It's lobster season again

I'm liking this lobster season so far XD

For this lobster opener I went out to Catalina Island with Josh on his dad's "yacht". It was my first time spearfishing in Catalina Island and first time diving from a "yacht". Even if the conditions weren't good I knew this was going to be a fun trip.

We left early Friday afternoon to stake out our spot and hit the midnight opening of lobster season. Josh's dad wanted to park his boat on the spot before anyone else. Of course plenty other people had the same idea. There were at least 3 other boats parked near our lobster spot by mid afternoon and by sunset I saw 6 boats parked within eyesight. It was pretty crowded considering how small a spot it was.

But looking down on the water just made my day. It was a clear 40-50 feet of visibility. I could see everything out there. I've dove the California coastline all year round and it's never been this clear. I was just so stoked to be in the water. Calicos swimming all over the place, not too many sheephead, sargos, a lot of non game reef fish, and a whole lot of bait fish. It was like swimming in an aquarium.

After a short afternoon dive I shot a nice sized calico for dinner. After cooking it we wrapped the meat in a tortilla and melted cheese all over it. Perfect meal to hold us over till midnight.

Midnight hit and we rushed out to jump in the water. But before we could reach our spot the hoopnetters started dumping their traps in the exact spot we were aiming for. I couldn't believe how close they were moving their boats to the rocks at night. One mistake and they'd have a huge hole in their boats. They seriously wanted those bugs.

By the time I got to the spot the vast majority of bugs seemed to be gone, either on the crawl from the smell of bait, scooped up by the hoopnetters, or scared away by Josh since he got a head start on me. And to make things worse the swell had picked up and the vis on the inside was only a murky 10ft. This was going to be a tougher night than I though.

Halfway through the dive I grabbed a couple bugs just sitting on the ground between two flat rocks. 15 minutes later I looked in a hole and saw the tail of one bug pointing towards me. I just reached in and pulled it without the bugger ever spotting me That was a real delicate grab and I was pretty stoked I nabbed him.

Maybe 1.5-2 hours had passed. So I went over to checking up on Josh and his dad. Josh had grabbed a monster 4.5lb bug in a spot he'd staked out in the daytime, as well as 4 other bugs. Josh's dad had only grabbed one.

We all agreed this spot was spent and we needed to try somewhere else.

Once we jumped in at the next spot we all started kicking ourselves in the mental butt. The bugs were everywhere and the vis was top to bottom! You could see bugs crawling on the sand, the bare rocks, the eel grass, and within grabbing distance inside holes. And bugs weren't the only thing to be had at this spot. In one hole Josh must have found a monster fish, because he kept repeating he'd seen a "world record sized calico". Which made me really want to see this sucker! He pointed down and I dove straight for a hole, but looking inside all I saw was a couple short lobsters. But this reef wasn't too big so I knew that fish was still somewhere in the area. In addition to the calico Josh said he'd also seen a pair of monster rockfish almost the same size in another hole. This spot was getting better and better in my mind.

Less than an hour in to the dive and Josh max's out his limit, says see yah, and swam back to the boat to get some shut eye. I get my limit less than an hour later, but stuck it out with Josh's dad so he'd have company in the water. He finally hit his limit by 6:20am and we all called it a night. Or more like morning :rolleyes1: since you could see the sunrise peaking over the ocean.

Here's a pic of our 3 lobster limits.

By 10:45am we wake up and Josh's dad says this spot has even better vis in the daytime. I would have slept in, but he was so amped to get in the water it made me want to jump out of bed and suit up.... which I did

We all jumped in the water and said big fish wins the prize (the prize being bragging rights). So I grab my 100cm rob allen and wish that I brought along a shorter gun for those monster fish Josh had found in those holes. But before that I searched the sand from the surface in 30ft of water. Spotted one baby halibut and a baby guitarfish, but that's it. So I headed off to the reef.

