CrabbingInTheHood.com

One of the great things about living here in the Pacific Northwest is the abundance of native seafood available at various times of the year, like Dungeness Crab, Oysters, Razor Clams, and Spot Shrimp.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) cleared the way for yet another Razor Clam dig for the end of April and early May at up to five area beaches. These will all be early morning low tide openings. No digging will be allowed on any of the days after Noon.

Be advised that some of the beaches south of Twin Harbors have been closed to vehicular access. Always be sure that you’re driving on packed sand, or trust me, you’ll be packing sand!

Beach openings, along with morning low tides, will be:

• Tuesday, April 27, 6:21 a.m., -1.0 ft.: Long Beach and Twin Harbors only

• Wednesday, April 28, 7:06 a.m., -1.4 ft.: Long Beach and Twin Harbors only

• Thursday, April 29, 7:50 a.m., -1.6 ft.: Long Beach and Twin Harbors only

• Friday, April 30, 8:32 a.m., -1.5 ft.: Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks

• Saturday, May 1, 9:15 a.m., -1.0ft.: Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks and Kalaloch

• Sunday, May 2, 9:58 a.m., -0.7ft.: Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks and Kalaloch

On May 1st, the Puget Sound’s recreational shrimp season opens. Mark O’Toole, WDFW’s Puget Sound Shrimp Management Biologist, predicts that the 2010 Shrimp season could possibly yield one of the highest catch-per-pot ratios we’ve seen in the past 10 years! Overall, it’s expected that Puget Sound sports fishers will pull approximately 130,000 pounds of spot shrimp out of area waters during the course of the season. Now doesn’t that make your mouth water?

Fishing will be open in the following areas:

• Marine Areas 4 (east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line), 5 and 6 (excluding shrimp districts), will open daily beginning May 1 at 7 a.m. The spot shrimp season closes when quota is attained or Sept. 15, whichever comes first.
• Marine Area 6 (Discovery Bay) will be open May 1 and 5 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.
• Marine Area 7 opens May 1 at 7 a.m., and will be open on May 5, 6, 7, 8, 21 and 22. Additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.
• Marine Areas 8, 9 and 10 will be open May 1 and 5 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.
• Marine Area 11 , from the northern tip of Vashon Island to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, will be open May 1 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal) will be open May 1, 5, 8 and 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.
• Marine Area 13 will open daily beginning May 1 at 7 a.m. through May 31.

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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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If you love to dig clams or shuck oysters, you now have greater access to “one of the best  shellfish-growing areas in the state,”  this according to Mr. Greg Combs of the Washington State Department of Health’s Shellfish Program.

A 70-acre stretch of tidelands just south of Dosewallips State Park in Jefferson County had been closed since 1987 because of high bacterial levels. Recent monitoring that was conducted showed that the levels are within acceptable limits, allowing the area to be re-opened.

The specific area open for shellfish harvesting is marked by orange posts, which have been moved farther south to include the new 70-acre growing area reopened by the Department of Health. The area beyond the posts remains closed because of bacterial pollution associated with the Dosewallips River.

In a prepared statement made by Camille Speck, shellfish biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife,  she said “These additional acres offer recreational shellfish harvesters increased opportunity on an excellent oyster and clam beach on Hood Canal. Improvements in water quality are a win-win for the clam and oyster fishery and the environment.”

The beach at Dosewallips state park is open for oysters all year. People may harvest clams from March 1 through Oct. 31.

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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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FINALLY!!! After what seems like an eternity of waiting, construction is finally underway to rebuild the marina in Seabeck WA.

According to a recent article in the Kitsap Sun, 3 of the remaining partners of Olympic View Marina LLC have decided to ante up their own personal finances to fund the project.

The most recent delay occurred when the lender for the project pulled the financing plug in the 11th hour, even after the partners had successfully navigated a seemingly endless obstacle course of environmental red tape. Unfortunately, due to the recent economic downturn, the commercial lending pool has literally dried up, leaving Olympic View LLC with few viable options.

Hats off to these daring entrepreneurs for risking their own personal savings to make such a badly needed resource/improvement to the Seabeck area.

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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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Okay, so I recently spent a few days down in California at my Dad’s place in San Luis Obispo. He had just recently undergone open heart surgery, and wanted me to play ‘Top Chef’ during his convalescent period.

Since he’s a lover of Pacific NW seafood, I brought a few tasty ingredients with me on the plane – frozen cracked crab meat from Hood Canal, some of my homemade smoked salmon, and some frozen Razor Clams that we dug up early last Spring.

I had perfected my own personal recipe for Dungeness Crab Pot Pies a few weeks earlier, so I thought I would try them out on him. Here’s the recipe:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

1 lb. of Dungeness Crab Meat (or more if you’re a crabaholic like me!)

1 – 16oz. jar of creamy Alfredo sauce

1 cup of frozen fresh green peas

1 cup of baby carrots sliced

1 cup of sliced fresh mushrooms

1/4 cup of diced Walla Walla Sweet Onion

2 cloves of fresh garlic finely diced

1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1 package of pie crusts (usually comes in a 15oz. box w/ 2 rolled 9-in. crusts)

6 – 4in. diameter poreclin Ramekins

Combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Roll out pie crust and use a ramekin to cut-out 6 pie tops. Puncture pie tops several times with fork. Spoon mixture liberally into each ramekin. Cover ramekins with pie tops. Place on cookie sheet and place into oven. Cook for 25-30 minutes.

Goes exceptionally well with a tossed Romaine salad, Sour Dough French Bread, and a glass of Pinot Grigio.

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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, 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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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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One of the perils of recreational crabbing here in the Puget Sound WA is exposing yourself and your crabbing gear to potential thievery.

Okay, so maybe it’s not quite as perilous as the Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch,” but it certainly is extremely annoying and frustrating!

We went out onto Hood Canal last Saturday afternoon to retrieve our crab pots, only to find 3 out of the 4 missing. The remaining pot had been picked clean.

There are instances (usually during the weekdays) when we don’t have a lot of time, and simply drop off our crab pots, leaving them out overnight. On the weekends, when we’re not in as much of a hurry, we’ll catch some rays, or tool over to Pleasant Harbor, while we wait for our pots to fill up.

Occasionally, it is entirely possible to set your pots too close to a steep underwater shelf, and have the current drag them into deeper water. But we dropped ours out at the peak of high tide, and left more than enough excess rope to compensate for any variables. It’s also highly unlikely that 3 pots, set at varying depths, would all strangely disappear, or that the 4th pot would be empty.

So, to you low-life crab pot crooks, I offer the following message:

Each of my crab pot buoys are marked with my name and phone number – Rich Jacobson (360) 440-4758. If you feel it necessary to pull up our pots and pilfer our crab, then at least leave the crab pots intact where you find them. We’ve always been very generous with the bounty of our catch and we don’t mind sharing some with you. But having to replace our gear is a huge pain and gets rather costly.

May the Creator of Crabbing Karma repay you for your dastardly deeds of Dungeness deprivation.

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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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Well, July 29th couldn’t come any faster to the Jacobson household. That was the day that the recreational crabbing season for Marine Zone 12 (Hood Canal) officially opened!

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.

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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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