A Nice Fat Bug

Is what I wish for

[FONT=&quot]February 22, 2011 [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Time for some exploring.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Well if you didn’t know, it’s still lobster season out in California. And for a while now I’ve been meaning to check out a sweet looking reef in an area that I hardly ever frequent. When I first spotted it in the daytime a few short months ago I thought to myself, now that reef could hold some bugs on it. So after putting off the dive, but keeping it on the backburner, tonight I finally decided to dive it.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]And well... unfortunately... I failed at finding the reef. In the daytime it just seemed so easy to find, but I guess nighttime and being out in the deeper water was enough to foil my chance at finding it. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]So instead I changed my course and swam north, determined to keep going till I found something. A chance for halibut, reefs with bugs, or even a lone wsb was on my mind as I wondered through the empty sand. After a long swim and thanks to a white buoy on the horizon I found a house sized reef with some bugs on it. It was nothing big, but within minutes I grabbed a 2lb bug that was literally on the crawl, just trucking along on the top of a flat rocky reef. Picked him up mid crawl, which he wasn’t too happy about, but back on the surface as I looked down at him in my hands I decided he wasn't worth it. I watched as he flipped back down to the murky depths below. You see I had promised myself I wouldn't take anything unless it was big. Also that and I wasn't wearing my lobster bag. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Done with that reef and with no monsters spotted I traveled on further north to scour an area where I had found my first monster bug. I even found his old hole. Now I've heard people say that when you pull a big bug out of a hole then in the next year or so another big bug will have taken up residence in that very same hole. Well I really hoped that this was true, but peering into the hole I was only greeted by four small scared undersized lobsters hanging on to the walls of the cave. Oh well so much for that theory. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Still there was more reef to cover so I continued my search. Found lots of crevices with bugs that kept scooting back into the depths of their holes never to be seen again. The amount of lobsters was reassuring, even if most were borderline legals and too far back to grab. By now I was popping my head in every crack I could find, just to see what’s there. Then in one crack which I could barely squeeze half of my body into just to get a view…. I saw something! Three bugs all bunched together at the back of a cave. It was the middle one that immediately caught my eye. A fat 6-7 lb bug! Jackpot! But I couldn't reach him. At most the end of that small cave was only 2-3 feet away from my hand, which was right where those three bugs sat. Off to the right was a deeper hole but to get to it the lobsters had to move closer to me to get into it. Now the crack I was wedged in was angled in a way where I probably could have touched a foot of the bug but not reach the bulk of it. But at the moment I wasn't positioned correctly to touch the bug so I retreated for more air and to calm my nerves. However not before grabbing a rock that was in my way and moving it to the side, hoping to block that big bug’s exit. Of course it wasn't much of a blockade. So as I floated there on the surface, my heart pounding, I had visions of the bug crawling away to freedom, pass through my mind like an ominous slideshow. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Twenty seconds later my heart still pounding, but not as fast as before I dove back down. This time I would angle myself right so I could at least touch the bug. Down I go into the crack. I angle myself right and as I reached to touch the monster I see him move his body to the side in panic. I thought, this could be good, as I stretched out my hand. But before I could even touch a single leg he kicks it into overdrive, flapping his tail like mad! 7lbs of lobster smacks straight into my face. My mask fills with water and I grab by instinct at the massive bug on my head. I got him! There's no way he's getting out of my hands now! I quickly reverse wiggle my way out of the hole and head to the surface with the prize I was looking for, for the better part of the night. Now back on the surface stoked by my catch, but not as stoked to the idea of having to swim back to my entry point all the while holding on to this monster bug in my hands. It almost made me want to drop the lobster back in his hole. But then I’m not that kind of guy XD Plus the only home for a Laguna bug is at my home XD And with that resolve I repositioned Mr. Bug so he'd clamp on to my chest. With only one kick of protest the entire ride back we both found our way home together ;)[/FONT]

Glad you guys liked the report. I've been slacking off on writing any this year, but felt like writing something this time around.

Quote from bward

Nice Daniel. If I wasn't so damn lazy I would be out there with you. So this was a solo mission?

Yep it was a solo mission. Thinking back right now every single bug four pounds or over I've grabbed has been on a solo mission. I guess on solo missions I get to stay out as long as I like. Most group dives I go on end much sooner than I would prefer. And besides Alex and one or two other people, most people I've dove with (at night) are too afraid or lazy to dive where I like to dive.

Quote from Bamz

This explains all the pics of Sea Life on your head :laughing3: Thats using your head!

:laughing3::D

Quote from Ryddragyn

Daniel invited me, but gainful employment sucks sometimes.:rolleyes1:

You rolled with me on Monday Alex :rolleyes1: and we've got another dive planned next week.

Oh I'm going to try preserving the lobster the same way you did. I'll see how well that'll turn out soon. Got him sitting in a rubbing alcohol bath right now. His antennae were too big for the bucket so I'll probably have to rehydrate them later and bend them back into shape.

Quote from Diesel

when you dive at night do you use an underwater flashlight? How do you navigate where you are going in the night anyway?

I always use an underwater flashlight at night. I wouldn't be able to see anything without it. Sometimes I even bring my underwater flashlight on day dives. It helps to look into dark holes where the sun never shines.

As far as navigating to the reefs at night it's not that hard. In California most of the reefs are located very close to shore, most you can swim to without the need of a boat. And luckily in SoCal there's plenty of lit up houses to help you tell how far away you've traveled from shore.

Quote from Diesel

aren't you afraid of sharks at night?

We just don't have any aggressive sharks that live near the shoreline in Southern California. So day or night I'm never afraid of getting bit by a shark. It's just a non issue out here.