Shone my light in a dozen holes looking for a fish. Most holes had a few lobsters in them, but not a single rockfish to be seen. After a while I popped my head in one hole and I see this monster face staring back at me. It almost looked like a grouper! But I knew instinctively that this had to be the calico Josh was going crazy over last night. With the angle of my gun not even close to the shooting position I quietly went back to the surface for air. Stretching my arms out I was able to hold the gun in a firing position while holding the tip close to my body. Back down I go and just like a grouper that big old bass is sitting in the same position looking at me in the hole. Point, shoot, and pull! And there I had it my personal best California Calico. It wasn't a world record like Josh had said, but it was a monster. Got him less than 15 minutes from the end of the dive. On the way back Josh and his dad were pretty stoked on my catch. Would have been Josh's personal best if he had found it first. But finder's keepers :D:thumbsup2:

Two days later on October 3rd. Josh sends me a text at 10pm that says he's got a Laguna Lobster Limit! I had all my gear in the car, while driving back from class, but reading a text like that was just something I couldn't ignore. Josh added in the spot location, so I said to myself that's where I'm going!

Jumped in the water and the bugs were sure crawling. Took me 2.5 hours to suit up, grab some bugs, and get back to my car. My favorite grabs were the couple of lobsters that hid under the sea weed. You'd be swaying your light back and forth and then you'd see that glimmer of orange shine under a bundle of seaweed. Looking down I could see there was a definite legal bug sitting right below me. But the kelp was in the way. As the swell moved back and forth there would be that one short moment were the bug would be completely exposed. You had to time it just right or you could get your hand stuck in the kelp and spook the bug. Once he flicks his tail it's all over. But I timed it right and got a solid grab on its back. Wrapped him around and squeezed him against my body.

Well 6 more grabs and I got my Laguna Lobster Limit.

Great way to start the season off. Two days of diving and two lobster limits :thumbsup2:

Quote from LunkerBuster

As always a great report w amazing pics. I never never feel like your pics are boring. Always new and interesting

I try

Quote from Nate

Nice bugs. Have you ever had the east coast's version of spiny lobster to make a taste comparison?

No I've never have. But I have talked to a friend recently that has eaten california, florida, and main lobsters and swears that main lobsters taste the sweetest and the best.

Quote from Don Paul

I would agree with that statement, but that fall and winter water sure is a bitch in a 5mil.:D

Great report as always. That Starbucks spot was a wee bit red the other nite...I just did some catch and release for practice.;) I can't wait to get to the island next week.

Is Tail still using the Pursuit mast he won at the OC Freedvers meeting ? I thought he's brain was a little too big for it to fit well.
Cheers, Don

That's why I wear a 7mil suit, nice and warm. ha well that and I trashed my 5mil suit from all the bugging I did last season. There's a hole every couple of inches on the top vest.

On spearboard I heard of at least one person getting sick from diving in the red tide. He must have swallowed too much red tide saltwater :nono::D

haha I want to reply back with something funny about Josh, but I better not since he is my dive partner. I asked Josh about the mask and he said gave it to his little sister. She used it when they dove for abalone up in Mendocino.

Round three - Laguna Beach

Well I didn’t plan or particularly want to dive Laguna Beach yesterday, but Josh called me up and said he’s diving tonight (10/7/2011) so I said, “Why not?”

I knew conditions weren’t going to be optimal. Surfline.com was reading 4-5ft of surf with occasional 6ft sets rolling in. But I drove out anyways.

Down on the beach I could tell this was no beginner’s dive. Waves were a little on the large size and swell looked like it had some strength to it. It could be a pretty rough night; all depends on what the conditions are like underwater.

Still I was just glad I was diving with Josh. Not that he’d save me or anything if something went wrong. It’s just nice to dive with someone who keeps a positive attitude in less than stellar conditions.

Well we jumped in. And I was soon reminded why I loved my longblade fins so much, because the swell was pretty strong. Yanked is the word I would describe the feeling of the swell pulling me through the water. It wasn’t so bad 90% of the time. It was just those extra large sets had the strength to really pull you through the water, +15ft at a time. I forgot the details, but Josh had a pretty close call with one of the sets.

