The Outdoor Line Forum

Love the show, love the website, but did not particularly appreciate the comment on the show this morning re 'don't know why folks are having trouble crabbing, just need to use better bait'. Ah, no. Not in MA-10 at least. There is a problem in MA-10, and it looks a lot like the problem in MA 11/13. Very low numbers of keeper male crab this year, and more troubling, almost no sub-legal males coming up (big females and redrock). WDFW-Shellfish was out in front on this based on their test fisheries and the tribes' poor showing in their season--WDFW issued a notice and talked about it at a fishing group mtg. They are also available to answer specific questions on an individual basis. Based on that info and significant hours on the water in MA-10, the downturn that is happening this year is not a bait thing, not a pot weight thing, not even a tribe thing (although their adding a couple days to their season was not helpful) but a biological problem. And as such, not something to make light of. Spreading an inaccurate, or at least very incomplete, narrative (i.e. just need better bait) over the airwaves takes focus away from the actual problem--probably warm water temps inhibiting breeding--and from finding a solution.

Hey Chromer,
Have you ever heard of the blind men and the elephant?
One blind man felt the trunk and said the elephant was long and round like a snake, the next felt the side and said the elephant was wide and flat like a wall and so on.
Every week, we are the blind men attempting to reconcile our own experiences with reports around the region to honestly deliver the very best information that we can compile.
We certainly do not wake up on Saturday morning with the intention of making someone uncomfortable or attempt to diminish someone's experience or efforts.
The crabbing that I have experienced this season in areas 8 & 9 has been fairly solid and I have heard that Area 10 and the south sound have been over run with red rock crab and Dungeness fishing has been tough.
I always try to be positive with my opinions and if I made a comment about bait that minimized the situation in the mid and south Sound, please allow me to apologize.
Thanks for your kind words about the show and I appreciate you listening!
Good luck and see you on the water, T