FISHING
With all their nooks and crannies, the San Juans present a plethora of places to pull pots, as Kiran Walgamott (inset) prepares to do. The bulk of the islands typically open in mid-July, the northern fringe in mid-August. To the south, Areas 8-1 and 8-2, where commercial crabbing is restricted, are also superb and they along with other Central Sound waters usually open July 1. Crabbing is open Thursdays through Mondays. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)
soak? Lazy crabbers munch hot dogs for supper. In July, an hourlong soak is fine. Drop anchor and picnic near your pots. By August, with thousands of crabs already in anglers’ freezers, soak two hours. Soak time also depends on current. Brisk flow = long scent trail = short soak. The more often you pull your pots, the sooner you can toss freeloaders – flounder, sea stars – overboard and renew your bait. Thinking about an overnight soak? Yes, crabs feed at night. No, don’t crab at night. Ten-dollar crabs tempt twobit thieves. In the San Juans, prudent crabbers pull their pots at sunset.
TEST FOR SOFT-SHELLS In the North Sound, female Dungeness crabs molt from late winter to late spring. Males molt in 54 Northwest Sportsman
JUNE 2018 | nwsportsmanmag.com
early summer, as water warms. A big crab can grow 1 to 2 inches across per molt. It takes a month or two for shells to fully reharden and fill with meat. Soft-shell crabs contain about 12 percent meat by weight. Hard-shell crabs, about 25 percent meat. Squeeze a crab’s walking legs. Flex its undershell with your forefinger. Spongy? That crab recently molted. The meat’s mushy. We’re each only allowed five keeper dungies. Why cheat yourself out of meat? Toss softshells. New to crabbing? The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s online video Crabbing Basics can be found at wdfw.wa.gov/fishing.
KEEP SUPPER FRESH Have you kept crabs in a tub of