But ignoring that, we headed out to the right reef. Almost before we reached our spot I grabbed a lone bug out on the crawl. It was short, but a crawling bug is always a good sign.

I laughed a little after I tossed the bug away and it swam straight into Josh 20ft away. Those things are like torpedoes in the water.

We reached the spot and soon split up in search of our limit.

After a few dives without seeing any legals I moved out to deeper water and noticed the commercial traps were out. I’m always curious to see what they caught so I dove on top of one. The metal cage was pretty empty except for one small legal bug crawling around inside. Scanning around the trap I soon noticed that wasn’t the only bug, another one was clawing on the outside of the cage trying to find its way in. I figured he’d fit better in my bag than in the cage. So I went in for the scoop. First legal of the night!

Grabbed another bug in shallow and went back to see how Josh was doing. He said he’d missed a bunch of legal bugs because of the rough conditions, but that he had 2 bugs as well.

Well the night was still early so we split up again. After that I started picking up one bug after another. Caught a couple 2.5lb sized bugs in two separate areas, both had wedged themselves on the rocky bottom out in the open away from any hole. Hardest part about grabbing them was hovering over their bodies without letting the swell pull me away.

Further into the dive I glanced to my left and saw three nice bugs sitting on top of a ledge next to a thick bundle of kelp. But as soon as I got a good look at them the swell moved in, pushing a kelp strand over their bodies. It completely covered them. All I could see was green seaweed waving about. Took a little bit of patience and some breath holding, but the swell soon reversed itself, pulling back their protective curtain to reveal 3 spiny bodies still sitting on top of that same ledge. Before those three amigos could figure out what I was up to, I reached out and grabbed the nearest one. Another legal in the bag.

Well I kept at it until I reached my limit. With a bag full of bugs I smiled thinking, “Seven less bugs for the MLPA.” Then I swam back to Josh to see how he’d done. His catch had increased by one, but Josh said he’d seen over his limit of legals on this dive. It was just that every time he went in for a nab the swell got in his way and he missed. That happened to me a couple times tonight too. Kinda unavoidable on a night like tonight.

So we called it quits and headed back to shore. 3 hours of diving and some nice bugs. Can't ask for anything more than that on a night dive :thumps:

Another Laguna Limiit

Couple more pics of my recent lobster diving

22 bugs in one cooler on a trip to Catalina with Josh's family.

2nd biggest bug from last week's night dives in Laguna Beach

Prehistoric Bug found in Southern California - YouTube

Long ass report of the dive.

Ha well I got a call from my friend Alex (ryddragyn) asking me if I wanted to go on a late night bug hunt somewhere in soon to be closed Laguna Beach area. So far I’ve said yes to every possible Laguna Beach lobster dive this season and today was not going to be an exception. So of course my answer was, "Let's get some!"

In the mean time I got a call from Ethan Kills asking about joining him on a Laguna bug dive earlier that night. Kinda sucks, but I had to turn him down since I already promised Alex I’d dive with him. If I had a dive watch to monitor the time I’d be able to double up on the dives, but the only dive watch I owned died long ago. So I gave Ethan a bunch of possibly bug spots, but the only spot he wanted to know was the one spot I wasn’t giving up for anything. That’s cause Alex and me were diving it

Time flies forward and before I know it I’m standing on the beach, geared up, and ready to go. Looking out I see the waves calmly tumble waist high down to the cold hard sand. The moon above is doing its best disappearing act; filling the canopy of clouds above with darkness. There was a calm and peaceful air about this night. Not a soul in sight save for Alex and myself. It felt like we had reserved the perfect dive all for ourselves.

By now I was getting a little excited to jump in the water. I hadn’t dove this spot for over half a year. I had a bit of luck last year so I was pretty curious to see if the bugs were still around. Of course looking over to Alex I could tell he was even more excited than me. This was his first lobster dive of the season and his first dive since his neck injury. He was more than ready to say the least.

