Posted by Webmaster on May 29, 2009 in
General 
Well mine was kind of like this LOL
What a wonderful day yesterday was to be on the Oregon Coast.
Normally I let others post on this blog! (Thanks William and The Crew of the Harvester) but today I think I will share a bit.
Yesterday I just happened to get a chance to go out Halibut fishing on a charter boat out of Bandon (Prowler Charters). It all started about 5:30 am. I had a brand new Ugly Stick tiger rod and Penn reel with 1,800 feet of brand new line, warm clothes and a picnic lunch. All looked well.
We left under clear skies with a small swell breaking into the Jetty, things are definitely looking up!
An hour and a half later we are over a prime fishing spot (or so the Captain tells us). Turns out we are right. We are in nearly 600 feet of water and fishing with a 5 pound ball of lead and a nice, tasty chunk of squid.
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Tags: Bandon, fishing, halibut, Oregon, Prowler Charters
Posted by Ocean Harvester on May 20, 2009 in
Ocean Harvest 
Pulling Traps early in the 08-09 season (link to vid)
There are many ways to a crab and you can catch a crab around here with about any kind of bait, but we don’t want to just catch any crab crawling around down there, we want to catch big legal male crab and leave the rest on the bottom.
The commercial crab season opens December first and is open till mid August. Most commercial crabbers quit before the season is over because they have other fisheries or the volume of legal male crab is less than what it takes to make a profit. This season we left our 300 traps out for for six months and managed to make them pay. In the beginning of the season there were lots of crab so they have to compete to get their share of the grub and they are just fighting each other to get in the traps and on the boat. As the season progresses they get harder to catch as there are fewer crab and more food available for them to eat and so this is when you need to dig into your bag of tricks.
Squid is the mother of all baits. I do not know of a fish or a crab that doesn’t eat squid, it is like candy to them. All commercial crabbers use it, they put it in chew bags or plastic bait jars with small holes. A chew bag is just a nylon mesh bag that holds the bait. If you are looking for a quick catch or if you are using crab rings use the squid in chew bags. When you use chew bags the crab will stay there longer because they are able to eat. It will also make more crab move in because they can see and hear their buddies chowing down. The big male crab will move in and chase away small crab that are eating something they want. The bait jars are good when using traps because it will last longer, always chop up the squid when in bait jars. When a crab gets in to find out that he can only smell the bait, it is too late.
Clams are another great bait, they have a nice sweet smell that those huge dungies can’t resist. I always use razor clams and squid in separate jars it is a great long lasting combo. Save up all of your clam trimmings and the shells too they also contain good scent.
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Tags: crab bait, Crabbing in Oregon, crabbing tips
