CrabbingInTheHood.com

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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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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One of the best things I enjoy about living  out on the beautiful Kitsap Peninsula here in scenic Washington State, is taking my 16 ft. C-Dory out on the Hood Canal, part of the extensive inland waterways of Puget Sound. The Hood Canal is a long, deep, narrow strip of water wedged in between the Kitsap Peninsula and the picturesque Olympic Peninsula. The Olympic Mountain Range rises up rather dramatically from the edge of the water. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking.! 

One of the many benefits of boating on the Hood Canal is recreational crabbing. The Dungeness Crab is the prized catch in these waters. The season typically opens the first week of July and runs through Labor Day weekend. The Washington Department of Fish & Game is extremely active in monitoring sports fishing in our state, so you better be in compliance with all current rules and regulations! (WA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife)

We launch our boat out at Miami Beach in Seabeck WA. We learned through experience to be mindful of the tide schedule. If you go out too close to low tide, you will have a rough time getting your boat down the ramp. So we usually launch an hour or two before the peak of high tide. (WA Tide Schedules)

Once on the water, we head over towards Dabob Bay, just around the Toandoes Peninsula, and prepare to lower our crab pots. You can purchase crabbing gear from the Sportsman Warehouse in Silverdale. You can figure on spending a minimum of $80 per rig, including the crap pot (cage), buoy & flag, 100′ of weighted line, bait box, and weights. Being bottom-dwellers, crabs will eat just about anything, but they seem to be partial to salmon guts. Several of our area supermarkets (Silverdale Red Apple Market and Central Market in Poulsbo WA) save the guts when they clean the fish, and sell them for crab bait. 

We lower the crab pots (usually in about 60 to 100 feet of water) and then head over to Pleasant Harbor, a quaint little port nestled on the Olympic side. They have a convenience store, pizza parlor, and deck overlooking the harbor. We’ll grab some cold drinks, pork-out on pizza, and catch some rays as we wait a couple hours in hopeful expectation that our pots will fill up. 

We head back and pull up our crab pots, carefully extracting the prized booty. We prefer to clean the crabs while we’re out on the water. It makes for less clean-up later and allows you to put more edible crab into the pot when cooking. We also bring salt water back with us, to use for boiling the crab in. Some people prefer to use fresh water and add a crab boil spice pouch. I have found that boiling the crab in saltwater gives it a really great natural flavor. There is a difference of opinion on how long to boil the crab. I have found that 12 to 15 minutes after reaching boiling point is more than enough time. I’ll drain the water, and put the crab into a big stainless bowl, covering it with ice to cool it quickly. Some people like to dip their crab in melted butter, but I prefer to eat it right out of the shell.

There are few things better in life than spending a few relaxing hours out on the Hood Canal, bringing home some fresh crab, and porking out!

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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.

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One of the favored pastimes here in beautiful Washington State is clam digging. The WA Dept. of Fish & Game has an excellent website full of helpful facts, resources, and regulations on harvesting shellfish.

There are many different varities of clams to be found along the shores and tidelands of Washington.

Some clams, like the Littleneck, are ideal for steaming and serving with drawn butter.

Several types of clams, like the Cockle, make good ingredients in chowder.

The larger varieities, like the Geoduck (pronounced Gooie) are big enough to fillet and fry.

I posted an earlier blog on Razor Clams, one of my preferred choices for taste.

One of the primary considerations for a successful clam dig is the local tides. The best time to dig is when there is a low or minus tide. Be sure to consult a local tide schedule before venturing out.

You also want to pay special attention to what is referred to as “Red Tides.” These are instances where certain environmental conditions can lead to an increased level of toxins in shellfish. The WA Health Dept. monitors these levels very closely and posts on-line bulletins to warn when these toxins reach unsafe levels.

The WDFW has a great FAQ about clams & oysters on their website. In addition, local expert Don Wiss offers some helpful Clam Facts on his website.

Life on the Kitsap Peninsula in scenic Washington State has some many interesting and enjoyable activities and pastimes to offer. It truly is a great place to call home!

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing empowerment and relentless representation of clients throughout all of Kitsap County, and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him on KitsapLife.com and his local real estate blog, SoundBiteBlog.

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