Piggybacking on my last catch-to-cook, the trip continues with our hunt for Dungeness Crab from the kayaks and another recipe for good measure. Reunited with my old kayak fishing partner Spike, we spent the first day in a little nook outside of Bodega Bay, dropping shrimp flies, iron and live bait from the ‘yaks, in search of “crab bait.” What better way to get fresh bait than being able to eat the best parts first? We kept a mixed bag of rockfish and enjoyed the fillets in a dish that I made off the cuff; the crew heavily approved and therefore will make the menu once we hit rockfish season. We spent that evening prepping the hoop nets, lines, buoys, and bait. Like any other heavily anticipated trip, sleep was light for everyone that night.
We woke to somber weather – gray, drizzly and onshore. That said, it’s virtually impossible to deter Spike and me when we’re teamed up on a mission unless, of course, conditions are threatening. There’s a difference between “a little weather” and hazardous conditions when it comes to kayak fishing, and that could be a 20-page chapter on its own. We carefully chose some protected waters and made it out to a zone where we slowly chipped away. Balance, stability, and awareness are mandatory pulling hoop nets on a narrow craft like a kayak. A day can end very quickly (or worse) without constant attention to detail. With increasing wind and weather, the crab crawl fortunately picked up enough to where we got our share and paddled in with a variety of Dungeness and Red Rock Crab. After stacking our nets as quickly as possible, we changed in the wind and rain and made our way back to the “Ewok Forest” as I like to call Spike’s neighborhood. Back-to-back days took its toll on the body, but the reward certainly outweighed it all.
Next Recipe: Pacific Rim Crab Cakes with Sweet Chili Sauce
Honestly, the star of Dungeness is the Dungeness itself. Some drawn butter with lemon, a crab cracker and a bib are really all you need. But I know I’m not getting off that easy, so here’s a fun, creative appetizer you can share with friends, and also to use if you need to make a little go a long way. Fortunately, that wasn’t a problem for us, but if you have to purchase the crab and it’s expensive (as fresh Dungeness could be), that can often times be the case.
-Trout
