July 16 was opening day for the Dungeness Crab season off of Orcas Island. Dave and Sue Morrish allowed us to tag along. A big thank you for the experience. A couple of visiting nephews also joined me.
Step one was to bait the crab trap.
We were a bit early. The tides control when to drop. Drop too early and the current will carry the pot away. So, one wants to wait until the tide changes. While we waited, we visited one of the shoals that is normally underwater unless it is low tide. Here, the seals take a rest.
Then, you find the “right spot” to drop the trap.
The depth finder shows the line the trap took to the bottom.
It was overcast for the first half of our foray. Then, the sun came out.
While we waited for the hundreds of crabs to find the pots, we moved to another location where we could drop a couple of shrimp pots. As you can see from the photos, we had some success finding some spotted prawn.
We didn’t find many crab that we could keep. They have to be male. They have to be Dungeness, and they have to be over a certain size.
Overall, a great time and a new experience. Thank you, Dave and Sue.