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Author Topic:   Crab season off Bodega Bay

boatdryver posted 10-29-2008 08:50 AM ET (US)
Anyone familiar with crabbing off of Bodega Bay in Norcal? Season starts November 15.
JimL
elaelap posted 10-29-2008 08:54 AM ET (US)
Yo Jim,
I think it starts this coming weekend. Want to give it a try?
Tony
boatdryver posted 10-29-2008 12:26 PM ET (US)
I have company coming this weekend, a boat buddy. Tony, please email me at boatdryver@aol.com. The email address for you in your profile doesn't seem to be current.
JimL
elaelap posted 10-29-2008 07:44 PM ET (US)
It is current, Jim: wildelaw@comcast.net.
towboater posted 10-29-2008 10:35 PM ET (US)
Lousy crabbing up north at a time it should be great.
The weather was really strange last weekend, no wind or storms for a week but 15 ft swells breaking just inside the bar. We just went out to look around, drop pots and nearly ended up in the middle of it.
good luck.
mk
fishinchips posted 10-30-2008 08:44 PM ET (US)
watch the forecast. Its going to be NASTY !
In fact, better stay on land.
Ken
ratherwhalering posted 10-31-2008 10:41 AM ET (US)
Crabbing plans scratched due to weather...Jim why are you driving all the way to Bodega? It's a dirty port and all the locals are nasty.
WT posted 10-31-2008 10:47 AM ET (US)
Good luck if you can get out.
TODAY
SE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 4 TO 6 FT.
MIXED SWELL W 3 TO 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS AND S 4 TO 5 FT AT
14 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
SE WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 4 TO 7 FT.
MIXED SWELL W 3 TO 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS AND S 4 TO 5 FT AT 12
SECONDS. RAIN LIKELY.
SAT
SE WINDS 25 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 5 TO 7 FT.
W SWELL 5 TO 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS AND S 2 TO 4 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
SHOWERS AND SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS.
SAT NIGHT
S WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT.
W SWELL 8 TO 12 FT AND S 2 FT. RAIN LIKELY.
SUN
SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS.
NW SWELL 10 TO 13 FT...DECREASING TO 8 TO 9 FT.
CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
fishinchips posted 10-31-2008 09:57 PM ET (US)
there is a chance on sunday to get out to drop the pots.
Good Luck and be safe,
ken
elaelap posted 11-01-2008 12:06 PM ET (US)
No Sunday crabbin' for me, unless I'm dealing with a crabby disenfranchised Nevada voter. My wife--who's also a lawyer--and I are flying to Vegas at the behest of one of the presidential campaign managers (I won't say which candidate, but I'll bet some of you can guess) to serve as credentialed attorney poll protection staff members. Apparently more than 5000 lawyers nationwide--at least half a dozen from Sonoma County that we know about--are traveling to various contested states to serve in the same capacity. No more 'hanging chads' this time around, I hope. What fun...if our guy wins, that is ;-)
Go get 'em, Jim and others. Sunday and early next week is supposed to be decent weather-wise, and northern California recreational crabbers are given a two week head start on the commercial guys, so there should be lots of those yummy Dungeness beauties for everyone. Save some for me.
Tony
boatdryver posted 11-01-2008 01:00 PM ET (US)
OK, Rob.
If I launch in Sausalito can I get any Dungeness inside Point
Bonita?
JimL
elaelap posted 11-01-2008 01:19 PM ET (US)
Yikes, Jim--that's the gnarly area known as the Potato Patch, which you must remember from your sailing days. I don't like to go there even on mellow days heading up to Duxbury Buoy/Bolinas for salmon, let alone with the kind of weather we're having right now. Catch that with a strong tide ebbing through the Golden Gate and big westerly swells slamming into the tidal current and you've got a huge dangerous mess, especially pulling crab pots.
If you're really Jonesin' for some crab action right away, drop your pots in the outer Bodega Bay area, inside an imaginary line drawn from the "Jingle Bells" buoy (the one near Bodega--"Seal"--Rock) to the Tomales entrance buoy. That way Bodega Head will protect you to a great extent from the northwesterlies. This location isn't nearly as good as the one I emailed you about, but early in the season you'll get crab there.
Tony
elaelap posted 11-01-2008 01:33 PM ET (US)
ratherwhalering on Bodega Bay: "It's a dirty port and all the locals are nasty."
You got that right, Rob...NOT! We are known as a quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem, but dirty and nasty...only when salmon season is shut down for no damn reason. Then even the cleanest and nicest locals get a little smelly and onery, but can you blame us?
