...Well, let's start with crabbing, followed by a full news trap.

Love Dungeness crabs, but stymied on both ends by sticker shock at the market's fish counter and the lack of a boat in the driveway?

Whoever said you need a boat? Or even a $10 or $20 bill?

Sure, boats offer wider access to crab grounds, but they're far from the only way to, umm, "skin" a crab.

Casey Lee Swayze of Happy Valley spent much of his life on the Oregon Coast, honing his shellfish skills as a land-lubber.

He's founded a rapidly growing Facebook page, Oregon Coastal Crabbing and Shellfish, aimed specifically at those without boats and with a pot-full of helpful tips, maps and tidal advice to help newbies create a crab salad of their own.

In just two years, the page has attracted 76,000 members and will celebrate its second annual "Crabbing Mania" in Newport, on Oct. 25, centered on the bay's long crabbing pier (south shore below the bridge, east side) and supported by local and Oregon businesses and the City of Newport.

Just about every estuary on the Oregon Coast, from the Necanicum at Seaside south to Brookings, has bank or pier access to crabbing, both for pots and for a wide variety of traps cast with hook and line. Even bays without piers - Netarts, Siletz, e.g. - have access from the beach or shoreline.

"It's a great way to crab for single parents, kids, or anyone without a boat," Swayze said.

Helpful information is also found on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's shellfish website.

A Note: While crabs key in on carcasses of salmon, tuna and bottomfish, so do sea lions, and those using wire pots with fish parts for bait might pull up twisted messes.

The good news is that crabs also love, LOVE, chicken legs, turkey necks, upland bird carcasses and deer bones (season began today, BTW), none of which attract pinnipeds.

Hunting access in shutdown: Those wondering about others afield for this weekend's opening of deer season can be somewhat at ease at reports from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife that access to most public federal lands (USFS, BLM) will continue during the federal stoppage.

However, managers warn, hunters may find water sources turned off and restrooms closed.

Razor clams: Digging has reopened 24-7 on Oregon's Clatsop County beaches and Washington will begin a seven-day dig Monday evening. Minus tides occur during dark evening hours for the coming week.

Willamette Valley reservoir fishing: There may be plenty of trout available, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is warning anglers about drought-caused (mostly) low levels and closed boat ramps.

Check the district's news release before heading out.

Bottomfish limits: A general reduction to three daily is the hope of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to keep the offshore season open through the end of the year.

Public meetings for 2026 regulations begin Monday.

Huh? In August and September, fish counters at Willamette Falls recorded six walleye joining thousands of coho salmon headed upriver.

That was followed by an unverified (except on the internet, of course) report of at least one walleye caught by a coho angler off the mouth of the Tualatin River.

"Hot" date! In August, Oregon State Police fish and wildlife troopers in Pendleton acted on a tip someone spotted on an internet dating app - a sturgeon immersed in water in a bathtub.

Troopers were "able to contact the female subject who posted the photo by phone," according to an account in the division's August report.

"She gave various stories of the photo and when questioned about it, she hung up and stopped answering calls.

"Hours later, she called and confessed to catching the sturgeon and ... explained she was unaware of the type of fish and drove it home wrapped in a wet blanket in the backseat of her car from Irrigon to Hermiston, where she put in her bathtub (after) she could not find a large enough fish tank on Amazon.

"...so she loaded it back up in the car and released it back in the river. She advised she saw men on the dating app posting photos of fish, so she decided to add a photo of the fish she caught."

Numerous charges have been forwarded to a district attorney's office.