Coastal update
Hi all! Kirk here with your Sea Forager Winter update.
Crab
Depending on who you ask, local dungeness crab fishing has been terrible to fair to excellent to disturbing. For instance John “Champion de la Banana” Bebelos, everyone's favorite son of Hellas, and the guy who makes all the crab snares for Sea Forager, informs us that this is “the worst year ever” in Pacifica. A random sampling of jetty wall crabbers heading back to their cars with empty buckets last weekend in HMB seemed to confirmed this... While Sea Forager shore fishing master (and beach picker) Jack Luong says: “actually it's been pretty good.” Speaking to one of the DFW fish checkers who works the docks and party boats, we learn that the sporties returning to boat ramps around the bay area are “doing well” and the party boats have been “whackin' em.”
But a slightly unerving stream of consciousness 45 minute diatribe from master naturalist Josiah “Radagast” Clark, organizer of the yearly SF Crab Derby at Linda Mar, a guy who has logged more fishing hours onboard a kayak than anyone in the last 200 years (seriously), reveals these interesting tidbits...
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This year has been sub par. But better than last year. Thank god!
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Lots of sickly weird looking “hospital crabs” and ugly “skip molts” with missing limbs and black spots.
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Water levels seem to be higher than ever, even on tides that shouldn't be particularly high. “Is this a by product of melting glaciers?” (asks Josiah)
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Weird clusters of yellow rock crab (a species usually associated with Southern California).
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Almost no jumbo sized crabs at all. And way fewer crabs than there used to be.
So now that you've read all this, here's the take away: “go crabbing.” The season is open. Some folks are getting crabs. Some folks aren't. It's why they call it fishing not catching! One thing for sure: you won't get any crabs sitting here reading this. And you definitely stand a better chance getting out there before the commercial season opens. And if you're looking for the perfect snares that are handmade and badass, 2 per order, look no further: *SHOP*
Sturgeon
Me with one of three dinks I've managed to catch in the last 35 years!
Winter ambition: I plan to catch a keeper sturgeon this year. I don't care what it takes. It's ridiculous that I've never done this. I've caught a total of three in my entire life. All three were under the size limit. I've also hooked and lost two: one when the bozo I was fishing with bonked it with the landing net. And one that took me on a very enjoyable kayak sleigh ride south of the Dumbarton Bridge--only to break my heart after about 20 minutes by rolling in the line as I was clumsily attempting to get it alongside the kayak. They say my screams can still be heard echoing around Alviso Creek. In any case I'm done with this failure. I'm on the hunt. Hear that sound? It's the sound of scutes shaking. This year, I will not be denied!
Sea Forager Operative #007 Champion de la Banana with a sturgeon caught near Coyote Point fishing ghost shrimp ten years ago.
For those who are new to the idea of fishing for our infamous dinosaur catfish, there are some great options. In the North Bay China Camp, Loch Lomond, McNears Pier are great sturgeon fishing spots in the winter. In SF/South bay: Candlestick Park, Burlingame, Coyote Point Jetty and Dumbarton Pier are excellent locations. East Bay, you've got Bay Farm Island near the ferry dock. The advantage of fishing public jetties and piers is that you get to fish two rods. Which makes a huge difference in sturgeon fishing... which is a low action, multiple trip type of deal.
Surf Perch
Not sure about bay perch like "pogies" (see above), rubberlips and piles but the beaches have been completely devoid of barred perch, calicoes and redtails. At least in the SF Bay Area Beaches. So stay home or go for crab the perch fishing has been terrible all year, and continues to be. Check out my surfperch ceviche recipe here.
Herring
Yippee! Herring season is now upon us. Big schools are showing up under the north tower of the GG Bridge, in the shipping lanes and back in the Sausalito Channel as I write this. Woot. The last few years have been very weird. With some of the usual areas getting zero spawns and other areas not “going off” till late Feb or early March. One would think with the general lack of commercial interest in our local herring these last few years, that the biomass would be insane. Hopefully we get a monster season. If you are interested in herring follow me on instagram @seaforager. I am known to occasionally offer clues as to where the bigger spawns are happening. And don't forget it's a two bucket limit, and a single bucket will take you all freakin day to process. Call Gus's discount tackle for herring throw nets! Oh and BTW Sea Forager alum Will West is starting his own local herring company - check it out here!
Also join me at this upcoming EVENT: IN PRAISE OF SMALL FISHES! 12/8, 5pm. Bernal Cutlery SF hosts an evening celebrating small fish with me, Kirk, and acclaimed SF chef Stuart Brioza of the Anchovy Bar. Join us!
That's gonna do it for Winter 2022... Till spring, fish on!
Kirk-Out