crabbing after dark????

[SalmonJeff]

I was wondering if it was legal to be on tillamook bay after dark or what the hour restrictions where if there where any. I wanted to go crabbing on tuesday but the tide is not in until about 4:30 and it is dark by 5:oo so is it legal to stay out and crab???

[Fish_N_Russ]

Its legal to crab @ dark, as its usually the best time. I dont know if there is any certain restrictions on T-bay though (wouldnt think so).....and during the dark safety would be a concern also :smile:

[STGRule]

Be careful for sure. But you may become addicted to crabbing after dark. Its fun!

[MonkeyBoy]

It is legal to crab after dark. Fish-n-russ, and stgrule are absolutely right! Crabbing in the dark is usually better than during the day. It is very addicting and fun! You don't have many people out and it is very peacefull and quiet. Just be carefull if you don't know the water very well. Try and stay in areas that you are familiar with, and wear a life jacket!

[WheresMyBobber]

We use rings instead of traps - I can just imagine the fun in trying to round up all those fast little 2 inchers in the dark! :shocked:

[STGRule]

Shhhh. The secret is you hardly get those little ones. Just the big ones that slept all day. The little ones hide at night because the big boys are out and about.

[Sore Back]

Be sure your boat running lights work or you will be visited by the Coast Guard. As said previously, night crabbing is great.

Good luck

[Grits]

So do you guys use a mounted spotlight or rely on gps to find your pots? I would worry in T-bay that someone may have leave a pot out and I would find it the hard way. If it were me, I would run out right at dusk and make sure there were no overnight pots in the area I was going to work. Heard, on this board, that Newport was a good bay because the city lights lit up the bay.

[Bait O' Eggs]

I have done a lot of night crabbing. :grin:

My crab floats are painted with flourescent paint that really shows up at night when the lights hit them. A spotlight and you can see the floats for a long ways.

Nice not having a bunch of people to compete against.

[StinkyH]

So how does limiting work if you've crabbing past midnight? Do you have to run your catch in and then head back out?

StinkyH

[Grits]

Page 92 of the regs

...No more than 1 daily catch limit per day. No more than 2 daily catch limits in possession...

I would read that as you could have two limits on your boat at a time but I would check with a gamie first.

[wootersen]

Originally posted by Bait O' Eggs:
I have done a lot of night crabbing. :grin:

My crab floats are painted with flourescent paint that really shows up at night when the lights hit them. A spotlight and you can see the floats for a long ways.

Nice not having a bunch of people to compete against.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">Yeah...flourescent paint works great also we put a stripe of reflective tape around the float. Hard to miss with the spotlight. If you plan on staying out for a while that night, make sure you have plenty of juice in the spotlight.

[fish stalker]

I have had some of my best crabbing at night. It is a total blast. But don't forget to take a rod. I've also had some of the most productive bottom fishing at night. We used worms and glow jigs. Fresh crab and fish filets... mmmmm