CrabbingInTheHood.com

Okay, so the good news first…

The crabbing season has been extended from October 8th until December 31st (Hooray!)

Now the bad news…

That doesn’t include Marine Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) or Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal) (Boo Hiss!)

If it’s any consolation, most of the people I’ve talked to reported as having a rather fruitful catch this year.

Of course, I wouldn’t know, seeing that my 40hp Johnson suffered from a severe case of bi-polar schizophrenia, and couldn’t decide if it wanted to work or not.

On a more positive note, my upper body strength has improved tremendously as a result of rowing across Hood Canal for 4 hours. But I’ll save that for a future installment of ‘Stupid Human Boat Tricks.’

So, if you have the good fortune of living anywhere remotely close to any of the other Marine Areas that the WDFW so generously left open to crab fishing (Neah Bay, Sekiu, e.Strait of Juan de Fuca, the San Juans, Deception Pass, Hope Island, Skagit Bay, Port Susan, Port Gardner, portions of Admiralty Inlet, or Tacoma-Vashon and South Puget Sound opening Nov. 21st), then by all means, knock your socks off!

Or, to borrow a line from one of my favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption:

“Get Busy Crabbing, or get busy dying!”

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional with Keller Williams West Sound, providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife, SoundBiteBlog, and ActiveRain, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com

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Okay, so here’s the latest scoop on where to score all of your crabbing gear here on the Kitsap Peninsula.

Oh for the days when the Pawn Shop in Poulsbo was still open! Those guys were amazing, and they had everything a crabbing enthusiast would want! Unfortunately, they closed a few years ago, and no one has stepped up to the plate to take their place.

Here’s what I’ve found:

Outdoor Outfitters aka Wholesale Sports in Silverdale – they may have boatloads of good stuff for hunters and hikers, but a week before crabbing season opens, this place totally sucks. About the only good thing I can say is that they have leaded line in bulk that they can cut to size. They’re the only ones who offer this. Aside from that, they’re pretty much worthless, unless you want to pay $80+ for a crab pot.

Wally World aka Wal-Mart – You can always count on Wal-Mart to stock the basics during the season. They don’t have everything you need, but they attempt to carry most of it. And, as typical, the prices are pretty reasonable. The basic Danielson crab pot is $23 and change.

Fred Meyer – These guys win the award for best overall stock and prices. The basic Danielson crab pot was just under $20. They stock the buoys separately, and actually have bait cages, stainless clips, etc.. Be aware, they have two places they keep their inventory – in the aisle, and a center standing display.

As far as bait is concerned, I am totally bummed that Silverdale Red Apple Market closed their doors. The butcher there always hooked me up with some slammin’ prices on salmon guts. My back-up is Central Market over in Poulsbo. You can get salmon guts for $1.99 per pound.

So there ya go! Gear up and go get ‘em!….

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, HomesByHarbors, SOUNDBITEBLOG, ActiveRain, Everyday CK,  Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com

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With July 1st is just around the corner, most Marine Areas in the Puget Sound will officially open to recreational crabbing!

To find the official start dates/times and regulations for WA State, go to WA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife

The biggest and best change to the regulations this year is the days that are allowed for crabbing. Previously, you could only drop your pots off on Wednesday through Saturday. This put a huge crimp in your weekend crabbing style. Now, the new regulations permit crabbing Thursday through Monday! Catch quantity limits are still remain five (5) male Dungeness and six (6) Rock crab (either sex) per day.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, HomesByHarbors, SOUNDBITEBLOG, ActiveRain, Everyday CK, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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I recently received an email from a reader in Spokane WA who asked if I knew of any places along Hood Canal WA that offered boat rentals.

Back in the day, crab populations around Puget Sound were such that you could easily find your dinner faire by simply walking out during a good minus tide. Nowadays, without a boat, you’re hard-pressed to have any measure of success.

About the only place I know on Hood Canal where you can rent small outboard boats is Hood Canal Adventures.

Another source on the Kitsap Peninsula is Northwest Boat Rentals in Poulsbo WA.

If any of my readers know of any additional resources, please feel free to contact me or leave information in the comments section of this post. Thanks!

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, HomesByHarbors, SOUNDBITEBLOG, ActiveRain, Everyday CK, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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If you fall into one of the following 3 categories, this article is for you:

1.  You believe the current recreational crabbing season in Puget Sound is too short.

2.  You will do ANYTHING to catch Dungeness Crab and you’re not afraid of cold weather.

3.  Your boat motor held you hostage for most of the season and you’re still playing catch-up.

Four marine areas of the Puget Sound will reopen to recreational crab fishing starting Nov. 15th, based on summer catch assessments by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) that show more crab are available for harvest.

At 8 a.m. on Nov. 15, Marine Areas 6 (Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 9 (Admiralty Inlet), 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) and 12 (Hood Canal) will reopen for sport crabbing seven days a week through Jan. 2, 2011

Crab fishing will also remain open seven days a week through Jan. 2 in marine areas 4 (Neah Bay), 5 (Sekiu), and 13 (South Puget Sound), where the fishery has continued uninterrupted since June 18.