And Rob, so sorry that unlike your stomping grounds--Sausalito--we don't have $100/per person/per lunch restaurants, yacht clubs, and even more third rate art galleries than Laguna Beach. Ya gotta rough it a little up here, but it's worth it...when there's a salmon season, that is ;-(
Tony
Chuck Tribolet posted 11-01-2008 07:42 PM ET (US)
JimL: Do some homework before setting pots in SF Bay. This
is the DFG press release, and it sez NO.
http://diver.net/bbs/posts002/76897.shtml

Chuck
Fishcop posted 11-02-2008 03:21 AM ET (US)
I wonder who that hard working guy is with all those crab...
www.dfg.ca.gov/news/news08/images/dungeness
Bulldog posted 11-02-2008 06:27 AM ET (US)
Andy, nice picture, must be tough disposing of all those crabs!.........Jack
Chuck Tribolet posted 11-02-2008 09:00 AM ET (US)
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/news08/images/dungeness/

Chuck
elaelap posted 11-02-2008 09:19 AM ET (US)
Jack--I've defended a few F&G cases involving abalone. After the arrest of the alleged bad guys and seizure of the mollusks, photos of the "evidence" are taken and the abs are "donated to local firefighters."
Really. It says so right on the arrest reports. Man oh man, those "firefighters" must live on the stuff all season long ;-)
Tony
elaelap posted 11-02-2008 10:12 AM ET (US)
I take it back about the Bodega Bay weather being possibly doable today, Sunday. NOAA has the current wave height at over eleven feet, and our local northern coast weather forecast states: "Wind from the south-southwest at 10-20 knots today...with a west-northwest swell 16-20 feet (!) at 12-second intervals. Visibility under 3 miles in rain."
I think I'll pass ;-)
Tony
Nails posted 11-02-2008 12:30 PM ET (US)
Nice picture of Andy.
While we've got small craft warnings off the New Jersey shore today, I don't think we see anything like you California boaters do. I'd love to see some pictures of those conditions if anyone happens to have any.
Fishcop posted 11-02-2008 01:53 PM ET (US)
Chuck, thanks for the link.
Jack,
The crab go back, alive or dead to keep the cycle of life going. It don't mind as the dungeness crab fishery is the largest in CA and there are plenty to go around if you do it the right way. It is open from November to July and I can pretty much get them anytime from my Whaler.
Tony, Firefighters eating "evidence" ... It would never happen ;-)
Maybe they were "Returned to the Wild", or we could always ammend it to read "Returned to Wilde".
JimL, Wait for a FAC day in Bodega or off Stinson in the next week or two. Usually before Thanksgiving. Soak you pots in 80'-120' feet and use good bait. Then get some younger guy with a good back and start pulling them after about 4 hours. You should get enough to eat for a meal or two. Don't leave your pots out for too many days as they may dissappear from natural or man made events!
FYI, the crabs always taste sweeter from a CW!
Andy
boatdryver posted 11-02-2008 03:12 PM ET (US)
Andy, how does DFG define "San Francisco Bay"? A person I know sets pots just outside the Golden Gate Bridge along one of those beaches, inside Point
Bonita.
JimL
17 bodega posted 11-02-2008 07:13 PM ET (US)
I think as long as you are outside the gate and away from shipping lanes, you're legal. There are some specific regs that deal with floats and shipping lanes.
The "loco" die hard regulars were at it on Thursday and Friday. They were slopping it out in some pretty small and sketchy looking vessels.
Play it safe gang. Nice work Andy. Maybe we'll see you on the Marlin up in Bodega again?
Steve
elaelap posted 11-02-2008 08:18 PM ET (US)
Andy--I'm waiting for a very flat day to soak three or four pots from 'Cetus', your old 15CC. It should be interesting pulling them with 10 or 12 big fat Dungies inside, in that tender little craft. Oh well, I usually don't do any better with crabs than I do with salmon, so if I even get one or two per pot I'll be ahead of the game and might be able to get my pots back on board without capsizing.
Seriously, guys, be careful. We seem to lose a couple of boaters every year around this time on the Sonoma coast. Don't stand in bights, don't wrap the line around your wrist for better purchase when dropping/pulling pots, don't have everyone on the same side of the boat when pulling, approach buoys down-current so you don't wrap the line around your props, watch for the nut-cases speeding through the fog or early morning darkness up on plane, and DO wear PFDs.
Tony
fishinchips posted 11-03-2008 01:03 AM ET (US)
Dropped 20 pots out of half moon bay in the morning hours.
