this year with commercial crabbing closures in Alaska and the delayed openings for California, Oregon, and Washington.
After about 1.5 hours I checked the first pot and there was only a single, legal red rock crab. The second pot was only 50 yards from the first, with exactly the same bait, so I didn't have much hope but it was packed with big males. Six or seven were of legal size but only four had the required hard shell. A good enough haul to let a very lucky red rock back into the sea. Then it was time to load everything up so I could get home and spend at least as much time processing those four crabs. Below is my ideal setup, the crab meat receptacle is on ice because that much crab can take me hours to get through.
November 11, 2022: As a retirement gift to myself, I finally bought one of the pedal kayaks I have been dreaming about ever since I tried to deploy two trolling rigs simultaneously (its debut below). But that meant I needed to free up a garage parking spot so I decided to donate it to our friends' new Orcas Island home. I'll probably do a separate post on the Orca visit but below is the wiggly yellow kayak's first crabbing attempt.
As you can see, I did not venture out very far. The rounded top of the kayak meant every third paddle was aborted to rescue the pot. With the depth at a disappointing 15-20' of water I wasn't imagining much but on the other hand, if there was a haul similar to the October trip, I was going to need to start introducing myself to the neighbors with real boats just to retrieve my pot.
Once the youngest woke up from his nap, I headed back out to check the pot. To my surprise there were a couple Dungeness and a couple red rocks, all legal. The only problem was I had zero confidence in getting the pot out of the water without dunking myself. Instead I took a firm bite on the rope and started paddling with what is a very effective drift anchor.
Back on shore the boys were impressed and wary in equal measure. They are much more comfortable investigating them after they have sat on ice for a few hours and are less feisty.
I'm looking forward to their help in processing and consuming but for now I'll just have to be content with gear hauling:
November 15th, 2022: The final crabbing trip of the year started off on the beach at Golden Gardens, my favorite place to play beach volleyball. This was the first time putting a pedal kayak in the water so there was a fair amount of newbie fails - the drive didn't get locked so the pedals popped out. I also managed to get the seat in a spot that was neither its high or low position and it wanted to fall over every time I tried to recline. But I had bought a wetsuit and felt confident enough to leave the safety of the beach. What I noticed immediately is that the extra 3' of length and a couple inches in width make a world of difference on the stability front. On the other hand, the pedals sit right where I would normally set the second pot so now its a two trip game.
Once the pots were set I retreated to the marina to practice using the rudder and the reverse gear. Very impressed with how responsive everything felt and can't wait to put it to the test on salmon next summer.
Once I made it back out to the pots I had more than a legal limit of Dungies between the two pots and had to put some back but the ones that went in the cooler were monsters and made for some tasty crab cakes.
P.S. - On a practical note, I did not appreciate how exposed the beach is at Golden Gardens when the wind is up. There was a brisk north/south wind that was making 2' waves where it had been calm as I launched. It died down again and that was the window I needed to pick the pots. Crabbing off the Mukilteo area is a longer drive but Whidbey and Hart Islands seem to keep things calmer on the wave front.
P.P.S - If I ever get into letting pots sit overnight, I'll probably need to invest in or build an outrigger that will make that final act of swinging a hefty pot into the boat a little less exciting.