Anybody crab out of Hammond today?

1pump · 10-27-2002, 10:43 PM

Hit buoy 22 area about 1:00. Got 2 limits, but really had to work for it. Took about 3 hours.....
Weather was a little nasty, blowing from southwest and a thick drizzle. [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img] Then the rain quit, the wind picked up and we got to enjoy some vintage Columbia whitecaps!
About half the crabs were big (off the guage)and a few were just a touch soft, but still had plenty of meat. My girlfriend got bit on the fingernail by an 8 incher and bled like a stuck pig for half an hour. Hate it when that happens.....we quit at high slack and were one of the last boats to head in. Anybody else out there? There were about 25 boats buzzing around the buoy at any given time, so somebody had to be there. C'mon, 'fess up.... :grin:

roadsend · 10-28-2002, 01:23 AM

Was there Friday, 3 easy limits.
Was also there Saturday. Had to scratch for 3 limits.
Was absent Sunday.

Miss B Haven · 10-28-2002, 06:09 AM

THe best thing I ever found for pulling pots, sorting crab and then cleaning them is a pair of Kevlar water ski gloves. They have great traction, dry quickly and best of all, the crab can pinch a little but they can't cut you. Saves a lot of healing time. :smile:
One time I was helping sort the pots and got one on the end of my middle finger. He just missed the nail and got me by the fleshy part. I thought about just holding it up in the air and doing a one finger salute with that crab (NOT!) but then my reflexes took over. I shook my hand violently (it was about a 4 inch crab hanging on for dear life) and of course the crab went flying off taking part of my finger with him! :shocked:
Now it was real windy and bumpy out there so I had to run up and grab the helm (trailing blood as I went) as soon as we got that pot sorted. I grabbed the wheel and started cranking the boat around with the waves. Every time I cranked, the blood went flying across the whole helm!

By the time I got someone to bring a towel up to me it looked like a murder scene. The sad part of this story is that my Kevlar gloves were lying down there in the cockpit the whole time. That was the last time I forgot to put them on! [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img]

TundraIII · 10-28-2002, 06:27 AM

Unless the conditions forced you to head in early, you have to crab the slack! When the water is running the crabbing isnt nearly as good. We crab the slack just until it turns out THEN we pack it up and split. I have crabbed out there for 15 yrs and the incoming slack is by far the best time to man your pots. When the tide is still coming in say an hour 1/2 before slack we let em sit for about 15 minutes before pulling. We sit back and chat, admire the scenery etc., but when slack tide hits, it's time to work!

1pump · 10-28-2002, 09:57 AM

I usually crab through high slack as well. But it was starting to get dark and I'm not real familiar with the area. Not to mention my little puddle jumper has plug-in running lights and I didn't bring 'em. (Duh) T-bay, Yaquina, Siletz, or Nehalem I'll run in the dark no problem. Gotta learn the area better, especially if I want to cross over to Baker Bay and try there. BTW, is that still considered Oregon water? If it is, and you launch in WA can you have crabs in your possession that are under WA minimum? (since OR minimum is smaller) :whazzup:

Pitch Pocket · 10-28-2002, 10:34 AM

The crabbing rules for OR and WA are different. Because of that, if you launch and land on the Washington side, you have to adhere to the Washington rules. That means Washington license, sizes and soft shell restrictions.

Miss B Haven · 10-28-2002, 12:03 PM

Tunamaster - Thanks. I knew the size was the same in the Columbia. I missed the fact that for **** . the limit was 12 in WA (Columbia) as well. So- the only difference is the pot thing this time of year. So I guess the only question is if you land in WA and have a limit of crabs and nothing but pots on board (no quick pulls), are you going to get a ticket or not (regardless of your state of residence)?
I'm still curious about where the WA regs discuss the boundary waters and launching/landing. I couldn't find it. Of course the WA regs are pretty chopped up and it's hard to really do a methodical read jumping around on the web version.
Do you know where this is discussed? :whazzup:

Miss B Haven · 10-28-2002, 12:39 PM

Ha - Looks like the word filter thinks an abbreviation of Dungeness is a naughty word. Too funny..... :grin: Good thing this isn't a farm UBB, you would never be able to know what anyone was saying. All you would see is *** i *** or ***** and ***** he***** they ******! I hate it when the puters think they're smarter than I am! [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img]

Pitch Pocket · 10-28-2002, 01:14 PM

Mel, I called WDFW a couple of weeks ago, because my father-in-law was coming from Olympia.

Where sturgeon and salmon are concerned, the rules are the same. With crab it is different. No pots till Dec, and you need a license if you launch and land on the Washington side. They also require that you throw back the soft shelled crabs. However, a Washington resident needs no license if launching and landing from the Oregon side.

