Dungeoness crab opener dive

[Eric Sedletzky]

If anyone's interested, I'm planning on doing a crab opener dive at Doran Park in Bodega Bay November 3rd at !2:01 AM.

If anybody want's to know what Doran Park is all about; It's a long penninsula on the dunes in Bodega Bay up in Sonoma County. There is a long sandy beach that is protected by the open ocean swells by a jetty and there's also a campground right out at the end of the penninsula where the jetty is. I don't recall the overnight fee for camping but it's probably 18 to 20 bucks.

I'm going to get there Friday evening and pick a campsite with a fire pit and barbecue something up for dinner, then sit around and drink tea till it's time to get in. After the dive I'll put the crabs on ice , crack a beer, then crash out in the back of my pick up till dawn.
This is the first time for me doing this and I've never heard of anybody else doing an opener dive for crabs. The closest thing would be the midnight frenzy down in Socal for the lobster opener. That's what gave me the idea.
I think it sounds like it'd funner n' hell.

If this sounds like something you'd want to try let me know.
My cell is (707) 318-2577

 

[alphonsis]

Wow, that sounds pretty cool. Haven't tried crab hunting(?), how hard is it?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Wow, that sounds pretty cool. Haven't tried crab hunting(?), how hard is it?

I've gotten rock crabs before (popeyes) and they are a riot to catch. I've caught Dungeoness before but not specifically as the mission of the dive. Crabs are easier to catch than lobsters, but spiny lobsters don't have claws either. The tricky part about crabs is after you find them to get them measured and in the bag. They have a tendency to get really pissed off and grab at whatever gets in thieir way, measuring guages, game bags, fingers.

What I found is when you come upon one they will sit fairly still. As soon as you grab at them they will take off and run like hell. So what I do is pin them down on the sand as soon as I come upon them, then measure them. If they are legal then I get my bag ready while I still have them pinned, and as soon as I let go with their claws up and ready to fight I open the bag and come straight down over them like a big mouth. They usually scamper to the back of the bag. You have to be carefull that you don't break a claw off doing this. About half the time they will grab onto the rim of the game bag then you have to shake them loose and get them to fall into the bag.
Another solution to get them into the bag that another poster mentioned is to get them to latch onto a dive knife then you put them into the game bag and slide the knife out from their grip.

If one grabs your finger just remember not to spit your reg out when you scream.
Getting them off can be tricky because there's always that other claw that they grab onto somethig else. Then you have to try and get that claw released and as soon as you get that done they get you again with the other claw, and it goes back and forth like this. So the best thing to do is stay as far away from those pesky claws as best you can.

And I also found that trying to grab them by one of the back legs doesn't work underwater either. They are weightless and can easily swing around and get ya.

 

[alphonsis]

:11:

I'm in pain, just imagining the pain...

 

[biz_nate]

Man, I'll be out of town but it sounds like a blast. I'd be interested in a future outing.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

:11:

I'm in pain, just imagining the pain...

Yeah, but we always get our revenge.

 

[Brewski]

that sounds like fun. I suppose you need a current fishing license. What is legal size?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

that sounds like fun. I suppose you need a current fishing license. What is legal size?

Yes, you have to have a fishing license and the size limit is 5 3/4 inches across the width right behind the most prominent outer horizontal spines in the narrow section on the carpace.
The limit is 10. There are other stipulations on the regs.
Get a copy of the regulation handbook and study it thoroughly, the DFG has zero tolerance for ignorance these days and will issue citations for any infraction.

Cheers