I can’t think of a better way to end the season and begin the holiday festivities by sitting down with family and friends and having a hot steaming plate of freshly boiled Dungeness crab.
Indigenous to the San Francisco coastline and bay, this crusty bottom curmudgeon prefers a sandy floor plan from just outside the surf line to relatively deep water where currents can also be strong. Here it roams, scavenging on just about anything it can find.
Remarkably, despite its salty character the flesh of the Dungeness is the opposite. Its hard shell stores a white succulent flesh that is sweet, and one that goes well with any number of home recipes and dishes. It is little wonder why eating these crabs has become a popular holiday tradition for many families.
Dungeness crab can be found along the length of our rugged coastline but in our region of immediate interest, luckily there is fertile ground loaded with crabs, and most can be reached by boat in a relatively short time.
Looking west and northwest of the Golden Gate Bridge productive zones can include the deeper edges of the north bar out to the Light Bucket and Middle Grounds. Other reliable bets to target would be off Muir Beach, Slide Ranch, Rocky Point, and west and northwest of Duxbury Buoy. Good crabbing can also be had outside Double Point.
Heading south the sandy stretches off San Francisco’s Seal Rock to the Zoo will produce. If you want to go deeper, big crabs can be abundant just inside S Buoy. Other great bets would include the waters off Daly City, Pacifica, Pedro Point and Montara. Good crabbing also takes place off Half Moon Bay.
Inside Spots
Should bad weather become an issue and you can’t go offshore try out Bakers Beach which is just southwest of the Golden Gate Bridge, or Bonita Cove which sits just west of the north tower on the Marin coastline. Both places sit in natural coves; hence they provide some protection depending on direction of prevailing seas and wind.
Obviously, there’s tons of open territory available, but for starters launch from a harbor that provides the shortest run, and from a spot that allows you to come back home with following seas. You’ll save gas and wear and tear on you and your boat.
Productive Depth
Crabs roam throughout their sandy environment and can be located in extremely shallow to deeper depths. Generally, during the late fall and winter you target depths from 50 to well over 100 feet. Here, you’ll be in productive crab territory.
Setting Up The Pot
You should be flexible in working your gear at different depths to find the “hot” depth line. Crabs will often localize on certain depth lines where food or currents are favorable to them. If the better action happens to be deeper, you’ll have to go there as well. For that reason I’ll rig my pots with a minimum of 150 feet of rope. At the end of the rope place a brightly colored float with your CF numbers printed on it. Be aware, if you don’t have enough rope when working greater depths, your float will bury under the swell making it nearly impossible to locate it. Fifty feet below the float a crab line weight of 12 ounces is clipped to the rope. This lead prevents excess rope from floating topside.
Box Traps
In recent years box traps have become popular. Cheaper in cost, and lighter in weight than the traditional pot, they are also proving to be effective for taking crabs. To keep these traps on the bottom and sitting in a stable position you can connect 3 lb weights to their corners.
Baiting Up
Make sure you have plastic bait jars for all your pots or traps. These jars have holes so when squid, anchovies or herring are stuffed into them and then secured with a lid the scent slowly trickles out into the current. One individual I talked to recently puts cat food into the jar and has claimed good results. The jar itself is secured inside the trap via hang bait hook.
To sweeten the pot, and really attract roving crabs a hang bait is placed inside the pot or trap via a stainless hang bait hook. This can be any type of fish carcass such as tuna, rock cod, lingcod, or mackerel. If you don’t have any old fish carcasses you can go to a local fish shop and buy some of their cheaper grade fish for hang bait.
Dropping The Gear
As of this writing there is no limit on the number of pots a private boat sport angler can carry, but to be safe, take only what your boat can safely handle along with crew. When you get to the grounds have the pots baited and ready to go before you drop.
Position the pot on the boat where you can drop it safely and where the rope can uncoil smoothly without wrapping around something. Be conscious of where your feet are positioned in relation to the outgoing gear. Make sure when you throw the pot it stays even and upright. If it goes in upside down the entrance doors stay open and crabs can walk in and out of the pot. Also, when the pot is thrown overboard, make sure the float is clear so it does not get into the boat prop.
Keep the pots in a relatively straight line and stagger them roughly about 100 yards apart. This will keep the lines from tangling together. If you’re well offshore with no landmarks visible make sure you get GPS numbers on the first and last pot in your string.
You can let the pots soak while you go and fish, or you can let them soak overnight and pull them the next morning. When setting up to pull the pots, it would be preferable to approach your float from the down current or down wind side. This minimizes your chance of running over your float and getting it into the prop.
If you have a davit, block and puller to haul the pots up it certainly prevents a visit to your chiropractor. If you don’t, a buddy of mine just puts the rope on his bow roller and starts pulling hand over hand. It’s a lot more work that way, but when you’re in the open salt and the swell is up, one thing is certain, when you’re done pulling, you’ll have a hearty appetite for fresh crab.
Information
Regulations: Always check the DFG regulation book before heading out. Anglers must have a valid license displayed in plain view. Each licensed angler is allowed 10 Dungeness crabs 5 ¾ inches or larger.
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