EACH OPENING INSPIRES three questions about the seafood that is coming in season.
First, are they delicious?
Next, are they big?
And finally, are they easy to catch?
Spot shrimp season opens on Saturday, and the answer to each of these questions is: Yes.
Anyone who has ever celebrated New Year’s Eve knows shrimp are tasty.
And, as far as shrimp go, spot shrimp are some of the largest around, measuring up to 10 inches long (not counting the antennae).
They have deep pink or orange bodies with white lines on their heads and they get their name from pairs of white spots on the tail.
These crustaceans are also fairly easy to catch if you have all the necessary equipment.
Like other shrimp, pots are used to pull spot shrimp.
These pots can be purchased at sporting goods stores or be homemade.
But it’s difficult to make your own pots because it’s difficult to get your hands on a key component.
“There’s a certain kind of mesh not readily available to the public,” Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said.
Menkal said this mesh is only available in massive rolls that can only be purchased in bulk.
A pot must not exceed 10 feet in perimeter and can be a maximum of 18 inches high.
They typically have between two and four entrance tunnels that slope inward to a circular opening of about three inches in diameter.
This is where it gets good.
The most common bait used to nab spot shrimp is cat food.
To set the bait, simply puncture both sides of a can of fish-flavored cat food and place it in the pot.
Less interesting bait, such as fresh or frozen fish (whole or ground), clams or oysters, can be placed in bait containers and then secured to the bottom of the pot between the entrance tunnels.
Anglers are allowed to have two pots at a time, and boats cannot have more than four shrimp pots onboard at a time.
Each angler is allowed to take home 80 spot shrimp per day.
The Hood Canal has a reputation for being the best place to snag your limit of spot shrimp.
Menkal said other areas such as Discovery Bay, Sequim Bay, Port Angeles Harbor and Port Townsend Bay also will provide good pulls.
Here are the details of the spot shrimp openings:
■ Hood Canal: Open on Saturday, May 11, 12 and 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Possible additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.)
■ Discovery Bay: Open on Saturday, May 11, 12 and 16, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Possible additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.)
■ East Juan de Fuca Strait: Opens on Saturday at 7 a.m.; closes when quota is attained or Sept. 15, whichever comes first.
■ Sekiu and Pillar Point: Opens on Saturday at 7 a.m.; closes when quota is attained or Sept. 15, whichever comes first.
■ Neah Bay: Opens on Saturday at 7 a.m.; closes when quota is attained or Sept. 15, whichever comes first.
■ South Puget Sound: Opens on Saturday and closes May 31.
■ Admiralty Inlet: Open on Saturday and May 11, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
■ San Juan Islands: Open on Saturday, May 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19 at 7 a.m. (Possible additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.)
The Pacific Ocean areas, such as LaPush and Ocean Shore, are open year-round, but the shrimp are located up to 30 miles from the shore and generally inaccessible by the casual shrimper.
One difference this year is the shrimping will not reopen the first Wednesday after the season opens due to an extreme minus tide.
Instead, the season will reopen Friday, May 11.
“With such an extreme low tide on that Wednesday (May 9), it only made sense to shift the second day of fishing to Friday,” Mark O’Toole, a shellfish biologist for the Fish and Wildlife Department, said in a press release.
“We don’t want to leave shrimpers stranded 100 feet from the boat ramp on a low afternoon tide.”
For more information on the shrimp opening, vist the state’s Fish and Wildlife website at http://tinyurl.com/7yhbn29.