Miss B Haven · 10-28-2002, 01:27 PM

Thanks Steve- It's interesting that the Oregon regs lead you to believe you can launch from WA with an Oregon license isn't it! I know you can for fish and Oregon sure does not seem to differentiate. Hmmm.. I wonder if ODFW knows that WA is saying that! :whazzup: [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img]

No Cents · 10-28-2002, 01:43 PM

Crabbed on Sunday and was rainy while setting the pots, but in the afternoon it quit and was just windy nothing to bad for the river this time of year though.
Many good size crabs and are getting pretty darn full about another few weeks and it will be just plain awesome.
Good luck to you!

1pump · 10-28-2002, 08:46 PM

Sorry. I didn't have a copy of the WA regs but I thought it would be a simple question

Never a dull moment when you live, work, and fish in a border area

I seem to remember some big flap a couple of years ago about OR boats using WA ramps and vice-versa. Something about the possibilty of requiring boats to display tags for whatever state they were launching in. Apparently Idaho has a "reciprocal agreement" with OR but WA doesn't. I guess there was some obscure law on the books somewhere but nobody bothered to enforce it until some marine board genius decided there were too many "foreigners" in his home state using boat ramps. :shocked: Anybody remember this crock? Did it go away quietly? Or was I hallucinating after inhaling two-stroke fumes while trolling all day? :grin:

Miss B Haven · 10-28-2002, 11:10 PM

PitchPocket - I'm not in agreement on this (at least the Oregon regs clearly disagree with you), but it continues to come up so I sent this letter to the WA dept of Fish and Wildlife. Hopefully they will give us an answer. I'll post when I get it.
:grin:
Dear Fish and Wildlife,

I am a member of "ifish", a UBB mostly pertaining to fishing the coast of Oregon/Washington. An issue/question continues to arise which I am hoping we can get clarification on.

This question continues to come up and everyone has a different answer. The Oregon Regs state that you can fish the Columbia (Boundary Waters) with a liscense from either WA or OR. They also state clearly that you can launch or land in either state as long as you have a liscense from either state. They are also very clear that you must follow the regulations of the State whos water you are in at the time. This is all straightforward and clear with Salmon/Sturgeon etc, where the regulations, season etc are the same in both WA and OR for the Columbia water. Where it breaks down into confusion on our part is concerning Crabbing. The regulations are very different right now for OR and WA waters in the Columbia river.

Here's the type of questions that continue to come up:

Can an Oregonian launch from WA water (say Chinook in Baker Bay), go to Oregon Water, crab with Pots (allowed year round in Oregon) and bring back to WA an Oregon limit of crab (12 Crab, 5 3/4" minimum) without getting sited by WA for overharvest and using Pots? (Pots are not allowed right now in WA Columbia water and the limit is 6 crab)

Since OR does not require a liscense for crab at all, can a WA resident do the same thing as in the first question?

The Oregon regs indicate that the above would be perfectly legal, but no one seems to think that you would be able to convince a WA game officer that you were in Oregon waters back at that Washington dock.

In addition, I looked through the WA regs (Web Site) and could not find anything about boundary water rules (nothing on launching/landing from either shore with either liscense).

Any clarification on this matter and Washington rules would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance - Mel Beattie

Tunamaster · 10-28-2002, 11:42 PM

You guys are making this more complicated than it actually is. Please see pg 52 of the 2002-2003 WA fishing regs. It states that in the Columbia River 12 dungee males is the limit with the minimum being 5 3/4". The only difference is that WA requires a license and OR does not. Also, pots may only be used in WA waters Dec.1 through Sept 15. They are allowed year round in OR. For the state boundry, you will find that it followed the early ship channel. For the lower river, this was near the WA shore. Consequently, many of the islands fall within the OR boundry. It is true that there used to be significant differences in the regs, but that was addressed some years back. Good luck crabbing and be safe.

Miss B Haven · 10-29-2002, 05:43 AM

1pump - If that is true I'm going to be real upset because Oregon clearly allows WA residents to launch and land in OR.
Let's see what WA fish and Wildlife have to say. :smile:

FSH4EVR · 10-29-2002, 09:38 AM

I was out Saturday and Sunday and saw all the boats over at #20 and #22. My favorite place is by the lighthouse on the Washington side. I called the Wash Fishery fellas and they said it made no difference where you launched or took out. The rules were the same. 12 crabs 5 3/4 inches. The only difference was that you had to use Rings in Washington waters. Sand Island and part of Baker Bay is considered Oregon. I looked at a map of the area and the lighthouse is Wa waters. Didnt have any rings so had to throw pots at Sand Island and did pretty well. Was surprised to see so many people over at #20. There was only one person at the lighthouse (with rings I presume) I had been using pots over there with great success. Got lucky and wasnt jolted from my ignorance by the badges.
Forgot to ask about the soft shell situation but they seem to be hardening fast.

proguide · 10-29-2002, 10:44 AM

My .02 worth Last year we went crabbing out of hammond Ore. and I live in WA. When we came back in the police where there and checked all of our crabs and everything went just fine.

