THE PENINSULA PINCERS?
Consider that a free suggestion for the West Coast League baseball team that’s expected to call Civic Field in Port Angeles home starting next June.
Either an angry or goofy looking Dungeness crab logo would look great on caps and other apparel, and fit right in with the off-beat vibe of many summertime baseball leagues.
I can see the angry-version of the logo now: a pair of crisscrossed bats held up tightly by two fearsome claws.
Such a logo would be a nice nod to the region’s status as home of the Dungeness crab, the focus of much attention across the North Olympic Peninsula when the recreational crab season opens in full Friday.
Crabbers will be chasing 2015’s record haul of Dungeness crab, according to state Department of Fish and Wildlife shellfish policy coordinator.
Childers sent along a document authored by Fish and Wildlife that offered some interesting insight into the state’s Dungeness crab fishery.
In back-to-back seasons, the Dungeness crab haul in Puget Sound has reached record-high landings.
Following closely on the heels of the successful 2014 season, state and treaty Puget Sound Dungeness crab fisheries landed a total of 11,814,100 pounds, exceeding the previous year’s record by 1,184,100 pounds.
In total 5,875,200 pounds were landed in the state’s fishery and 5,938,900 pounds in the treaty fishery.
A total of 232,621 recreational crab license were sold to Puget Sound crabbers in 2015 and 2,767,970 pounds were caught in the recreational fishery.
The traditional summer July-September recreational season continues to have the greatest participation with 88.7 percent of the annual recreational catch.
The limited entry (249 permits) Puget Sound commercial fishery landed 3,107,242 pounds and with a record- high wholesale price averaging $4.58/pound resulted in a record high total ex-vessel value of $14,200,000.
The commercial landing value in 2015 represents a 17.1 percent increase from the previous high recorded during the 2014 season.
And Childers believes this recreational crab season will be comparable to last year based on based on test fisheries and surveys conducted in Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) and Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal).
“I think crabbers will have very good results again this year in Puget Sound, the northern sections of Hood Canal and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca,” Childers said.
“For Area’s 9 and 6, I think we will have no problem reaching a full recreational season this summer and again this winter.”
Childers said treaty tribes caught crab in Port Townsend Bay during a 30-hour window last week.
That’s shorter than the typical 48 hours tribal crabbers have set pots in previous years in Port Townsend.
Childers said Wednesday that no tribal crab harvest has been conducted so far in Sequim Bay or further west along the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The Lower Elwha Klallam tribe is planning a crab harvest from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 7.
Childers reminded crabbers that Fish and Wildlife enforcement will be out in droves this summer to check up on crabbers.
Crabbers should make sure to mark down their catch immediately on their crab catch record card or face a fine.
“Record them as you are putting them in the cooler, so to speak,” Childers said.
And remember to lift your pots on closed days (Tuesdays and Wednesdays in most marine areas) during the season.
“Crabbers should remember that no gear is to be left in the water on closed days,” Childers said.
“If pots are left in, they will be confiscated.”
The daily limit for crab is five Dungeness crab, males only, in hard-shell condition with a minimum carapace width of 6¼ inches.
Crabbers may catch six red rock crab of either sex per day, provided those crab measure at least 5 inches across.
For more information on crabbing, visit tinyurl.com/PDN-Crab16.
Smaller kokanees
Winds pushed Port Angeles angler and lure designer Pete Rosko and fishing buddy Al Brown off Lake Crescent last Friday.
“After catching and releasing only four Beardslee rainbows trolling, we wanted to find calmer waters for drift-jigging,” Rosko said.
So the pair headed east to Lake Sutherland to check out the kokanee bite.
“It wasn’t blowing as hard on the west end, near the Girl Scout camp, so we headed there where the surface water temperature was 63 degrees,” Rosko said.
They were headed to a spot Rosko calls ‘the Mountaintop.’
“The plan was to start fishing at the 40-foot depth, until we dropped down to 72 feet then repeat the drift,” Rosko said.
Upon arrival, Rosko found his fish finder full of potential targets.
They soon found some success.
“Most of the fish were aggressively striking our jigs about 6 feet off bottom,” Rosko said.
“The best lure continued to be a 3/4-ounce glow chartreuse Sonic BaitFish.”
Rosko said the kokanee are running small this year.
“The kokanee caught this season are running 12 inches in length vs the usual 14-to-16 inches of previous years,” Rosko said.
“What they are lacking in size they are making it up in strong numbers.
“They appear to be very healthy with their bright silver color and plump bodies.
“As long as the water temperature can remain cool, the jig fishery should be excellent at Lake Sutherland.”
________
Outdoors columnist Michael Carman appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 57050 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