So we jump in and right away I notice the vis is pretty muddy, but the further out we go the clearer it gets. Soon we have 15+ vis and it’s hunting time. Scouring my light over rocks and seaweed I spend at least 15 minutes searching barren expanses of reef only to find a couple bugs. And when I say a couple of bugs I mean a couple of very very small bugs. I didn’t even want to touch them they were that small. With a little discouragement in my gut I swing over to Alex to see if he’s done any better. No luck there. He says he’s only saw two bugs and both were short as well.

Hmmmm.. I said, “I don’t think the bugs are crawling much tonight. I’ve barely seen anything” And thinking to myself, weird I thought there were more bugs on this reef, maybe I took them all last season?

Moving on I gazed below as a couple of large sting rays, well over 50lbs, fly above the reef. I marveled at them for a while and then my vision narrowed. I noticed a crack deep below, where the batray had just floated past. Once he disappeared I dove straight to the bottom and scanned around in a semi circle, but no dice. Nothing was home. So I headed back up for air and without warning my head bumps hard into something that felt thick and meaty. Oh shit! … I shake my head. That has to be that damned ray. I kicked some more and halfway to the surface I felt lucky as hell. Thoughts of searing pain were washing away. Thank God I didn’t get stung! I reached for the surface and gulped in a fresh breath of air. Alex, who was floating next to me, laughed and joked, “Looked like that batray was humping you underwater!” I just laughed back and said let’s keep diving.

More scouring of the area and then I see it! The most promising looking trench yet is just ahead of me, partially hidden under the swaying kelp. I could tell this was a bug hotel with just one glance. Not wanting to scare any potential bugs in the area, I shine my light off to the side and work on breathing up. Half a dozen breaths later and I’m ready, the kelp sways back, and down I go. Reaching the bottom I swing my light over to see a little one crawl a couple feet off to my left. Swinging the light further up I see a real nice bug clinging vertically to the rock wall. Quick as can be I swoop in for the grab. Got her! Holding her in my hands I thought, “That’s a pretty thick tail on this one.” Unfortunately after measuring her up I had to stamp it with the phrase, “practically legal”. The fact that her shell had just molted made it really hard to gauge if she was 100% legal. The end of its carapace was all flimsily and the water chop wasn’t helping the measuring process much. So instead of taking the risk I just chucked her back, knowing there’d always be more bugs where that came from.

Soon I’m passing over a field of eel grass. Sometimes I find bugs pretending to hide underneath the grass, just clinging there with out any plans of moving. So as I passed overhead, I kept my eyes peeled for that one bug hiding under the swaying weeds. I scanned a bunch of barren grassy reef before deciding to switch strategies and swim out to the deeper reefs. I thought instead of scanning from the surface I’d try diving to the bottom and work my way around. Who knows, maybe there’d be a bug clinging to the wall or scurrying around somewhere. A couple dives down and that strategy was the winning ticket! I grabbed my first legal of the night. It was just walking along the bottom of a ravine. Scooped him up as soon as I saw him and shoved him in my bag.

I yelled over to Alex, “Hey Alex I grabbed one! Check it out!” But with no response. It looked like he was out of earshot. I just shrugged my shoulders. It’s not like I found a big bug so I’ll just keep diving. Another ten minutes of diving and I didn’t see much. Then Alex swings by and I let him know I found one. He’s still at zero count on his bug total. With such low numbers between the two of us we’re quick to end our chat and get back to the hunt.

I decide it’s about time I swam over to the end of the reef to see what’s over there. Just as I reach the edge of the reef I spot a clearly legal lobster sitting in a small plate sized indentation near the top. Looks like there’s a hole just behind him, which warned me he could scoot back to safety anytime he wanted to. So diving down into position, floating right above the bug, I watch his dangling antennae and think, “Wait for it… wait for it..... now!” Hands go out and I’ve pinned the bug to the ground. Pulled him up, measured his back, and shoved him in my bag. That’s 2 down!

Awesome maybe I should go tell Alex where I got this one. There might be more in the area that he could nab. I start to swim over, but his light is pretty far away and halfway through my journey I realize that it’s going to be pretty dang hard finding that same spot again with Alex being as far away as he is. With a fleeting glance I look up at Alex one last time and then decide to head off in a different direction so I don’t scare any of the bugs in his area.

