Lobster Season!

Just paid online for my Spiny Lobster Report Card and hopefully it will arrive before the end of the month when lobster season starts.

I picked up a Promar Ambush net and accessories at the fishing show and it's been sitting in a corner, waiting for the season to start.

It's big compared to the tube, so I'm going to work with it this weekend when I've got the tube set up for cleaning and see how I'm going to haul it. If all else fails, I can use a couple of empty milk jugs as floats and tow it. A bucket behind me to hold the bait going out and the lobster coming back and I think that's all the special gear I will need.

I've got my white 360 degree navigation light coming and I can mount it at the back end of the CastMate so that's covered. I've already got a good waterproof flashlight and headlight, so I'll have plenty of light when needed.

I'm thinking South Shore for launching. 24 hr. parking, so no problem staying out as late as I want and plenty of rocky habitat close to the ramp. Head out at sunset, fish while the net sits for a couple of hours and then see what happens.

If nothing else, it will be an adventure and I'm sure the video of me trying to not look freaked out will be hilarious.

I have two weeks to get psyched up... I think I'm going to need it

I have been doing the spiny lobster stuff for many years. Please read all of the rules and sign your card prior to dropping the hoop. $425. 00 is the fine for not filling out your card prior to catching anything. Pier F is a great spot to try. Good luck.

Thanks! I tend to be pretty obsessive about new things and I've definitely read the regulations carefully, even the new changes for this year. The season starts at 6:00 am this year instead of at midnight like all previous years and you just know that they are going to be writing tickets wholesale at South Shore with that one.

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I went to a hoop netting talk by the Jim Salazar and the Promar guys and it was a good reminder that as always, safety needs to be the guiding principal for the whole deal.

I've decided I'm going to bungie cord the net to a boogie board and tow it. That will also give me a platform to rest the net on when I bring it up and keep any toothy or hopefully spiny critters away from the tube. Evidently moray eels, who live in the same places lobster do, are not uncommon visitors to hoop nets.

I also learned that lobsters can crawl out of a bucket, so if I catch any, I'm going to need to stuff them in the bucket and put the lid on. I will have a cooler with ice in the car for when I get back.

One of the people asked specifically about Long Beach and Jim Salazar, who fishes lobster everywhere, kind of grimaced and said it wasn't the best water quality and didn't recommend it.

So that pretty much leaves Newport and Dana for me.

He did recommend setting up around sunset and getting your nets in the water before dark, so that's cool. It doesn't necessarily mean late nights.

It's definitely going to be a challenge and maybe not worth the trouble in the end, but I want to at least give it a whirl and see how it goes.

Bob,

How'd the lobster fishing go for you this season?

Dave