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Captain’s Log: Prime Time for Lobster Lovers
Seafood lovers are savoring prime eating time for a local delicacy now that our lobster season is open. Happily, you’ve got some options to consider for how to put a lobster in your pot of boiling water.
Want to catch a lobster yourself? Lobster hunting can be a high adventure, replete with an opportunity to jump into the water and experience an ocean environment with a plethora of critters, other seascapes and wonderful plant life (well, except for those invasive species we’re fighting).
Not a certified diver? You have options other than scuba diving. Hoop netting lobster from boats has gained in immensely popularity in the past several years and can be quite productive. Buy a hoop net at Hook, Line & Sinker on Calle Real between upper State Street and Highway 154. Buy mackerel or other bait, tie it up in the hoop net and head offshore at night. If you know some wreck sites, your chances are great. Otherwise, drop the hoops next to kelp or rocks. Pull the hoops every couple of hours and move the empty ones to another spot.
Want to become a certified diver? Visit a local dive shop to sign up for a scuba class. The cost is likely to be $600 to $800. You’ll complete the process feeling good about yourself, not only because of what you’ve learned, but because you now have a bold new world to explore by going out on a dive, charter or private boat.
One suggestion: Try renting equipment for a while before buying to give yourself a chance to determine which styles and brands of gear you prefer.
Laughing underwater is a special trick, one you will practice plenty as you stalk and chase amazingly fast lobsters around rocky structures, wrecks and kelp stands. They can be elusive, and that’s part of the fun.
Do you prefer to buy your dinner, instead of hunt it? No problem. The Saturday morning Fishermen’s Market is the perfect place to buy fresh lobster, right off the boats of commercial fishers. These guys have lots of yarns to spin if you can catch them in a quiet moment and get them talking.
The market opens about 7 a.m. each Saturday at the Navy pier in the Santa Barbara Harbor.
It wouldn’t be fair not to mention one final option: restaurants. On some days, it’s nice to dude-up and go out to dinner. Local eateries are stocking up on fresh lobster from the same commercial fishers.
Bon appetit!
— 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.
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