|
|
Sign up for our FREE newsletter and you could
be the lucky winner
of an official
PetersburgAlaska.com
hat plus we'll let you know about special fares and traveler alerts!
|
|
Our first Alaskan experience began in the logging community of Thorne Bay, which is located on Prince of Wales Island, approximately 45 air miles northwest of Ketchikan, Alaska. Thorne Bay offers a sheltered harbor from the rough ocean conditions frequently found in the southeast Alaska waters of Clarence Straits. These same sheltered waters were our first introduction to “crabbing” in Alaska.
The Dungeness crab population in Thorne Bay was experiencing a rebound after many years of decline and the locals were taking full advantage of this new bounty found right in front of the town center. Being new to Alaska, we were convinced that you could never catch enough crab to satisfy a serious seafood lover’s appetite. We were about to be proven wrong.
Our arrival to Alaska in early September coincided with the peak of the silver salmon run returning to spawn in the Thorne River. This not only supplied us with our first fresh caught Coho salmon fillets but the carcasses that would later provide the bait needed for the crab pots. Since we were newcomers to Alaska and didn’t yet have a boat, we were going to have to rely on the generosity of a neighbor to take us out to “pull the pots”. It wasn’t long before we were invited to go on a “crabbing” adventure, as Alaskans are a friendly bunch and always willing to share their secret fishing spots.
We departed the Thorne Bay dock in an aluminum skiff, with our crab bait and buckets, motoring towards the opposite shore to check the pots. After a short boat ride, we began searching for crab pot buoys that were attached to submerged crab pots. Each buoy was identified with our captain’s name. As our search for the marked buoys continued, my pessimistic side was beginning to think about the old saying, “You should have been here yesterday. There were tons of crab”. As we located our first buoy my optimistic side thought, “These folks have to know what they are doing. They’re Alaskans”. Pulling up along side the first buoy, we were treated to our skipper’s stories of bays in Alaska so full of Dungeness crab, at low tide, you could pick them out of the eel grass and mud with your bare hands. Or pots so full of crab not another crab could crawl in the door. We were just hoping for enough crab for dinner.
Our captain put the engine into neutral and moved to the back of the boat to grab the crab pot buoy as it came along side. Being Cheechakos, we stepped back out of the way and observed the process of hauling the pot. Dungeness crab, especially when salmon are returning to spawn, can be harvested in shallow water. Our pots this day were in about 25 feet of water. The buoy was brought into the boat and the process of pulling the crab pot began. We were tempted to look over the edge to watch the crab pot come up but we knew that everyone standing on one side of a small boat was not a good idea. Soon we heard the clunk of a crab pot on the side of our boat and waited anxiously as our skipper peeked over the edge to inspect the contents of the pot. He soon announced, “ We’ve got crab” and lifted the crab pot onto the rail. I will never forget seeing all those Dungeness crab crawling around inside the pot, both large and small, making their distinctive clicking noise when Dungeness are exposed to the air. Lifting the lid, our skipper soon began to carefully remove the crab in a manner so as not to be crushed by the two main claws of the Dungeness crab, while inspecting each crab for legal size and gender. Tossing the undersized and female crab back into the saltwater bay with the keepers being tossed into a five-gallon bucket.
The crab pot was soon empty and it was time to re-bait. Crab pots are usually baited with the large carcasses of salmon, halibut, gray cod, red snapper and herring. We attached a large salmon to the bait hook located inside the pot and closed the lid. Coiling the rope and buoy for a safe re-entry into the bay, the large pot was lifted and returned to the water and the job of enticing crab into it’s chamber for a meal began again.
We continued on, repeating the process until all the crab pots belonging to our skipper were checked and re-baited. Only then did we take time to notice large pile of Alaska crab that were sitting in the overflowing bucket, with the additional Dungeness crab crawling around the floor of the boat, their crusher claws extended trying to grab and crush anything they could attach themselves to.
Upon our return to the dock, we proceeded to learn the process of cleaning crab. Somewhat intimidated at first, we soon became proficient at removing the top shell, which left us with the two crab leg clusters full of their translucent white crab meat ready to be cooked. Our skipper took a couple of crab for his family and left us with the remaining mound of crab legs lying on the dock. His last words were “you can have them, we’re getting sick of crab”. Not ever experiencing the satisfaction of having more crab then we could eat, we gratefully gathered up the crab legs and headed for home to enjoy our meal.
As you can guess, we soon found you can catch more crab in Alaska than a person can eat. But, catching them is always fun. We soon became quite creative with utilizing crab meat in various recipes.
A few years later we moved to Petersburg, Alaska and quickly began searching for Dungeness crab. Petersburg is home to one of the largest crab fishing fleets in southeast Alaska. We soon discovered that the bays near Petersburg were even more populated with crab than Thorne Bay and Petersburg also had snow and king crab. Thus began our new crab adventures in Petersburg, Alaska. For more information about crabbing in southeast Alaska visit PetersburgAlaska.com. Petersburg, Alaska offers excellent crabbing opportunities from independent to guided charters and expedition cruises such as Alaska Sea Adventures offering the local knowledge for catching crab. Petersburg, Alaska is an excellent place to plan a vacation or adventure and enjoy some quality crab meat.
Note!
Dungeness crab are distributed throughout the waters of southeast Alaska and can be harvested non-commercially year around. Only male Dungeness crab measuring 6.5 inches may be harvested. Anyone with a valid Alaska sport-fishing license can harvest Dungeness crab. However, you should always check the fishing regulations when planning your vacation, as regulations and harvest limits may change.
|
