 | This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 720x960. |
My boss Ron went down and got a campsite Wednesday so Etray and I came down Friday night and got the boat loaded and all of the bait bags ready. Saturday morning BigK and Etray's Dad and brothers joined us.
After waiting in line for a little bit at Westside we got the boat in the water around 0700 and we on our way out to the bay. We had a whole line of pots to run, Etray picked up 10 new pots for cheap and I had 7 the I've accumulated over the past couple of years so we had a lot of gear to run. We started in about 30ft of water and dropped 10 pots between 30-60ft of water. The other 7 we took out to 80ft. Etray and I baited and set all of the pots and it took us a little over an hour. I had to leave early so we just circled back around and started pulling pots. We knew it wasn't really a long enough soak, but we had some high hopes and I wanted to try to get a few before I had to go.
We had a few rock crabs and a legal dungie or two in almost every pot. The legal dungies we got were huge! We didn't have stacked pots yet, but we were getting some keepers.
| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 960x720. |
We kept at the grind trading turns and hauling the pots in since we didn't get out puller installed in time for the weekend. All of our shallow pots consistently had legal dungies in them.
| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 960x720. |
Looking at our pots too those guys were tearing into and loving our bait offerings we had for them. We baited the traps with a slurry of Salmon, Rockfish, and cut and whole American Shad.
| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 720x960. |
I could tell you without a doubt those Shad did wonders for us. I'm gonna keep a lot more next summer because those crab ran through them like it was no tomorrow.
When we got to the end of our line the deeper pots came up pretty empty so we relocated them to try and find some more fruitful grounds. When we dropped the last pot and we're about to make the turn to make our second pass at our line the rope fouled up the prop and we were dead in the water. I was already not feeling great as it was, but once I felt the boat stop dead in its tracks and the ocean took over the movement of the boat I went over the edge and started chumming the seas. Etray and BigK worked hard to clear the prop and I felt so bad that I was helpless due to my seasickness.
After about a half hour of them trying to clear the prop they made the call and the seas were just too rough and the rope was wrapped around the prop too tight. We made a few calls and the Auxiliary Coast Guard came out to tow us in. We got towed back to where the coast guard station was then the CG boat repositioned itself and tied off to us side by side to bring us back to Westside. After resuming the tow we got to talking to the guys and I don't know if the guys wasn't paying attention or just didn't see it, but next thing we knew we turned around and one of the channel markers is coming right at us. We all yelled watch out watch out, but it was too late. Etray went out there and thought about trying to push us away from it, but there was no stopping it. We all stepped back from the side and the side of our boat slammed into the channel marker. The ladder on the side of it left a few gashes and ripped a huge hole in the wall of the top deck of the boat. The impact broke off a few running lights, the support of the Bimini top, snapped the Antena, and left various other dents and scratches.
| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x576. |
| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x576. |
| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x576. |
No major Damage to the boat's integrity as a whole, but WTF? We are all just looking at the boat and the damages in awe. You could see it on all of our faces, did that just happen? Did the Coast Guard really slam us into a channel marker? How did he not see the giant poll out here in the Harbor? We were all in shock. Back at the dock several other coast guard members were there to file out their report and check us all out. Once we tie off to the dock and get settled now we are being grilled for everything, where's the registration?, you got enough life jackets?, etc. Then the Warden comes down and now he comes on board, what did you guys catch?, where are all of the crab?, I need all of your licenses, etc. We were in trouble for anything, but man it felt like a real intimidating interrogation. Everything got taken care of though and we pulled the boat out of the water, cut the rope off of the prop and got everything else squared away.
I had to go home so I took 5 crab home with me and the guys prepared to go back out and pull the pots again. They ended up not going back out again until Sunday and to make the trip even worse out of our 17 pots they were only able to locate 9 of them. Don't know of the rest were stolen, knots came undone, or if they got dragged away in the swells and current. It's a big ocean there are a number of different possibilities that could have happened. Ducks though that a lot of money to just be washed away. The pots they did find were tampered with without a doubt, we got raided. The few that weren't messed with had some nice quality crab in it though.
| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 768x1024. |
We heard rumors that a lot of people's pots got dragged a good ways south with the high swells and current so maybe later this week we can go back out and find them in Tomales bay, we'll see.
Overall it was a crazy eventful trip/weekend. We didn't get as many crab as we had hoped for plus the unfortunately loss of 8 pots, but that's life. Hopefully we'll be back out there doing it again soon.
Till Next Time Guys
Mark
| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 960x540. |
| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 720x960. |
P.S. for those who are wondering my boss's boat is a Bennington pontoon boat that he custom welded a bow onto to make it sea worthy. The boat is 31ft in overall length. We had a lot of weird/stunned looks throughout the day with this thing plus loads and loads of compliments at the ramp. It was a super smooth and comfy ride out at sea as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment