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!

~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~

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

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

But alas, there is something very primal within us that yearns for expression – the hunter instinct – that causes us to cast aside all concerns for safety and common sense, to release our ‘inner explorer,’ and relentlessly pursue our prized quarry.

Such was the case this past week.

Our trusty C-Dory was finally in working condition (fodder for another article soon to come), so we launched at Miami Beach out in Seabeck WA, motored out to our usual spot, and dropped our pots.

A couple hours later, we returned to retrieve our pots and our hopeful bounty. Unfortunately, the tide had come in faster than we had anticipated, and we couldn’t find two of our crab pot buoys. To make matters worse, our 40hp Johnson Outboard suddently gave up the ghost and refused to cooperate, leaving us at the mercy of his evil twin, the 9 horse kicker.

Have you ever watched grass grow? Or observed molasses going uphill on a cold day? That’s about the maximum rate of speed we achieved as we sputtered our way back to the Miami Beach boat ramp.

The following day, my mother and I decided to head out a couple hours prior to the peak of low tide, accounting for the neck-breaking speed of our trolling motor, to find our two missing crab pots.

Arriving just in time, we quickly located one of the buoys. The wind had picked up, as it has a habit of doing in the afternoon out on Hood Canal, and the waves made pulling up the crab pot more difficult. As Murphy’s Law of Crabbing would have it, the pot was bare except for a lone starfish.

We searched repeatedly up and down the shoreline for the 2nd crab pot, but to no avail. Time had run out and the tide was rapidly returning.

To gain a better vantage point, I climbed up onto the roof of the cabin and peered out over the water. Suddenly, I saw the 2nd buoy submerged just under the water’s surface.

Kicker motors are great for trolling, but they totally suck when it comes to quick turns or maneuvering. We made a dozen or so attempts to retrieve the submerged buoy, but came up empty at every pass.

Finally, at wits end, I pulled off my shirt, handed my wallet and car keys to my mom, and jumped overboard.

Have you ever done something without really thinking it through, and then realize very quickly how big a mistake you’ve made?

I hit the water and immediately realized I had made a fatal error. Besides the water being just a few degrees short of freezing, my Mom had never operated the kicker motor!

As I frantically searched for the submerged crab pot buoy, I kept thinking of that scene from the movie ‘Titanic” where Leonardo slips away from Kate’s embrace, and disappears into the freezing depths.

I found the buoy and grabbed the attached line like a fierce, relentless junkyard dog. Unfortunately,  it was then that I understood why the buoy had been underwater. The rope was shorter than the water’s depth and the tide was coming back in!

Did I mention that the wind had come up and the waves were getting increasingly larger? About every 3rd wave, my head would bobble under the water, filling my mouth with saltwater.

Off on the horizon, I could see my Mother struggling to maneuver the wave-tossed C-Dory using the gutless trolling motor.

Would she somehow miraculously tap into the Matrix and learn the operating specifications for a 1985 Johnson 9-Horsepower Outboard Motor? Or would I suffer the grizzly fate of being transformed into a human crab pot buoy?

To discover the fate of our heroic Crab Hunter, read “Hood Canal WA Deadliest Catch Part Deux”

~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~

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

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

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.

~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~

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

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

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

~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~

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

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Our first pull of the season made the nearly month long delay well worth the wait. Our first pot yielded 8 exceptionally large keepers. Several were off the gauge, measuring over 8 inches in body shell span. We easily limited out at 15 and actually had to throw a couple smaller males back to remain within legal catch limits.

The second week proved almost as productive, catching 8 one day and 11 the next.

With the WA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife extending the current  season out until January 2, 2010, our mounting freezer stockpile  is guaranteed to keep us crab happy during the off-season.

~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~

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

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Many hardcore traditionalists insist on using some kind of crab boil spices like you would find offered by companies like Zatarains.

Some people insist on boiling/steaming the entire crab, relishing the prized ‘butter’ that collects on the outer edges of the inner body shell.

Personally, my preference is to clean the crabs while we’re still out on the water. A quick axe chop to the center of the underbody kills the crabs instantly. Each side is then easily peeled out of the body shell and cleaned.  We put the cleaned sides into a 5 gallon bucket filled with saltwater from Hood Canal. The bodies are retained until we get back into port, in the event that local Fish & Wildlife officers are lingering around, checking to see that everyone is following the rules.

Depending on the extent of our good fortune that day, we boil our bounty using the large aluminum pot and propane burner, using the saltwater we brought back with us from the Hood Canal. Cooking up just the cleaned ‘sides’ allows you to cook more crab and eliminate loads of messy clean-up that result if you cook the crabs whole. We don’t add any spices into the water, preferring the natural flavor that boiling in the saltwater provides.

There is much debate over the actual time you should cook/boil your crab. We prefer to bring the water to a boil, drop in the crab half sides, bring them back to boil, drop the flame slightly, and cook for 10 minutes.

Once the crab is cooked, we dump them into a large bowl and cover with ice.

Some people use various untensils like crackers, mallets, or seafood forks, and dip their cooked crab into melted butter or cocktail sauce.

I just don’t have the time or the patience. I crack the crab legs with my teeth and simply pork out to my stomach’s content!

~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~     o     ~

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

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Here is it July 13th, and my boat (the ever-faithful 16 foot C-Dory Angler) hasn’t graced the waters of Puget Sound for the 2009 crabbing season!

Where the HECK are my priorities???

