Lobster Hunting, Humm, is it worth it to me?

[IrnBear]

Hello All,

So my Daughter, Girlfriend and I get to do some night diving off the Magician Sept 27th... Woohoo

We really aren't hunters. I have always wanted to do some night dives off one of the Cali Boats and this is our opportunity.

If I decide to take advantage of Lobstering I would need to get a Non-Resident License and the Lobster tag $$$

Trying to decide if it is worth it (I will be happy with just night diving:cool2:
Questions:
If I hunt, what do I do with the lobsters ie: ice chest them live? Freeze when I get them to my parents in Riverside after the dives? How long do they hold if I freeze them? Diving Sat Night, If we plan to cook them Sun evening, do we just keep them in cooler or bag or? What is the best way to cook them?

Or, should I just enjoy the night diving?

Thank you in advance,

IrnBear

 

[red_instead]

Hello All,

So my Daughter, Girlfriend and I get to do some night diving off the Magician Sept 27th... Woohoo

We really aren't hunters. I have always wanted to do some night dives off one of the Cali Boats and this is our opportunity.

If I decide to take advantage of Lobstering I would need to get a Non-Resident License and the Lobster tag $$$

Trying to decide if it is worth it (I will be happy with just night diving:cool2:
Questions:
If I hunt, what do I do with the lobsters ie: ice chest them live? Freeze when I get them to my parents in Riverside after the dives? How long do they hold if I freeze them? Diving Sat Night, If we plan to cook them Sun evening, do we just keep them in cooler or bag or? What is the best way to cook them?

Or, should I just enjoy the night diving?

Thank you in advance,

IrnBear

Pretty sure you can get a one or two day non resident license (plus lobster card) and you should be OK- no need for the full shebang. Check your regs though.

Pretty sure the Magician has a live tank. You'd keep them in your catch bag until you get off the boat. You can transport them in your car/truck wrapped in wet burlap. Keep them cool and away from fresh water. You can freeze them whole (you're technically supposed to- no tailed lobsters) once you get back to the house.

If you're gonna cook them Sunday you can usually wrap them in wet burlap or the like and keep them in the fridge. Alternatively, you could stem them Saturday night, halve them, and throw the halves on the grill Sunday afternoon.

 

[undrwater]

It might be more fun just hovering and watching the others do the hunting. It is pretty amusing. Offer to hold a bag, or measure, or provide some other assistance and you might be gifted a lobster for your efforts.

I'm not a fan of the typical lobstering technique, but if I leisurely happen on a legal bug, have the right paperwork, and can nab it, I will.

 

[Buoy_A]

If I hunt, what do I do with the lobsters ie: ice chest them live? Freeze when I get them to my parents in Riverside after the dives? How long do they hold if I freeze them? Diving Sat Night, If we plan to cook them Sun evening, do we just keep them in cooler or bag or? What is the best way to cook them?

Maybe I should not say anything because I've never caught a lobster and I'm not really a fan of the meat, but I do know that lobster is notorious for going bad very quickly after it dies. So I'd say you should keep them alive on ice right up until the time you're going to cook them (and even longer...wink wink).

 

[lamarpaulski]

Lobster hunting is probably the single worst activity for real safe buddy-diving. Its hard to avoid being distracted or losing track of each other...I've seen people in a borderline frenzy and often you have to insert yourself into crevices to catch bugs. Air can go fast in all the excitement. You miss a lot of night creatures in the quest for the bugs. (I have been pretty guilty of having bug fever myself but I went to rehab.) All this at night under whatever dive conditions prevail. It kind of destroys the magic and calm of a good relaxing night dive imo. Three divers, at night, also makes an awkward enough team. Also, maybe I'm wrong, but the season usually starts in October.

I would just enjoy a unique dive experience with my loved ones and pop for a lobster dinner.

 

[IrnBear]

I had pretty much decided not Hunting would make for such a much better trip.
You folks helped solidify that plan.

Thank you for the thoughts and suggestions

IrnBear

 

[fnfalman]

Since that I don't care for lobster flesh, it's easy for me to not do any bug hunt. However, I've caught and released a few times just to see what the big deal is all about.

 

[lamarpaulski]

Season does start last weekend in Sept...my bad. Thought it was Oct. 1.

 

[keithbt]

Lobster season begins on the saturday following the last wednesday in september...just a little confusing...

 

[drbill]

I haven't taken a lobster in almost 40 years... but I'll eat one if my buddy does! I always dive with a camera so it limits my ability to capture anything except on "film." I still do take a few so I can get detailed footage of them underwater.