Want to go catch a lobster yourself? You certainly can if you are in decent shape and ready for pure adventure. A lobster hunting trip can be a magnificent adventure, and an opportunity to get underwater and experience our ocean environment up close and personal.
Once immersed in the underwater world of the lobster, you will no doubt find many critters to enjoy as well as seascapes and strange, wonderful plant life.
First, you should become a certified scuba diver. Our local dive shops can get you into a class, where you’ll have fun and learn a lot about yourself, as well as about dive equipment and about the sea. After becoming certified, you can buy your own gear, or rent. I recommend renting until you develop a feel for which types and brands of equipment you prefer.
Next, make plans to go out on a large open-party sport dive boat, a private charter boat, or tag along with a friend on a private boat. You can even wade out into the water from the beach, after hauling your gear to a beach spot near underwater reefs or wrecks.
Always dive with a buddy, for safety reasons.
Lobsters are found in good numbers in surprisingly shallow water. When working around shoreline reefs, successful hunters often find themselves in less than six feet of water. Watch the swells and waves. The surf zone can be treacherous.
Shallow rocky terrain around our islands is favored destination on lobster trips, however plenty of them are caught along our mainland coast. Wherever you go lobster hunting, you will soon learn that catching these wily varmints, is not as easy as you had hoped. You must do it by hand, which shifts the advantage to the lobsters.
If you’ve tasted lobster, you know without a doubt that the reward is definitely worth the effort.
Do you love lobster but prefer that others do the catching? Our local commercial fishermen offer you a wonderful experience. Our Saturday morning Fishermen’s Market is the perfect place to buy fresh lobster, right from the boats they were caught from. The market opens at about 7 a.m. each Saturday at the Navy Pier in the Santa Barbara Harbor.
Local lobsters also find their way into our fish markets, and into some of our great restaurants. Lobster season doesn’t last all year, you know, so you’d better go sink your teeth into this delicacy.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