The following Marine Areas remained closed: 7 (San Juan Islands), 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island and Skagit Bay), 8-2 (Port Susan and Port Gardner) and 11 (Tacoma/Vashon Island),

And don’t forget to report your catch on the Winter Catch Cards!

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, HomesByHarbors, SOUNDBITEBLOG, ActiveRain, Everyday CK, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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All sport fishers licensed to fish for crab in Puget Sound must submit summer catch reports to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) by Oct. 10 – whether or not they caught crab this year.

Crabbers may submit catch record cards to WDFW by mail at:

CRC Unit, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501-1091

They can also report their catch online at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/wdfw/puget_sound_crab_catch.html from Sept. 7 through Oct. 10.

Crabbers who fail to file their catch reports on time will face a $10 fine when they purchase a 2011 Puget Sound crab endorsement.

This year’s reporting deadline has been extended by more than two weeks to give crabbers more time to file their reports. Those who meet the deadline will be entered in a drawing for one of 10 free 2011 combination fishing licenses, which allow the holder to fish for a variety of freshwater and saltwater species.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, HomesByHarbors, SOUNDBITEBLOG, ActiveRain, Everyday CK, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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One of my COTH readers, Jeff Pascoe, a resident up in Kingston WA, recently asked:

“Do you know of any other piers or places, for guys like me who don’t have a boat, to go crabbing?”

That’s a great question, Jeff. I remember when we first moved here to Kitsap County WA how desperately consumed my boys and I were to try our hands at crabbing. So desperate, in fact, that we settled on a 2-man inflatable we bought over at Wally-World (See ‘Stupid Human Boats Tricks’ Part One). But that’s another completely humiliating story….

Crabbing from piers and docks here in WA State used to be very common and usually netted enough of the snappy bottom feeders to give everyone a good taste. Unfortunately, as human populations have increased, the crab populations have decreased, making it difficult in certain areas for even boat owners to make their limits consistently.

Still, there are a couple of area fishing piers where you might find an occasional rogue dungy lurking about. A couple that I would recommend trying is the pier at Illahee State Park in Bremerton WA or the Harper pier down in Port Orchard WA. Your chances typically improve around the peak of high tide.

I would be curious if any of my other readers have had any success crabbing off of area piers, docks, or tidelands. If so, please feel free to comment and share your locations.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, ActiveRain, Everyday CK, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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During an upcoming public meeting scheduled for Feb. 4 thru 6 in Olympia, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider adopting a new package of sportfishing rules for 2010-12, as well as updates to the Columbia River sturgeon management policy.

Of particular interest is a proposed change to the Dungeness Crab Season and Daily Limit. This past year when the season opened, recreational crabbing was allowed each week from Wednesday through Saturday, with a legal limit of 5 per day, per licensed person. The newly proposed rules would change the allowable days for crabbing to Friday through Monday, and reduce the legal limit down to 4 per day, per licensed person.

While the day changes are certainly welcome, it’s hard to swallow (or maybe I should say ‘not’ to swallow) the reduction in daily limits. This is the second time in recent years that the limit amount has been lowered.

The commission, a nine-member citizen panel appointed by the governor to set policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), will convene for its regular meeting Feb. 5-6 in Room 172 of the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington St. S.E. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. both days.

For more information, go to WA Dept of Fish & Wildlife

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, ActiveRain, Everyday CK, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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Just a friendly reminder….for local crabbing enthusiasts:

You have until January 15th 2010 to electronically submit your Dungeness Crab Catch Card numbers to the WA Dept of Fish & Wildlife

WA State law requires that ALL fishers record their catch of Dungeness Crab on their License Catch Record Card and return their cards by mail or report their catch numbers electronically on-line by the date printed on the Catch Card, even if you didn’t catch any crab.

To report your Dungeness Crab Catch Card amounts on-line, go HERE.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, ActiveRain, Everyday CK, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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Seems like everyone has their own unique or special way of cleaning Dungeness Crab. Some people bring their catch back live and steam them up whole. My Dad prefers it that way, so he can scoop out the ‘butter’ from the outer edges of the shell. That’s a bit too hardcore for me though.

I prefer to clean the crabs before we head back to the launch. Of course, we’re careful to retain the shells in the event that the Fish & Wildlife guys show up. Otherwise, cleaning the crabs before we head home means there’s more room in the pot, and less hassle with clean-up afterward.

Here’s a short video that we shot out on Hood Canal during the summer of 2008. It shows our method of cleaning the Dungeness Crabs quickly and efficiently. We strike then in the center of their under-body with an axe. This kills them instantly. Then each side of the inner body, with legs and claws attached, is twisted and peeled away from the shell. All that remains is to remove the lungs and rinse off any guts. We transport the cleaned crabs back home in a bucket of sea water taken from Hood Canal, and that’s what we use to cook them in. Enjoy the video!

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com and SOUNDBITEBLOG, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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