gringorio - 12-30-2005 at 12:15 AM
these crabs where about the size of a dime and managed to live right in the surf zone - with big crashing waves. amazing....
Baja blues...
Tomas Tierra - 4-7-2006 at 01:51 PM
These crabs happen to go in the steamer live with old bay sprinkled on them....and taste YUMMY!
woody with a view - 4-7-2006 at 03:27 PM
these crabs (tuna crabs) wash up by the gazillion during el nino summers. west side of san quintin.
I'm one tough guy!
Sharksbaja - 4-7-2006 at 03:38 PM
arrghhhhh!
Tomas Tierra - 4-7-2006 at 03:47 PM
Pompano..
Em are dungy's??Or what variety??
Aint nuthin better than live blue crabs STEAMED maryland style...old bay seasoning, vinegar and budwieser in the steam water. with old bay liberally
sprinkled over top..(I'm not liberal, but good at liberal sprinkling)
This Maryland boy was extatic when he found the Baja blues in the pac side lagoons!!
these are a close second!
[Edited on 4-7-2006 by Tomas Tierra]
[Edited on 4-7-2006 by Tomas Tierra]
Pompano - 4-7-2006 at 03:52 PM
Tomas Tierra...I really don't know. Those crabs are from Whidbey Island area in Seattle. My buddy lives there and he brought them in from his trap
for our party...I thought they were, but I could be wrong? Anyhoo..they were delicious!
Blue Crabs in Cuba
bajajudy - 4-7-2006 at 04:07 PM
[Edited on 4-7-2006 by bajajudy]
Tomas Tierra - 4-7-2006 at 04:24 PM
wow judy!! now that is atrue blue!!the ones in baja are more green shelled.and the claws and legs have more purple than blue. not complaining,but
having grown up in maryland catching crabs as a kid, i'm picky..the baja blues/swimmers are not quite as sweet, a little more salty..BUT REALLY REALLY
GOOD!! definately not as hardy either..don't like to be out of water for long..md crabs will sit out all day and live..
now i'm hungry dang it!
Nice coincidence happening now....abut crabs
Pompano - 4-7-2006 at 05:20 PM
I am just now watching Discovery Channel's 'Deadliest Catch'... about Alaska king-snow-crabbing in Bristol Bay - north side of the Aluetians. Now
THERE is an exciting place to be when the winds get up over 35mph. This is a shallow, huge bay that has claimed hundreds of lives over the years. I
worked in drift boats up there a few years back..herring, kings, reds, silvers, chum and some halibut. We spent some rough moments from time to time.
Here is a nice crab from Up North....don't you just wish we had these babies in Baja!
Tomas Tierra - 4-7-2006 at 05:37 PM
I saw that show last night..that is some rough crap up there!! No thanx!
50 to 70 knots and 35 foot seas..ejo le!
Bob and Susan - 4-7-2006 at 05:46 PM
remember this....exciting!!!
Pompano - 4-7-2006 at 09:01 PM
It's a hard and harsh business for sure, whistler. Lots of the oldtimers are crosses in the churchyards along the crab coast. On the other hand,
it's an unbelievable way to make a living while enjoying the rush of excitement and love of nature.
Unfortunately the new commercial fishing regs and closings will drive most of the small commercial guys on the Cal-Oregon-Wash coasts right out of
business.
Tomas Tierra - 4-7-2006 at 11:41 PM
Just got the call.....SEABASS!!! santa rosa isl..leavin at 1:30am...
Sport only right now..
..one each..gotta try, its been a while, al;ong while since they showed thier shiny little heads...wish me luck!!
ANd yes us small commercial guys are having a tough go right now..
Luckily the cycle is good, for urchins anyway, but the hook and line end is shaky at best.Not so much the fish but the regs...But its about the
lifestyle for us wouldn't trade it for a desk job NO WAY NO HOW!!!
Tomas Tierra - 4-8-2006 at 01:20 AM
aaarrrggghhhh....
Pompano - 4-8-2006 at 06:43 AM
Tomas Tierra - "ANd yes us small commercial guys are having a tough go right now..
Luckily the cycle is good, for urchins anyway, but the hook and line end is shaky at best.Not so much the fish but the regs...But its about the
lifestyle for us wouldn't trade it for a desk job NO WAY NO HOW!!!"