Now I’ve dove this area before so I knew of one hole in specific that held the biggest bug I’ve ever grabbed off this reef. It wasn’t huge, but it was well over legal. So I thought why not find that same hole? Maybe there was another big bug that took up residence there.

Swimming over I could tell this was the spot. Memories of chasing down a 4lb bug, crawls back into my mind as I dive down and plop my head in to the crack. Two beady eyes stare back at me and I know those are not the eyes I wanted to see. It’s just a run of the mill undersized lobster. Ah well. Even though this hole is a bust, I still have a good feeling about this area. I was seeing more bugs, albeit undersized bugs on the way over. So I continue my search.

Just 20ft away I strike orange gold! Diving down I found a desk sized gully with half a dozen lobster mulling around like this was their little play room. At first glance the four in the middle all yell out to me, “We’re legal!” But it’s the big one in the middle that grabs all of my attention. I did notice the rest and I’d love to catch all four of them, but I know this is a one shot deal. Once I go in they’re all going to scatter. So I zero in on the big one standing at the center and plunge in for the grab. The groups switches to an uncertain and nervous crawl as my hands reach out for one of their buddies. The big one spins around, unsure of where to go and that’s when I nabbed him! Got him! It was a seriously nice bug; had to be over 2 ½ pounds. I’ve only grabbed one, maybe two bugs this size this season. So these suckers really get me excited! Holding him up I was stoked. Didn’t matter what I found the rest of the night this sucker made it all worthwhile. Plopped him in my bag and I was ready for the next one.

Now I was really digging this spot. Seeing so many legals at once filled me with optimism and I knew I had to look for those other three legals I had just scared. Diving back down to the same hole I glanced around and could feel the bleak rocky expanse sink into my optimism. The room was empty. But then, way off in the corner, I could see a couple pairs of antennae sticking out from inside a hole. A ha! That’s where they were hiding! I swam on over, but when I went in for a peak all I could see were undersized bugs. Those larger bugs had wisely chosen to get as far back as possible after that initial scare. Ah well, there’s still plenty of reef to search and I’m sure to find some more bugs on the crawl.

Within minutes it’s like day ja vu. I find another table sized gully and the same amount of legal bugs scurrying about out like this was their favorite spot to chill out. I eyed the closest one, snatched him up, and scored my third legal of the night!

This spot was awesome! Not only did I have 3 bugs in my bag, but I’d already seen my full limit of legal lobsters. You can bet I’ll be checking this reef out again before the season’s over with.

But forget the future, I bet there’s more reef up ahead that’s just as productive right now. Keeping my eyes peeled and my anticipation under control, I swam on ahead looking for the next signs of bugs.

A few more yards and I noted that the vis was failing. I was having a harder time making out the reef from the surface so I opted to just dive down to the bottom and scope out the surroundings from underwater. As I hit the bottom of the reef with my knees I glanced up. A flat rock wall stretched upwards to my right. Hmmm.... nothing of interest there. Scanning ahead there was a cave with somethi-OH FREAKIN SHIT!!! My eyes nearly popped out of my mask! That’s the freaking biggest bug I’ve ever seen!!!! Just up ahead sitting in a cave barely wide enough for me to squeeze into, there sat a freaking monster of a bug. Only five feet in and he hasn’t even spotted me! This was too good to be true! I didn’t even bother to calm my nerves I just headed straight for that monster.

Diving right into the cave both, hands forward, I couldn’t wait to grab that bug. Without moving an inch he stands his ground and within seconds I’m right on top of him. Both hands greedily cover the bug and the beast wakes from its slumber. Tail flaps, legs crawl, pincers poke this thing is alive! I try to get a good grip on him, but then I feel my lobster bag snag on part of the cave and the beginning of panic strikes me. The lights are flashing in my mind “Danger Danger”! Fear of getting stuck pops up in my mind in a split second. Like an instantaneous reaction I feel for my air supply. It’s there and with plenty to air to spare. Confidence and reassurance flood my thoughts and all my focus returns to the bug. Now I knew, one way or another, I was getting out of this cave and I sure as hell wasn’t leaving without this bug! Grabbing on tight against its carapace I tugged him off the rocks and finally I have him in my hands.

