Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: Taboo on January 15, 2015, 08:44:35 AM
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Hi Everyone, So crabbing is generally considered at its best in months that don't contain an "r" - effectively May - Aug. Are there any opportunities to harvest in non-peak months? Any advice or commentary would be greatly appreciated!
-Taboo
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Contrary to what you may have been told, crabbing is actually best between now and April before the commercial season begins.
http://www.fishingwithrod.com/blog/2014/01/31/exploring-alternative-saltwater-fisheries-in-vancouver/
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Interesting. I had assumed that this wasn't a great time as the crabs are moulting and you were at risk of getting soft shelled crabs, but it seems that they do that in late summer according to this (http://www.dfw.state.or.us/mrp/shellfish/crab/lifehistory.asp (http://www.dfw.state.or.us/mrp/shellfish/crab/lifehistory.asp))
Adult crab populations tend to molt simultaneously, Females in the spring, Males in the late summer.
How long of a soak was that Rodney?
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That was a couple of hours.
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Not bad at all for a couple of hours. Might be time to try my arm again soon.
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Dropped a trap for 2.5 hours yesterday morning while trying for winters off Ambleside, heavy fog and no chinook but limited out on crabs in the single trap...
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Got me itching!! After reading this I drove down to tsawwassen since it was such a nice day out. Water was nice and calm and not a single trap in sight where there is usually tons of traps by the break water. The itch is so bad if the weather is good again like today sometime this week I will be taking the tarp off the boat and taking it out and get me some crabs!! ;D
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We were out at Ambleside today and the traps came up full, except only 3 out of the 30 or so crab were legal! :o The rest were all a few millimeters undersized….
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So If I launch at Ambleside do I head towards the bridge or away from the bridge to drop some traps? Can I launch at Cates or Belcarra and drop traps right in that area?
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No boat launch at Belcarra, I portage my canoe down and drop traps using that. Yes, you can crab right their, but good to get away from all the crabbing pressure from the pier.
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No launch at Belcarra, check. Can drop traps around that area, good to know. Might have to bust the boat out early this year!
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Was thinking of going today - Guess not as I'd probably be dryer outside of the boat than in it! ;D
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Heading out today - reckon I can keep any keepers in a ventilated box in the garage overnight (covered with wet cloth) - or would it be getting too cold in there for them as it isn't heated and will get close to zero celsius tonight? Want to keep them alive as a present for friends who we are going to dinner at on Sat night.
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Empty out your produce drawer and chuck em in the fridge.
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I've got them in the garage in cooler with sea water with an aquarium aerator.
Six keepers from two traps in a two hour soak. Winter crabbing - its the future!
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I've got them in the garage in cooler with sea water with an aquarium aerator.
Six keepers from two traps in a two hour soak. Winter crabbing - its the future!
6 keepers??
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Don't worry - the kids were out with me and they are licensed so I was well within our limit. I think that may be one of my favorite things about them. ;)
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Thats awesome!!! 8)
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I've got them in the garage in cooler with sea water with an aquarium aerator.
Six keepers from two traps in a two hour soak. Winter crabbing - its the future!
Where did u end up going? Cause I went out to drop some traps at Tsawwassen one day and out in front of Wreck Beach another day and got skunked both times. And when I say skunked I mean skunked, like no crabs in the traps!
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Belcarra. Traps had a mix of chicken backs and salmon heads, plus some pellets which had been soaked in Ace of Baits Copper River attractant. Traps came up with about twenty in each - getting them in the canoe was *not* easy.
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But the question is was there any keepers?
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I have left a series of fiendish clues in my posts in this thread - see if you can deduce the answer. ;)
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We were out at Ambleside in late January.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgLO7Ny_Ce8
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Nice Video Rob! Good old winter crabbing
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Anyone try Tsawwassen recently? Thinking of going this weekend.
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Well me, my dad and my little girl went out to Belcarra today and got 9 keepers. 2 pots soaked from 11:15 to 1:15 and then again till 2:15. Got 6 on the first pull (1 and 5) and then 3 on the last (1 and 2). Back out tomorrow.
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We were out at Ambleside in late January.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgLO7Ny_Ce8
Great to see how the small one use there size to have a drive through restaurant, a few more traps in their travels
& they'll reach 6 1/4 in no time..........Great video Rod
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Great to see how the small one use there size to have a drive through restaurant, a few more traps in their travels
& they'll reach 6 1/4 in no time..........Great video Rod
The legal size for Dungeoness Crab is 165mm which is very close to 6.5 inches.
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Well me, my dad and my little girl went out to Belcarra today and got 9 keepers. 2 pots soaked from 11:15 to 1:15 and then again till 2:15. Got 6 on the first pull (1 and 5) and then 3 on the last (1 and 2). Back out tomorrow.
Good for you guys - love that it was 3 generations, that's awesome! Belcarra gets a lot of pressure so enjoy the good times as by the summer its pretty slim pickings. If you ever see someone in a yellow clipper canoe, likely with a kid or two in there, doing some crabbing in that area please say Hi. :)
Now, onto the next challenge - Winter Prawning!
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Now, onto the next challenge - Winter Prawning!
:D
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2015/150218-5_zpse8713cdb.jpg)
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:D
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2015/150218-5_zpse8713cdb.jpg)
Suh-weet! How do you look after the prawns after you've caught them Rod?
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Tell me a location and I'll give her a go! I have no clue when it comes to prawning...
But I did go crabbing again today with my dad and got 7 keepers on a 2.5 hour soak.
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Tell me a location and I'll give her a go! I have no clue when it comes to prawning...
But I did go crabbing again today with my dad and got 7 keepers on a 2.5 hour soak.
Try going further up Indian Arm - it's deep enough for sure.
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At Belcarra today with my Kayak, two hour soak produced 9 crab but no keepers.
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At Belcarra today with my Kayak, two hour soak produced 9 crab but no keepers.
Thats because Jewelz has caught them all! ;)
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Lol! U know it! ;D
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Has anyone used pro-cure bloody tuna fish oil to marinate their crab bait? Is it effective ? I was at a local tackle shop and one of the guys was recalling pushing me to buy it. But I wanted to do some research on it before buying. Time to get the boat out this week!