That's the same exuberance I see throughout the industry. A way of life for sure. Same Up North in Bristol Bay where 1700 crews and boats risk their
fortunes every season. They are restricted in size for that area. It's a whole different world..especially when she gets rough. Your 'desk' was
the pilothouse console. A world without that kind of spirit would become a world without poetry.
[Edited on 4-8-2006 by Pompano]
not crabs...but mid-season salmon (reds)
Pompano - 4-8-2006 at 06:50 AM
Commercial Bristol Bay driftnetters...limited to 32 feet and usually with 2-4 man crews. 1700 boats and crews for the entire US Bristol Bay area.
Super busy when you are full-bore...dog-tired at the end of a pull. Salmon & crab business....truly a way of life.
[Edited on 4-8-2006 by Pompano]
Cypress - 4-8-2006 at 10:43 AM
The commercial fisherman gets it from all sides. The buyer, the govt. , rising costs, all hammer 'em. If their catch is plentiful the market drops, it
it's scarce the markets high. Next time you buy shrimp at a market tell 'em to knock off 5% for water wt., that's what the buyers would do along the
gulf coast. Yep! They'd subtract 5lbs off every 100lbs as "water weight", the weight of the water clinging to the shrimp.
It's worse than all that!
Sharksbaja - 4-8-2006 at 11:10 AM
It's a way of life going away. Every year someone I know bails out or becomes a buybacfk statistic.
Lots of fishing boats for sale CHEAP. Too bad they can never be used for such ever again. 
Not a pretty picture my friends.
It's bad enough that we suffer the loss of our young vital fishermen. Compound that with our inability to master the science of forecasting and you
have a sad industry indeed. Yes , they love their work. I hope their children are more successful. God bless em all
--------
Lencho, that cute little guy sat there on my sons' finger while I took the foto with my old Sony 3.3 set on macro. I had to reduce quality(notice
background) in order to attach it.
But, thanx!
vandenberg - 4-8-2006 at 01:37 PM
Here in Salinas Bay on Carmen Island, I've seen crab body and leg shells the size of snow crab. Anyone has any idea what kind of crab ,native to our
sea, they came from ? Sorry, have no picture, but other folks must have seen them.
vandenburg....there are some REALLY large crabs...
Pompano - 4-8-2006 at 06:06 PM
Like the Japanese Spider Crab....largest in the world and not something you would order for dinner...unless you took the whole town with you.
A youngster is about 1 meter across and when full grown, it'll reach 3.8m - as big as a small car!
That makes this the biggest crab in the world. Thankfully, they live at extreme depths.
Here's a reconstruction of how he'll size up when fully grown.
Imagine the damage those claws could do. Not a creature you'd want to bump into, eh?
jerry - 4-8-2006 at 08:20 PM
in january i stoped at popotla just south of fox studios and bought a martian crab they cooked it and it fed the 4 of us it looke a lot like a king
crab but the shell was a lot harder
i all so saw hugh crab claw shell in molege on the northside or the river way out by the lighthouse the little restrant
the claws were like 2 fists and the legs were the size of my rists id love to eat one but no way would i want it in my boat
have a good one jerry
did it look anything like this bruiser, jerry?
Pompano - 4-9-2006 at 06:25 AM
bon appetite!
Tomas Tierra - 4-9-2006 at 10:54 AM
That's gotta be an Aussie mud crab..Ate one once(not that big) delicuos!!
Well 42 miles in the boat for a donut..couple of fish caught, but not for us.Saw onr come over the rail on a sport boat that would have been close to
50lbs..I'm sure there are a hundred boats there today.
Got the squid to float that was cool..
saw some humpbacks feeding on anchovie on the way in..did I see this?? Any whale experts out there?? sure looked like the had the bait ball wrapped
tight and the were coming up in the middle of it with mouths open.. I thought they ate krill??
Pompano - 4-9-2006 at 11:04 AM
Tomas...you saw it right. They ball the bait up in a tight swirling school and then trash right through it...engulfing a few wheelbarrows of small
guys at a time. We have seen this many times in the Cortez...the last time from just a few feet away. Awesome sight.
Cypress - 4-9-2006 at 11:34 AM
Far from being an "expert", but have seen 'em do the the bubble ring thing in Alaska close up and personal. Looked like baitfish jumping out of their
mouths, not krill.