Sport fishing for Dungeness crabs started with a bang Nov. 6. Reports of crabs loading the pots were streaming in, followed up with happy stories of fresh steamed crab dinners. Meanwhile, rockfish season is closing, and steelhead fishing in the rivers is just around the corner.
Reports from Half Moon Bay flooded into the docks, and fishing forum boards filled with stories of 15 to 30 crabs per trap on the opening day.
San Francisco Bay and Bodega Bay crab fishermen had similar stories, with an abundant catch of crabs for sport anglers. The limit for sport fishing is 10 crabs per person — and many of these boats may set out a couple of traps per person. Most boats had more crabs than they could legally keep, so the remaining crabs were released unharmed.
Commercial crab season started Tuesday, Nov. 16, and the season looks strong for the fishery.
Rock cod and ling cod fishing has tapered off, and the season ended Monday, Nov. 15, for sport fishing. The ocean-fishing focus will be on crabs, sand dab, giant squid and white sea bass.
Many anglers will head out and run their crab traps and then fish for sand dab or giant squid to finish off the day. Giant squid have been caught along the canyon edges outside Santa Cruz, Moss Landing and Monterey. The uneatable parts of the giant squid are used as crab bait.
Steelhead season is marked on the calendars of many fishermen and will begin Dec. 1. The river flow is still low on the San Lorenzo, but we have had a couple of rains that have helped flush the river. At this time, there may be a few small steelhead in the river.
Anglers should take caution using bait not to injure juvenile fish. Most adult steelhead will enter the river after the first of the New Year, during the larger tides and after a fresh rain.
Winter promises some great fishing opportunities, with crisp air and a nice change of scenery.
Mike Baxter has fished in the Monterey Bay Area since he was a boy and has been a licensed charter boat captain for more than 15 years. Contact him at [email protected]. He also hosts a fishing show on radio station KSCO (1080) from 7:06 to 8 p.m. Thursdays April through September.