Picked some pots up for quick limits of dungeness crab.
Will be out tomorrow....
Ken
WT posted 11-03-2008 10:50 AM ET (US)
Hey Ken, I saw a picture of your crab haul yesterday. They looked like 4 pound crabs!!!!! The water was supposed to be 12 by 12's, I guess it wasn't as bad as forecast.
I'm supposed to go out this weekend with friends. Probably going to drop 40 traps about 10 miles north out of Bodega Bay in about 150 feet.
Stay safe, crabbers.
Warren
ratherwhalering posted 11-03-2008 11:51 AM ET (US)
I was wondering when you were going to call me out on that little comment, Tony! Actually, Darci and I go up to Bodega once a year to enjoy the scenery and sample the local cusine, it's a lovely town.
Jim, there's great crabbing inside Bonita, either right off the northern beaches, or over by Baker Beach. I have limited numerous times in these spots, without having to suffer the full wrath of the potato patch. Shoot me an e-mail and I'll cough up the GPS coordinates. The crab tend to be smaller inside the point, but are abundent.
Chuck Tribolet posted 11-03-2008 02:47 PM ET (US)
29.05. General.
(a) Except as provided in this article there are no closed
seasons, closed hours or minimum size limits for any
invertebrate. The bag limit on all invertebrates for which
the take is authorized and for which there is not a bag limit
otherwise established in this article is 35. In San Francisco
and San Pablo bays and saltwater tributaries east of the
Golden Gate Bridge invertebrates may not be taken at night
except from the shore.
So the Golden Gate Bridge is the boundary.

Chuck
ratherwhalering posted 11-03-2008 02:49 PM ET (US)
Correct.
ratherwhalering posted 11-03-2008 04:27 PM ET (US)
See CDFG 29.85(a)(1).
placerville posted 11-03-2008 08:12 PM ET (US)
Hey Warren,
I want to see a picture of Strike3 with 40 pots stacked on her.
Good luck up there. I won't be able to get out for a couple of weeks and by then the pickins will be slim.
Matt
WT posted 11-03-2008 08:56 PM ET (US)
Matt:
I've been invited as a deckhand. They usually get too many crabs the first week and just need bodies to get the more limits. Then they have a huge crab feed at a rented house for the week.
Going out on a Cabo along with a Grady White and 22 Outrage (maybe 2 22 Outrages).
If the water is fishable, we'll get some rock cod too.
Warren
placerville posted 11-03-2008 10:10 PM ET (US)
That sounds fun Warren. Give us a report. I'm going to Loreto, Baja this weekend. Will fish out of a panga and kayak.
Matt
fishinchips posted 11-03-2008 11:06 PM ET (US)
went out today, water was rough.
Lots of wind. Just like being inside a washing machine.
Limited on crabs again.
Ken
WT posted 11-03-2008 11:41 PM ET (US)
Ken:
Post a picture of your monster crabs. The picture I saw made the crabs look huge. Are they pretty heavy right now?
Matt, I'd rather be in Baja than Bodega Bay right now. Have fun, I know you will.
Warren
andygere posted 11-04-2008 02:08 AM ET (US)
Jeez Ken, you are hardcore. It was full on Victory at Sea conditions in Santa Cruz this evening. I took a walk along West Cliff and nearly go blown over. I can't imagine being out in a boat in that stuff.
WT posted 11-04-2008 04:35 PM ET (US)
Andy, Ken just text messaged me. He got easy limits today. But the water was BIG. 10 footers.
TODAY
NW WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.
NW SWELL 7 TO 9 FT AT 10 SECONDS AND S 2 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
NW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS.
NW SWELL 6 TO 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS AND S 2 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
WED
S WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS.
NW SWELL 6 TO 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN.
WED NIGHT
S WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.
NW SWELL 5 TO 7 FT. SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN.
THU
S WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING NW. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS.
NW SWELL 5 TO 7 FT. S SWELL 2 FT.
FRI
NW WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.
W SWELL 5 TO 7 FT AND S 2 FT.
SAT
W WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING NW 15 TO 25 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 6 TO 8 FT AND S 2 FT.
SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN.
Looks like I better get my crab this weekend while the gettin' is good.
Warren
andygere posted 11-04-2008 06:52 PM ET (US)
Were sea conditions decent in HMB yesterday? In Santa Cruz at 5 p.m., there were 5-6 foot wind waves on top of a good sized ground swell. Winds had to be at least 30 mph, with higher gusts. White foam blowing across West Cliff Drive. It was about as ugly as it gets out there. This morning, calm winds, and a stacked up short period groundswell, much more reasonable conditions.

