not a lobster story

for reals

It's a well known fact that lobster are assholes. They hide during the day and somehow change from gigantic ones to ones that are two millimeters short when you are measuring them. If you aren't quick they scurry away from you and laugh while they are safe in their caves. I've gotten a few this year but I figured it might be a good idea to start looking for some things that can't run away from me and might be easier to catch.

My boat has been in storage for a while and I made the excuse that I needed to run it, I anxiously watched the swell and wind models and figured I'd give it a shot friday. Since my buddies couldn't make it and I had a party to go to that night I figured I'd make a short run for a half day to one of the spots that's going to be closed by the MPA's. A glutton for punishment, I had gone bug diving the night before, so that morning when my alarm went off at 4.30 am I immediately groaned before rolling out of bed.

In short time I had my gear packed, the boat loaded and I was bouncing down the freeway. I launched my boat and headed out to one of my favorite soon to be closed kelp beds. The visibility had gone down but I searched in vain for some late season halibut, none showed so it was off to another spot. My wife's family loves fresh reef fish so I was looking for some sargo or halibut or maybe perch, white seabass would be a long shot during this time of the year. Most of the coast was pretty dead, only a little bait showed in the chilly water and even the opaleye were hard to find on most of the reefs. I finally sighted a school of sargo and gave a false croak, some of them turned slightly and I clicked off a shot with the wong hybrid and had my first fish on the stringer. In a short while a few other fish joined the stringer and then I started making drops into the sand beds.

I'm getting better at spotting halibut and as I wound my way through the waving kelp I noticed a mouth in the sand. Halibut! I couldn't make out the tail but I studied the distance between the eyes and knew it was legal, backed off and again the wong twitched. The halibut exploded from the sand and made a short run, in no time I was on it and dispatched it. I smiled because I knew it would make a fine dinner and I had already planned on having some stir fry with fried halibut mixed in!

I dropped my fish into the fish bag and added some ice, then I moved to a series of reef at yet another spot. Small sheephead followed me around curiously pecking at the hard substrate while opaleye darted through the openings. They were safe, I was looking for something very specific and my guns were on the boat. It took a while but eventually I saw the orange smile I was looking for. Scallops! One of my favorite seafood dishes, I absolutely love scallops, even more than lobster. I love scallops raw, grilled, fried, pretty much any way you prepare them they are delicious.

It took me a while but eventually I had my limit, I looked at my stufffed game bag with satisfaction and then fired up my whaler and made my way back to the dock.

Dinner tonight was fantastic, I did a simple recipe of halibut (fish and chip style), had some raw scallop, grilled scallop in olive oil/garlic, and even fried up the scallop lips (the outer part of the scallop, you don't want to eat any of the gonads/stomach because they contain toxins) into fried clams!

The batter fish recipe is simple:
3/4 cup white flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp garlic salt
1 TB white vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup mixed italian herbs (if you have it)
cut your fish into small chunks and dip it into the mix, then fry until crisp. I also fried the scallop lips in this mix.

Grilled Scallops:
simply heat up olive oil and add chopped garlic. Once the garlic has fried a bit add your scallop buttons and sprinkle with garlic salt/parsley flakes. When the scallops turn from clearish to opaque they are done.

Stir Fry:
heat up olive oil in a wok/pan. Add chopped garlic and about 1tsp grated ginger and fry. Add brocolli or whatever vegetables you want. Add 1TB fish sauce (from asian markets), 1/2 cup oyster sauce, 1/2 chopped jalipeno, 1/2 julianne cut onion and 1/2 head of cabbage and stir fry until vegetables are done. Add your fried halibut to the mix and let it soak in the juices.