With New Year’s Eve on the horizon, it’s easy to get caught up in making resolutions on how you will improve your life in 2015.
But it’s also important to not leave 2014 with regrets in the back of your mind — things you should have done before the year ended.
For instance, harvesting crab.
The sport crabbing season runs seven days a week through Dec. 31 in Marine Areas 4 (Neah Bay), 5 (Sekiu), 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 9 (Admiralty Inlet) and 12 (Hood Canal).
When it ends, it’s over until July.
Crabbing by hand has even less time remaining, due to upcoming tides.
“This weekend is also the last of the season till next summer with tides low enough for hand crabbing at night,” Ward Norden, a fishing tackle wholesaler and former fishery biologist, said.
“Two weeks ago, in the last tide series, we went out and it took us all of 8-10 minutes to get all the big crabs we needed.
“We discovered that as good as the crabs looked and as big as they were, their shells had just hardened from molting. There wasn’t much meat in them yet, but it was still delicious.
“This weekend, we will choose crabs that are both big and have a few barnacles on the shell to ensure more meat.”
The daily catch limit is five Dungeness crab, males only, in hard-shell condition, with a minimum carapace width of 6¼ inches.
Harvesters also can catch six red rock crab of either gender each day, provided they measure at least 5 inches across.
All Dungeness crab caught in this late-season harvest must be recorded on winter catch cards, which are valid through Dec. 31 and due back to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife by Feb. 1, 2015.
Steelhead arriving?
Norden said beach casters on South Whidbey Island have been catching a lot of hatchery steelhead recently.
This is good news on a few fishing fronts.
“That is a very good sign that a lot of steelhead are already in our local rivers, when weather and flooding allows,” Norden said.
“The points at Fort Flagler and Fort Worden might be worth a look this coming week for aspiring saltwater beach-casting steelhead anglers.
“A pink mini squid behind a Spin-n-Glo on a 30-inch leader cast 30 feet from the beach is the time-honored technique.”
Speaking of squid . . .
Living on the North Olympic Peninsula changes a life in so many different ways.
For instance, because of Sequim, some of us must fight our fingers’ urge to spell squid with an ‘e’ between the ‘s’ and the ‘q.’
Others don’t really care about the spelling struggle squid can pose because they’re more concerned with catching and eating them.
If you can tolerate evening air, there’s good squid fishing to be had in Port Townsend.
“Squid anglers have been remarking how big and fat the squid are this year in Puget Sound,” Norden said.
“They say they are particularly delicious this year, which is usually what happens during an El Niño.”
Let us know how it goes. Better yet, send a photo.
Send photos, stories
Have a photograph, a fishing or hunting report, an anecdote about an outdoors experience or a tip on gear or technique?
Send it to sports@peninsuladailynews.com or P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
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Sports Editor Lee Horton is merely filling in for outdoors columnist Michael Carman, whose column will return next Thursday.