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Author	Topic: Crab season off Bodega Bay
boatdryver	posted 10-29-2008 08:50 AM ET (US) Anyone familiar with crabbing off of Bodega Bay in Norcal? Season starts November 15. JimL
elaelap	posted 10-29-2008 08:54 AM ET (US) Yo Jim, I think it starts this coming weekend. Want to give it a try? Tony
boatdryver	posted 10-29-2008 12:26 PM ET (US) I have company coming this weekend, a boat buddy. Tony, please email me at boatdryver@aol.com. The email address for you in your profile doesn't seem to be current. JimL
elaelap	posted 10-29-2008 07:44 PM ET (US) It is current, Jim: wildelaw@comcast.net.
towboater	posted 10-29-2008 10:35 PM ET (US) Lousy crabbing up north at a time it should be great. The weather was really strange last weekend, no wind or storms for a week but 15 ft swells breaking just inside the bar. We just went out to look around, drop pots and nearly ended up in the middle of it. good luck. mk
fishinchips	posted 10-30-2008 08:44 PM ET (US) watch the forecast. Its going to be NASTY ! In fact, better stay on land. Ken
ratherwhalering	posted 10-31-2008 10:41 AM ET (US) Crabbing plans scratched due to weather...Jim why are you driving all the way to Bodega? It's a dirty port and all the locals are nasty.
WT	posted 10-31-2008 10:47 AM ET (US) Good luck if you can get out. TODAY SE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 4 TO 6 FT. MIXED SWELL W 3 TO 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS AND S 4 TO 5 FT AT 14 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS. TONIGHT SE WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 4 TO 7 FT. MIXED SWELL W 3 TO 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS AND S 4 TO 5 FT AT 12 SECONDS. RAIN LIKELY. SAT SE WINDS 25 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 5 TO 7 FT. W SWELL 5 TO 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS AND S 2 TO 4 FT AT 12 SECONDS. SHOWERS AND SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. SAT NIGHT S WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT. W SWELL 8 TO 12 FT AND S 2 FT. RAIN LIKELY. SUN SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 10 TO 13 FT...DECREASING TO 8 TO 9 FT. CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
fishinchips	posted 10-31-2008 09:57 PM ET (US) there is a chance on sunday to get out to drop the pots. Good Luck and be safe, ken
elaelap	posted 11-01-2008 12:06 PM ET (US) No Sunday crabbin' for me, unless I'm dealing with a crabby disenfranchised Nevada voter. My wife--who's also a lawyer--and I are flying to Vegas at the behest of one of the presidential campaign managers (I won't say which candidate, but I'll bet some of you can guess) to serve as credentialed attorney poll protection staff members. Apparently more than 5000 lawyers nationwide--at least half a dozen from Sonoma County that we know about--are traveling to various contested states to serve in the same capacity. No more 'hanging chads' this time around, I hope. What fun...if our guy wins, that is ;-) Go get 'em, Jim and others. Sunday and early next week is supposed to be decent weather-wise, and northern California recreational crabbers are given a two week head start on the commercial guys, so there should be lots of those yummy Dungeness beauties for everyone. Save some for me. Tony
boatdryver	posted 11-01-2008 01:00 PM ET (US) OK, Rob. If I launch in Sausalito can I get any Dungeness inside Point Bonita? JimL
elaelap	posted 11-01-2008 01:19 PM ET (US) Yikes, Jim--that's the gnarly area known as the Potato Patch, which you must remember from your sailing days. I don't like to go there even on mellow days heading up to Duxbury Buoy/Bolinas for salmon, let alone with the kind of weather we're having right now. Catch that with a strong tide ebbing through the Golden Gate and big westerly swells slamming into the tidal current and you've got a huge dangerous mess, especially pulling crab pots. If you're really Jonesin' for some crab action right away, drop your pots in the outer Bodega Bay area, inside an imaginary line drawn from the "Jingle Bells" buoy (the one near Bodega--"Seal"--Rock) to the Tomales entrance buoy. That way Bodega Head will protect you to a great extent from the northwesterlies. This location isn't nearly as good as the one I emailed you about, but early in the season you'll get crab there. Tony
elaelap	posted 11-01-2008 01:33 PM ET (US) ratherwhalering on Bodega Bay: "It's a dirty port and all the locals are nasty." You got that right, Rob...NOT! We are known as a quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem, but dirty and nasty...only when salmon season is shut down for no damn reason. Then even the cleanest and nicest locals get a little smelly and onery, but can you blame us? And Rob, so sorry that unlike your stomping grounds--Sausalito--we don't have $100/per person/per lunch restaurants, yacht clubs, and even more third rate art galleries than Laguna Beach. Ya gotta rough it a little up here, but it's worth it...when there's a salmon season, that is ;-( Tony
Chuck Tribolet	posted 11-01-2008 07:42 PM ET (US) JimL: Do some homework before setting pots in SF Bay. This is the DFG press release, and it sez NO. http://diver.net/bbs/posts002/76897.shtml Chuck