Wiggling my way backwards my lobster bag scraps against the caves and soon unsnags itself. With nothing holding me back I bolt strait to the surface as excited as ever. Breached the surface and screamed out a bunch of hell yahs, f***, oh shit, awesome, and so much more. I can tell, just by the feel, that this lobster is well above any lobster I’ve ever grabbed in my lifetime. I don’t even want to look down to see it with my own eyes for fear of losing the beast. And the thought of throwing him in my bag is the last thing I would ever want to do. This guy is just too freakin huge!

Yelling over to Alex, who’s nowhere in sight, “Haha! Alex you’ve got to check this out! It’s freaking huge!” Swimming over and still excitedly yelling a bunch of hell yahs I see Alex’s light appear off in the distance. He’s definitely heard my calls and is on his way. The bug is clinging to me on one hand and with my other hand I’ve pinned him down. No way is he escaping now. But man, grabbing hold of the tail I’m amazed at how I can’t even grasp half of its circumference. This guy is huge!

Alex finally arrives and takes one look at the bug. I couldn't hear what he said, but he’s acting like it’s no big surprise. Ha, I guess I catch so many large bugs it’s no big deal to other people by now, but to me this guy is something to get excited over.

I sure as hell wasn’t expecting to catch a bug this size on this night dive. I mean I had heard of large bugs being pulled from this area in the past, but the same could be said about the entire city of Laguna Beach back in the day. I was just content to get wet tonight. I didn’t even care if I got skunked. But that’s what I love about the ocean, you never know what you’re going to find. You could get skunked one day, get limits the next, or run across a huge find once in a blue moon. This was my blue moon.

After a quick rundown of how we both did for the night I find out Alex still has zero bugs in his bag. So I pointed to where I caught most of my bugs and told Alex I’d float here and wait for him to finish up the dive. I was done for the night.

So after Alex left I continued silently floated there for a while with my prized bug in hand. Slowly I maneuvered him around so he was hugging my chest. His tail stopped flapping, but his legs continued to pinch right through my suit, scraping at my skin. I haven’t checked it yet, but I wouldn’t doubt if that guy cut up my suit with all the digging and poking he was doing. And to make matters worse his legs kept trying to grab at my belt, which I pushed down out of his reach. I really feared he’d pull off my weight belt. It’s actually happened to me in the past, no joke. One good grab by the lobster and I’d be scrambling to keep a hold of everything, my weight belt, lobster bag, light, as well as that big old bug on my chest. But luckily he never got a hold of my belt and that was one crisis averted.

Minutes pass and Alex returns with his first legal of the season. I said, “That’s great Alex, hey you want to go look for more?” With the skunk off him Alex says he’s ready to go and he can tell I’m ready as well.

With Alex’s help I decide to swim through the shoreline bug in hand. Alex takes my light so it won’t bang against my bug in the surf and now I’m set. I start to swim in crossing my fingers that everything would be alright. Reaching the shallow sand I turn to stand up in the water. Alex yells, “Wave!” I glance up and quickly scuttle backwards. In moments I’m past the wave and past the turbulence, standing on dry land, bug in hand.

I could finally breath a sigh of relief. I had him. I had the monster of my dreams.

Pic of the bug in my 100 Quart cooler

Got to say thanks to Alex. I wasn't planning on diving that night and little in the way of plans of diving that spot in the future. So thanks Alex for calling me up and bringing me to an awesome spot with an awesome lobster!

Quote from Tailsurfer

Alright... I was gonna surf tommorrow, but srew that... I want some bugs... I haven't got a limit in a while and its time. You down?

:laughing3: Too many lobster pics for you to handle?

Sure I'm down. What time you thinking of diving? Just send me a text or pm.