Normally by this time we’d have dropped and pulled our pots a half dozen times or so, porked out to our heart’s content, and started to replenish our our stock of frozen seal-a-meal bags.

But unfortunately, the opening of the recreational crabbing season has been delayed for Marine Zone 12 (Hood Canal), and doesn’t begin until July 29th.

Add to that the fact that I’ve been literally SWAMPED here of late working with 4 different Buyer clients. Luckily though, two of them should be under contract shortly, so I may finally have a few spare moments to run out and snag a few Dungies!

Happy Crabbing!…

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

When we first moved here to Silverdale WA, I found some great bargains at a Pawn Shop over in downtown Poulsbo, just down from JJ’s Fish Restaurant. Unfortunately, they went out of business a few years back.

Kitsap Sports (just behind Macy’s Furniture store and Home Depot) has historically maintained a somewhat limited inventory, with typically higher prices.

Big Five Sports (located in the strip mall with Arby’s and Emerald City Smoothie) is known for their bargain prices, but their inventory of crabbing gear is extremely minimal.

As I had reported previously, in the face of bankruptcy proceedings, our local Sportsman Warehouse was recently purchased by UFA Cooperative Ltd., a company based out of Calgary, Canada, which currently operates 35 farm and ranch stores, 7 sporting goods stores, and 120 gas stations, mostly in western Canada. They operate under the name of Wholesale Sports.

I took a brief visit to Wholesale Sports here in Silverdale the other day (just one block east of Costco) and was pleasantly surprised to find an even greater selection of products than what had been previously inventoried by Sportsman’s Warehouse.

They carry the full range of Danielson products, including the most popular inexpensive collapsible crab trap for under $25.  You can outfit a complete crabbing rig for about $75 – which would include the trap, buoy kit w/ 100 ft. of poly rope, bait cage, weight kit, and 4-point harness kit.

The low end Danielson collapsible trap will usually last approximately 3 seasons, but Wholesale Sports also offers several other brands/styles that are more durable and naturally more expensive.

With the recreational crabbing season quickly approaching here in the Puget Sound, I would highly recommend a visit to Wholesale Sports in Silverdale WA, and stock up on all your crabbing gear needs!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Well, we’ve come a long way since the time my son Ben and I dropped our first crab pot into the waters of Hood Canal WA.

If you’re already familiar with the story, you’ll know that the Summer after we moved here, we were desperate for crab! So we bought a ‘cheapie charlie’ 2-man inflatable boat from Wally-Mart, loaded it up with crabbin’ goodies, and launched out of Seal Rock Campground, just north of Brinnon.

Needless to say, it was a comedy of errors! But the upside was that we learned all the things NOT to do next time, as well as what ‘correct’ gear was necessary.

Obviously, the most basic thing we needed was a decent boat. Thanks to a really generous old-timer over in East Bremerton, we bought our 1985 C-Dory Angler, the perfect little utility boat.

The next thing was figuring out what crabbing rig was most effective.

In  the past, your best bet for crabbin’ gear was the Sportsman’s Warehouse in Silverdale. Unfortunately, they filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and sold 15 of their stores, including 7 in WA State, to UFA Cooperative in Alberta, Canada. It’s unclear if UFA plans to continue stocking crabbing gear and at what discounts.

I have always purchased the less expensive Danielson 24″ Folding Crab Trap. It retails for just under $30 and lasts about 3 or 4 seasons. A more durable stainless steel version will easily run $80 per trap.

In my next installment, I’ll give you some possible resources where you can purchase your crabbing gear in the Puget Sound area.

Happy Crabbing!…

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Summer Crabbing Season includes Late start for Hood Canal

Yes, you heard it right. The 2009 Summer Crabbing Season for Marine Area 12 – Hood Canal will be starting ‘Late’ this year, July 29th to be exact.

YIKES!

Just about every year since we’ve moved here to the Kitsap Peninsula WA, the rules and regulations concerning recreational crabbing on Hood Canal WA have become more tightly controlled and stringent. We used to be able to crab 7 days a week. Now it’s only Wednesday through Saturday. We used to be able to take up to 6 male crabs per licensee per day. Now it’s only 5. The season used to start in June. Now were almost into August.

Now granted, even though the season is starting so late, they’re extending the season through until January 2nd, 2010. Unfortunately, depending on the weather, crabbing into the Fall and Winter months can be a rather daunting undertaking. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE going crabbing out on Hood Canal and I LOVE eating crab. But there’s a very obvious and discernible point where you have to choose between pulling up crab or contracting hypothermia.

According to a statement by Rich Childers,  the lead shellfish policy spokesman for WDFW:

“The crab abundance in Hood Canal WA has dropped considerably since 2001 and we need as many crabs as possible for reproduction. WDFW and tribal managers are taking extra precautions to help stabilize and protect the crab population.”

So I’m wondering, what exactly has been the cause in the population drop since 2001? Do we jump on the environmental bandwagon and blame Global Warming? Is the drop in oxygen levels in the Hood Canal the culprit? Have the number of recreational crabbers increased that dramatically? What affect do tribal and commercial fisheries have on the situation?

All I know is that I’m totally bummed out that we won’t be able to drop our pots out on Hood Canal WA until nearly August. Guess we’ll be launching over in Brownsville and motoring our boat out through Agate Pass for a couple of months!

~    o    ~    o    ~    o    ~    o    ~    o    ~    o    ~

Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing 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 by email at rich@windermere.com

Bookmark It

Hide Sites