Fishcop	posted 11-02-2008 03:21 AM ET (US) I wonder who that hard working guy is with all those crab... www.dfg.ca.gov/news/news08/images/dungeness
Bulldog	posted 11-02-2008 06:27 AM ET (US) Andy, nice picture, must be tough disposing of all those crabs!.........Jack
Chuck Tribolet	posted 11-02-2008 09:00 AM ET (US) http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/news08/images/dungeness/ Chuck
elaelap	posted 11-02-2008 09:19 AM ET (US) Jack--I've defended a few F&G cases involving abalone. After the arrest of the alleged bad guys and seizure of the mollusks, photos of the "evidence" are taken and the abs are "donated to local firefighters." Really. It says so right on the arrest reports. Man oh man, those "firefighters" must live on the stuff all season long ;-) Tony
elaelap	posted 11-02-2008 10:12 AM ET (US) I take it back about the Bodega Bay weather being possibly doable today, Sunday. NOAA has the current wave height at over eleven feet, and our local northern coast weather forecast states: "Wind from the south-southwest at 10-20 knots today...with a west-northwest swell 16-20 feet (!) at 12-second intervals. Visibility under 3 miles in rain." I think I'll pass ;-) Tony
Nails	posted 11-02-2008 12:30 PM ET (US) Nice picture of Andy. While we've got small craft warnings off the New Jersey shore today, I don't think we see anything like you California boaters do. I'd love to see some pictures of those conditions if anyone happens to have any.
Fishcop	posted 11-02-2008 01:53 PM ET (US) Chuck, thanks for the link. Jack, The crab go back, alive or dead to keep the cycle of life going. It don't mind as the dungeness crab fishery is the largest in CA and there are plenty to go around if you do it the right way. It is open from November to July and I can pretty much get them anytime from my Whaler. Tony, Firefighters eating "evidence" ... It would never happen ;-) Maybe they were "Returned to the Wild", or we could always ammend it to read "Returned to Wilde". JimL, Wait for a FAC day in Bodega or off Stinson in the next week or two. Usually before Thanksgiving. Soak you pots in 80'-120' feet and use good bait. Then get some younger guy with a good back and start pulling them after about 4 hours. You should get enough to eat for a meal or two. Don't leave your pots out for too many days as they may dissappear from natural or man made events! FYI, the crabs always taste sweeter from a CW! Andy
boatdryver	posted 11-02-2008 03:12 PM ET (US) Andy, how does DFG define "San Francisco Bay"? A person I know sets pots just outside the Golden Gate Bridge along one of those beaches, inside Point Bonita. JimL
17 bodega	posted 11-02-2008 07:13 PM ET (US) I think as long as you are outside the gate and away from shipping lanes, you're legal. There are some specific regs that deal with floats and shipping lanes. The "loco" die hard regulars were at it on Thursday and Friday. They were slopping it out in some pretty small and sketchy looking vessels. Play it safe gang. Nice work Andy. Maybe we'll see you on the Marlin up in Bodega again? Steve
elaelap	posted 11-02-2008 08:18 PM ET (US) Andy--I'm waiting for a very flat day to soak three or four pots from 'Cetus', your old 15CC. It should be interesting pulling them with 10 or 12 big fat Dungies inside, in that tender little craft. Oh well, I usually don't do any better with crabs than I do with salmon, so if I even get one or two per pot I'll be ahead of the game and might be able to get my pots back on board without capsizing. Seriously, guys, be careful. We seem to lose a couple of boaters every year around this time on the Sonoma coast. Don't stand in bights, don't wrap the line around your wrist for better purchase when dropping/pulling pots, don't have everyone on the same side of the boat when pulling, approach buoys down-current so you don't wrap the line around your props, watch for the nut-cases speeding through the fog or early morning darkness up on plane, and DO wear PFDs. Tony
fishinchips	posted 11-03-2008 01:03 AM ET (US) Dropped 20 pots out of half moon bay in the morning hours. Picked some pots up for quick limits of dungeness crab. Will be out tomorrow.... Ken
WT	posted 11-03-2008 10:50 AM ET (US) Hey Ken, I saw a picture of your crab haul yesterday. They looked like 4 pound crabs!!!!! The water was supposed to be 12 by 12's, I guess it wasn't as bad as forecast. I'm supposed to go out this weekend with friends. Probably going to drop 40 traps about 10 miles north out of Bodega Bay in about 150 feet. Stay safe, crabbers. Warren
ratherwhalering	posted 11-03-2008 11:51 AM ET (US) I was wondering when you were going to call me out on that little comment, Tony! Actually, Darci and I go up to Bodega once a year to enjoy the scenery and sample the local cusine, it's a lovely town. Jim, there's great crabbing inside Bonita, either right off the northern beaches, or over by Baker Beach. I have limited numerous times in these spots, without having to suffer the full wrath of the potato patch. Shoot me an e-mail and I'll cough up the GPS coordinates. The crab tend to be smaller inside the point, but are abundent.
