birdman27
Well-known member
I went a 3 day lobster hunting trip last week in the Northern Channel Islands here in CA. I haven't been bug hunting in a number of years, so I was hoping I wasn't too rusty. Turns out, it comes back quick.
We got on the boat Wednesday night and motored out to the backside of Santa Rosa Island. Woke up to this beauty.
We did 6 dives all on the backside that day due to the wind and swell. I caught 5 bugs, which was pretty good as we were not seeing a ton of lobster. One of them was pretty big. This is my bag after that day:
That evening, we motored to a protected anchorage with plans to get over the the front side of Santa Cruz Island for the next day.
Day 2 of diving was really beautiful, but very low in lobster numbers. I caught one, my buddy caught none. I think the total for the boat before the night dive might have been in the single digits. 5 dives that day. I didnt go on the night dive, but they found a cavern full of bugs and came back with plenty. This is sunset that day.
We motored over to Anacapa that night, waking up to clear skies and a great day of diving ahead.
Day 3 of diving was the best and my favorite. The first dive of the day, around an "underwater island" felt like diving in an aquarium. So much life. Didn't hurt that we found lobster again! We did a total of 4 dives that day. I helped 2 people get their first lobsters of the trip and I walked away with another 5 bugs that day, for a total of 11. I also grabbed 6 large scallops and would have had more if I had an iron.
During pack up, it was finally time to weigh the big lobster (the very first one caught on the trip) and take some pics. He ended up being 7 lbs, my personal biggest and the largest on the boat for the trip. I almost think the trophy pose takes something away from it, because he was as long as my torso, haha.
The trip was a ton of fun, exhausting as hell and an experience I wont forget soon. I have enough lobster for dinners throughout the year and I beat my wife's imposed quota of 4 lobster within the first day!
We got on the boat Wednesday night and motored out to the backside of Santa Rosa Island. Woke up to this beauty.
We did 6 dives all on the backside that day due to the wind and swell. I caught 5 bugs, which was pretty good as we were not seeing a ton of lobster. One of them was pretty big. This is my bag after that day:
That evening, we motored to a protected anchorage with plans to get over the the front side of Santa Cruz Island for the next day.
Day 2 of diving was really beautiful, but very low in lobster numbers. I caught one, my buddy caught none. I think the total for the boat before the night dive might have been in the single digits. 5 dives that day. I didnt go on the night dive, but they found a cavern full of bugs and came back with plenty. This is sunset that day.
We motored over to Anacapa that night, waking up to clear skies and a great day of diving ahead.
Day 3 of diving was the best and my favorite. The first dive of the day, around an "underwater island" felt like diving in an aquarium. So much life. Didn't hurt that we found lobster again! We did a total of 4 dives that day. I helped 2 people get their first lobsters of the trip and I walked away with another 5 bugs that day, for a total of 11. I also grabbed 6 large scallops and would have had more if I had an iron.
During pack up, it was finally time to weigh the big lobster (the very first one caught on the trip) and take some pics. He ended up being 7 lbs, my personal biggest and the largest on the boat for the trip. I almost think the trophy pose takes something away from it, because he was as long as my torso, haha.
The trip was a ton of fun, exhausting as hell and an experience I wont forget soon. I have enough lobster for dinners throughout the year and I beat my wife's imposed quota of 4 lobster within the first day!
