This report is a little over a week old. We went out on friday the 8th. The tide looked good to me. It was low at 02:52/5'2" going to a high at 7:50/ 9'8". So only a5'6" change. I think I have done best before a high with little flow. So we hit the water at Point Defiance at 04:45 and had pots down by 5:30. I let them soak for around an hour. Fished at 40/60/75/85 Ft. We were pulling soft males and females. I was starting to move most pots to the 80 ft area with one deeper (out to 140). By the time we hit the slack we had all pots in 80-85 with 7 red rock and 8 dung. As the flow increased on the ebb the crabbing dropped to where we were getting only a few or none, so we quit around 9:30 or 10.
We did get checked by WDFW on the water. I think I was doing what a lot of people do (not what the regs say to do)and pulling pots, checking and sorting crab, baiting pots and putting them back then cleaning up and marking the crab from that pull. As WDFW pulled up to the boat I had just pulled the 4th pot and dropped 3 7" dung in a bucket with all other crab from the pot going back in the water. That pot was in the boat but the other 3 pots were in the water. We had 2 crab marked from the pulls earlier in the morning. From the other 3 pots in this pull we had 3 crab in the fish box not marked yet. As there boat came up I told my wife to mark her card with those crab. I told them she had just marked the 5 in the fish box but the 3 that just got put in the bucket were not marked yet. They had no problem with the ones in the bucket not marked, the pot was still in the boat. But did warn us that they saw my wife mark her card and that should have already been marked before pots went back in. They did also check most of the crab, and or cards.
I will change what I do and all crab (or fish) will be marked before gear is reset. I hope this story helps someone to keep from getting more than a warning.

used old trout and salmon for bait. The crab liked the salmon best.

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