Chuck Tribolet	posted 11-03-2008 02:47 PM ET (US) 29.05. General. (a) Except as provided in this article there are no closed seasons, closed hours or minimum size limits for any invertebrate. The bag limit on all invertebrates for which the take is authorized and for which there is not a bag limit otherwise established in this article is 35. In San Francisco and San Pablo bays and saltwater tributaries east of the Golden Gate Bridge invertebrates may not be taken at night except from the shore. So the Golden Gate Bridge is the boundary. Chuck
ratherwhalering	posted 11-03-2008 02:49 PM ET (US) Correct.
ratherwhalering	posted 11-03-2008 04:27 PM ET (US) See CDFG 29.85(a)(1).
placerville	posted 11-03-2008 08:12 PM ET (US) Hey Warren, I want to see a picture of Strike3 with 40 pots stacked on her. Good luck up there. I won't be able to get out for a couple of weeks and by then the pickins will be slim. Matt
WT	posted 11-03-2008 08:56 PM ET (US) Matt: I've been invited as a deckhand. They usually get too many crabs the first week and just need bodies to get the more limits. Then they have a huge crab feed at a rented house for the week. Going out on a Cabo along with a Grady White and 22 Outrage (maybe 2 22 Outrages). If the water is fishable, we'll get some rock cod too. Warren
placerville	posted 11-03-2008 10:10 PM ET (US) That sounds fun Warren. Give us a report. I'm going to Loreto, Baja this weekend. Will fish out of a panga and kayak. Matt
fishinchips	posted 11-03-2008 11:06 PM ET (US) went out today, water was rough. Lots of wind. Just like being inside a washing machine. Limited on crabs again. Ken
WT	posted 11-03-2008 11:41 PM ET (US) Ken: Post a picture of your monster crabs. The picture I saw made the crabs look huge. Are they pretty heavy right now? Matt, I'd rather be in Baja than Bodega Bay right now. Have fun, I know you will. Warren
andygere	posted 11-04-2008 02:08 AM ET (US) Jeez Ken, you are hardcore. It was full on Victory at Sea conditions in Santa Cruz this evening. I took a walk along West Cliff and nearly go blown over. I can't imagine being out in a boat in that stuff.
WT	posted 11-04-2008 04:35 PM ET (US) Andy, Ken just text messaged me. He got easy limits today. But the water was BIG. 10 footers. TODAY NW WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. NW SWELL 7 TO 9 FT AT 10 SECONDS AND S 2 FT AT 14 SECONDS. TONIGHT NW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 6 TO 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS AND S 2 FT AT 13 SECONDS. WED S WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 6 TO 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN. WED NIGHT S WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. NW SWELL 5 TO 7 FT. SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN. THU S WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING NW. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 5 TO 7 FT. S SWELL 2 FT. FRI NW WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 5 TO 7 FT AND S 2 FT. SAT W WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING NW 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 6 TO 8 FT AND S 2 FT. SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN. Looks like I better get my crab this weekend while the gettin' is good. Warren
andygere	posted 11-04-2008 06:52 PM ET (US) Were sea conditions decent in HMB yesterday? In Santa Cruz at 5 p.m., there were 5-6 foot wind waves on top of a good sized ground swell. Winds had to be at least 30 mph, with higher gusts. White foam blowing across West Cliff Drive. It was about as ugly as it gets out there. This morning, calm winds, and a stacked up short period groundswell, much more reasonable conditions.