Here's a photo of the Rau boys out on the salt near Depoe Bay, OR. in 2006. Nate, Jason and I all grabbed seats on a charter for rock fish and ended up limiting out. It was eye-popping fun! The deepest we fished was about 150 feet. From that depth it is tough to feel the bottom, let a lone a take on your bait. When you do get one to the surface from that depth, the eyeballs pop out and bulge like that guy from the Andy Griffith Show. The lack of pressure on the surface lets those eyes come right out and stare at you as if to say, "See? See what you've done?". The best part is, that the swim bladder usually expands and sticks up through the throat and out of the mouth, like a big puffy tongue. So many of the fish we landed were giving us a dirty looks as we tossed'm in the keeper basket. The first time I fished off the Oregon Coast was when I was about 12. There was Dad, Jason and I, and two honeymooners who pretty much supplied the chum-slick for the entire trip. Back then the stock was so plentiful that each angler was allowed 9 rock fish and 4 Ling Cod per day. Today the limit is 5 rock fish (not including canary bass, which are now protected) and 1 Linger. I guess the fish population is going downhill (but still - 6 guys on a boat for 4 hours, limiting out with a total of 30 fish??? There are still LOTS of fish down there). We all paid a little extra to have some crab pots dropped before we started jigging. We ended up taking home 8 large crabs and shelled them on the dining room table at the condo. 
I don't know what it is about crabbing, but i love it - almost as much as I do fishing. Maybe it is because it can be pretty risky. I've seen serious flesh wounds as a result of poor crab handling. Those critters are constantly watching and waiting for the right moment to clamp down on something soft and fleshy. I bet a big toe looks mighty tempting to a crab. Anyway, its lots of fun and good to eat - a match made in Heaven. I've attempted to cast off the rocks at the condo at Depoe bay a couple of times, but never really gave it serious effort - just sort of killing time. But last summer I spent a couple of hours jigging a crippled herring off the rocks on a super calm day. A group of ladies gathered on one of the balconies of the condos and watched me for a while. My efforts paid off! I landed two small rock fish - one was a sea trout and the other was a baby linger (I think). The larger of the two was a 3 lb fish and is in the freezer.... still. The ladies on the balcony, who I think had been drinking, were ecstatic! They were on their feet cheering for me and actually wanted me to bring the fish up to them for their dinner. I respectfully declined and trotted in to show off my catch. We are heading to Seaside in March. Jason Richardson and i talked about a salmon charter. Hopeflly I'll have pictures of that to post. Tight lines.
I don't know what it is about crabbing, but i love it - almost as much as I do fishing. Maybe it is because it can be pretty risky. I've seen serious flesh wounds as a result of poor crab handling. Those critters are constantly watching and waiting for the right moment to clamp down on something soft and fleshy. I bet a big toe looks mighty tempting to a crab. Anyway, its lots of fun and good to eat - a match made in Heaven. I've attempted to cast off the rocks at the condo at Depoe bay a couple of times, but never really gave it serious effort - just sort of killing time. But last summer I spent a couple of hours jigging a crippled herring off the rocks on a super calm day. A group of ladies gathered on one of the balconies of the condos and watched me for a while. My efforts paid off! I landed two small rock fish - one was a sea trout and the other was a baby linger (I think). The larger of the two was a 3 lb fish and is in the freezer.... still. The ladies on the balcony, who I think had been drinking, were ecstatic! They were on their feet cheering for me and actually wanted me to bring the fish up to them for their dinner. I respectfully declined and trotted in to show off my catch. We are heading to Seaside in March. Jason Richardson and i talked about a salmon charter. Hopeflly I'll have pictures of that to post. Tight lines.
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