Our trip to the coast didn't start out too great. First we were stuck in a traffic jam. Then while trying to find a boat to rent we found out that all of the boats in Newport Oregon that can be rented already have been. I guess I should have called a little sooner. Then out of the blue Pete tells me he thinks our waitress is hot and my feelings get hurt. (Turns out he said she was odd, not hot...so I got over that one pretty fast). The next morning when we go to get our crabbing gear we learn that we have literally chosen the worse day of the year to go crabbing because of the huge tide change. We decided to go crabbing regardless. So we grabbed our rings, and our bait (a tuna head and some mink) and headed to the fishing pier. 
Even though it wasn't a great day for crabbing the pier was chuck full of crabbers. So many in fact that we couldn't even fit at the end of the pier to throw in our rings so we had to crab from 1/2 way out. Here's Pete in action! 
Some people were catching crab but not us.... We were out on that dock for 3 hours and only brought in one dungeness crab which we couldn't keep because it was a female and too small. 
We were determined to not let this crabbing trip end in defeat so we went and rented some more rings (4 total) and picked up some better crab bait. From watching the more successful crabbers out on the pier we decided the crabs liked chicken and cat food, so that is exactly what we bought. We waited for the window of time when we were told the crabbing would be best and then headed back to the Pier. It was windy and pouring rain but we were not detoured. Within 5 or so minutes my pants and the smart wool thermals I was wearing to keep warm were completely soaked through. I couldn't have been more wet if I had jumped into the Ocean. But the crabbing...the crabbing was great! Each time we would pull up our ring we would have 3-7 red rocks on it and sometimes even a few dungeness (which were always too small to keep). With our 4 rings in the water we kept busy and I didn't even really notice the cold. The time flew by. 
With the miserable weather and us running from crab ring to crab ring Pete keeps telling me he felt like he was on that show "The Deadliest Catch." All in all we hauled in 33 red rock crabs (actually more but we shared with some less fortunate crabbers on the pier). We didn't end up catching any dungeness crabs that were big enough to keep which was a bummer but there is always next time..right? After crabbing we headed back to camp where Pete cooked all of our crab on his little camping stove in the pouring rain. Now that the action had died down I was feeling cold so I busied myself setting up camp in the heated car. (We slept in the car because everything was too wet to actually set up a tent on.) Then I sat by the window and visited with Pete while he finished cooking the crabs which ended up taking over an hour and a half. He is so good to me. 
Getting the meat off of the crab was an ordeal but well worth the effort. We had the crab for dinner and it was delicious. We still have a lot left over so I think I will make some crab dip today. I love crab dip :)
Our crab army!
Even though it wasn't a great day for crabbing the pier was chuck full of crabbers. So many in fact that we couldn't even fit at the end of the pier to throw in our rings so we had to crab from 1/2 way out. Here's Pete in action! Some people were catching crab but not us.... We were out on that dock for 3 hours and only brought in one dungeness crab which we couldn't keep because it was a female and too small. We were determined to not let this crabbing trip end in defeat so we went and rented some more rings (4 total) and picked up some better crab bait. From watching the more successful crabbers out on the pier we decided the crabs liked chicken and cat food, so that is exactly what we bought. We waited for the window of time when we were told the crabbing would be best and then headed back to the Pier. It was windy and pouring rain but we were not detoured. Within 5 or so minutes my pants and the smart wool thermals I was wearing to keep warm were completely soaked through. I couldn't have been more wet if I had jumped into the Ocean. But the crabbing...the crabbing was great! Each time we would pull up our ring we would have 3-7 red rocks on it and sometimes even a few dungeness (which were always too small to keep). With our 4 rings in the water we kept busy and I didn't even really notice the cold. The time flew by. With the miserable weather and us running from crab ring to crab ring Pete keeps telling me he felt like he was on that show "The Deadliest Catch." All in all we hauled in 33 red rock crabs (actually more but we shared with some less fortunate crabbers on the pier). We didn't end up catching any dungeness crabs that were big enough to keep which was a bummer but there is always next time..right? After crabbing we headed back to camp where Pete cooked all of our crab on his little camping stove in the pouring rain. Now that the action had died down I was feeling cold so I busied myself setting up camp in the heated car. (We slept in the car because everything was too wet to actually set up a tent on.) Then I sat by the window and visited with Pete while he finished cooking the crabs which ended up taking over an hour and a half. He is so good to me. Getting the meat off of the crab was an ordeal but well worth the effort. We had the crab for dinner and it was delicious. We still have a lot left over so I think I will make some crab dip today. I love crab dip :)
Our crab army!
1 comments:
SOOOOOOOOOOOOO fun.... we will have to try that. A little chilly but worth it.
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