Pitch Pocket · 10-29-2002, 10:44 AM

I'm assuming Fish4ever is a Washington resident because he shows Vancouver as his home port. If he launched and landed from the Washington side, pots or traps are illegal anywhere in the Columbia River until Dec 1. If he shows up at a Washington ramp with crabs and only pots, he can be cited.

If he launched and landed on the Oregon side, he can put pots anywhere within the confines of the Columbia River (not in the ocean though) and legally take the crabs. The pot/ring restriction is for licensed Washington crabbers who launch and land on the Washington side of the river.

It's a wacky situation. I can't understand the "no pots or traps" regulations for the Washington side. It really makes no sense to me. Anyone have a clue?
:whazzup:

Big Dave · 10-29-2002, 12:45 PM

Well I wasn't there on Sunday but I was there on Saturday, and got my limit in about a hour using 3 traps. All the crab were very nice and also very full !
I put the pots down by buoy 22 in approx. 25' of water using turkey legs for bait.
The best part of the whole trip was the weather ! WOW what a great beautiful day !!! Life just couldn't be better !.......Big Dave.

sportster · 10-29-2002, 05:57 PM

i will have to agree with you big dave.we were out there ,just little up river and pertty good.we got 27 use chicken.the weather was great and also the water was flat.i will be going out wed.at first light.i will let allofyouknow how we did.

Bobber Down · 10-29-2002, 06:24 PM

Interesting about the Or. & Wash. rules. What about launching in Or. and fishing the Wash. side of the river. I guess you have to go by the Wash. regs. then. Rumor has it you will get ticketed for pots, but not rings right now. True or false. Don't have the Wash. reg., but I am going to get one.

sportster · 10-29-2002, 06:41 PM

i was told by a gamie at the region 6 office,that if you crab on the wa.side of the river & lanuch in ore. you have to fallow wa. regs.the line in the river is the old shipping channel .i am a wa. resident and i go out of hammond and use pot,but i stay on the ore. side of the river.i hope this helps. :smile:

1pump · 10-29-2002, 10:44 PM

Gawd almighty......what a can of worms! Guess I'll keep using the ramp at Hammond and avoid any WA complications.
Pitch Pocket- If I had to venture a guess about the ring vs. trap rule, I would guess that it has something to do with escapement. I know that the commercial guys have to tie their traps shut with untreated cotton twine for this reason. But why Sep 15 - Dec 1? The commercial season starts Dec 1......a coincidence? :whazzup:

roadsend · 10-30-2002, 04:33 AM

Buoy 22 yesterday, five easy limits. Cleaned out the freezer for bait.

sportster · 10-30-2002, 06:14 PM

went to hammond boat lanuch today at about 8:30am ,& the wind was blowing about 20+
knts.we did not even put the boat in the water.we did talk too a couple old boys who left there pots out overnight and had there 2 limits.also the hammond boat lanuch is closed starting nov. 1 till dec ? . :smile:

Pitch Pocket · 10-30-2002, 09:04 PM

1pump, Everyone has to use the twine on pots in Washington, it's in the regs. Oregon doesn't require it...yet.

The dates coincide with the soft shell stage of molting crabs. They are pretty soft in September and are mostly solid after December 1. I still don't get the logic.

Big Dave · 10-31-2002, 10:09 AM

Hey Sportster .....You say the ramp at Hammond is closing on Nov. 1 Until who knows when ?
Are there other places to launch in that area ? I have a 16' Arima Sea Explorer. [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img]
Thanks for your post.........Big Dave.

TundraIII · 10-31-2002, 10:28 AM

Why is Hammond closing? They didnt do this last year that I know of. I guess that means a long trip down river from Skippanon launch. That really bites. Gotta be a good reason though, just dont know what it is.

sportster · 10-31-2002, 10:31 AM

big dave ,the lady at hammond said the warrrenton lanuch would still be open.the reason for hammond closing is because they have to fix the ramp from people powering there boats on the trailer.i have nere lanuched at warrenton ,but we are going there next week. :smile:

TundraIII · 10-31-2002, 11:35 PM

Warrenton (Skippanon River) launch is cheaper, only 2 bucks to put in there. The trip out to the Columbia tho will take you about 15 minutes and then another 10 minutes to Hammond if the conditions are good. So you can pretty much count on an extra hour for your crab trip. With fog and bad weather in the fall the extra distance could be a real bummer. I'll probably be out there Sunday morning anyway.

Miss B Haven · 10-31-2002, 11:38 PM

Good point there about Hammond. I knew they were going to work on it. They've got a bunch of big rock to put in all stockpiled and moved some boats around to get out of the way. I didn't know what the closure dates were. This should get posted as an FYI thread. [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]