In PNW, been doing this for 2 generations , Birch Bay (Bellingham) was our go -to place. Everyone does it there. Teaching our kids, who thought we were crazy, found it great sport. Old school, and great fun .... we used a stick with a fork and couple strings across it. Wading in old shoes and shorts, no waders ! Fun to see others doing this ^
2020 Brought me here! Lol as of recent, literally yesterday, I ventured out into the surf tried the hand picking technique for Dungeness Crabs. Boy did it pay off, here in Northern California most fisherman’s don’t realize that it’s legal to do so. Took home two keepers in a matter of 30-45mins wading through the surf. Also snagged two more keepers on the snares while I was searching the waters. Full disclosure, they pinch hard and I got hit picking one up but totally worth it. Love the videos! Keep it up, “That’s what she said”
Soft shell dungeness are illegal where I am (WA State USA), due to them usually losing a lot of bodyweight before the molt/during the molt and so they aren't as substantial meat wise. Then females are off limits and only males are allowed. My favorite crab flavor/meat wise.
@@RandallEcho Getting stuck out in the tide. Some places can be really strong. add the waiters you have on and it can be a bad combination. You can choose to believe me or not. But we've lost lives doing this in Tsawwassen.
@@RandallEcho No Problem. Be safe. I suppose you could keep a life jacket on. Or a high mobility kayak life jacket. That's what I would do. I usually crab from a boat with traps.
Soft shell Dungeness crab are not fantastic to eat because the soft shell Dungeness crab are not full of meat and have to grow into their new shell. Hand picking Dungeness crab is not very sustainable for the Dungeness crab fishery because you are catching the crabs in the shallow water during spring time when they are mating which reduces the total number of new crabs being produced.
In this video, I see the people, who are searching for Dungeness crab, Freely wading through beds of Eelgrass. Eelgrass is a prime and critical spawning and nursery habitat for many marine species, including Dungeness Crab. In fact one of the people in this video showed that the Dungeness crab were actually in the process of mating when disrupted by these folks. This is illegal activity, which is highly destructive to the ecology of these marine waters. Please view the following pdf regarding this situation: seagrassconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/discussionpaper.pdf
It is not illegal, that is where all the crabs are, and it is totally legal to catch while mating. I have been doing this for 20 years and almost every one I catch is mating
In PNW, been doing this for 2 generations , Birch Bay (Bellingham) was our go -to place. Everyone does it there. Teaching our kids, who thought we were crazy, found it great sport. Old school, and great fun .... we used a stick with a fork and couple strings across it. Wading in old shoes and shorts, no waders ! Fun to see others doing this ^
2020 Brought me here! Lol as of recent, literally yesterday, I ventured out into the surf tried the hand picking technique for Dungeness Crabs. Boy did it pay off, here in Northern California most fisherman’s don’t realize that it’s legal to do so. Took home two keepers in a matter of 30-45mins wading through the surf. Also snagged two more keepers on the snares while I was searching the waters. Full disclosure, they pinch hard and I got hit picking one up but totally worth it.
Love the videos! Keep it up, “That’s what she said”
Care to disclose where in NorCal did you find them? TIA!
Great video, thanks for sharing! Does anyone know roughly where this was located? This area seemed quite fruitful
I just made one out of a badminton racquet this weekend to crab in Tsawwassen 😄
The northern California coast is a little steep in most places to do this, but I do know a few spots I might be able to try this out.
I grew up hand lining for crabs but this is next level!
Oooohhh the "what she said" comment about lenght. Lol. Nice ending.
This type of crabs are really expensive in the southern California markets. It can be $15-20 per pound in the Asian supermarkets.
awesome! thanks for the great insight.
Is this something people do in Puget Sound? I like the minimalist approach of this
Yes this place is right on the Border of Washington state and British Columbia Canada , , you just have be careful” not to cross the border ,
how do you string the racket with wire? does anyone have a demonstration?
what beach was this ? looks like cettinal
That looks like a good time.
Wow that was cool 😀😀😀😀😀love your videos 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
That was awesome & the end.. 😂😂
Soft shell dungeness are illegal where I am (WA State USA), due to them usually losing a lot of bodyweight before the molt/during the molt and so they aren't as substantial meat wise. Then females are off limits and only males are allowed. My favorite crab flavor/meat wise.
I live in BC. Where is this?
White Rock or Crescent beach
Looks like fun
I just subscribed.
Dunno who told you that about soft shell crabs. But also crabbing by hand picking can be dangerous. In BC we've lost quite a few people.
why’s that? It looks quite safe.
@@RandallEcho Getting stuck out in the tide. Some places can be really strong. add the waiters you have on and it can be a bad combination. You can choose to believe me or not. But we've lost lives doing this in Tsawwassen.
@@EbbWeaver Thank you for pointing out that, didn't know that before.
@@RandallEcho No Problem. Be safe. I suppose you could keep a life jacket on. Or a high mobility kayak life jacket. That's what I would do. I usually crab from a boat with traps.
I’ve Caught 10 inch dungies
I got pinched by a lobster doing this
Soft shell Dungeness crab are not fantastic to eat because the soft shell Dungeness crab are not full of meat and have to grow into their new shell. Hand picking Dungeness crab is not very sustainable for the Dungeness crab fishery because you are catching the crabs in the shallow water during spring time when they are mating which reduces the total number of new crabs being produced.
Total bad*ss! COOL!
In this video, I see the people, who are searching for Dungeness crab, Freely wading through beds of Eelgrass. Eelgrass is a prime and critical spawning and nursery habitat for many marine species, including Dungeness Crab. In fact one of the people in this video showed that the Dungeness crab were actually in the process of mating when disrupted by these folks. This is illegal activity, which is highly destructive to the ecology of these marine waters. Please view the following pdf regarding this situation:
seagrassconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/discussionpaper.pdf
This is an excellent point Greg. Thank you for bringing it up. It is very much noted on this end.
It is not illegal, that is where all the crabs are, and it is totally legal to catch while mating. I have been doing this for 20 years and almost every one I catch is mating