Seafood lovers are scoping out harvesting and eating options for a prime local delicacy now that our lobster season is open.

Happily, we’ve got some options to consider regarding how to put a lobster on your plate.

Want to go catch a lobster yourself? No one can blame you for wanting to engage in that barrel of fun.

Lobster hunting can be high adventure, replete with an opportunity to jump in the water and experience an ocean environment where you will find a plethora of critters to enjoy along with otherworldly seascapes and strange, wonderful plant life.

Not yet a certified diver? There are good options other than scuba diving. Hoop netting lobster from boats and even kayaks has become popular over the past decade or so and can be quite productive.

You can buy a hoop net at Hook, Line & Sinker in Santa Barbara. Buy some mackerel or other bait, tie it up in the hoop net and head offshore at night.

If you know some wreck or reef 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? Just visit one of our local dive shops and sign up for a scuba class.

You’ll complete the process feeling good about yourself because of what you’ve learned and because you now have a bold new world to explore by going out on a big dive boat or on a private charter boat or out on a private boat.
 
One suggestion, try renting equipment for a while before buying, to give yourself a chance to determine which styles and brands of equipment you prefer. Then make your purchase decisions.

Laughing underwater is a special trick, one you will have plenty of practice at as you stalk and chase amazingly fast lobsters around rocky structure, wrecks and kelp stands. They can be elusive, and that is part of the fun.

Do you prefer buying instead of hunting for your dinner? No problem.

The Saturday morning Fisherman’s Market at the Santa Barbara Harbor is the perfect place to buy fresh lobster, right from the fascinating commercial fishers on the boats they were caught from.

These guys and gals have lots of yarns to spin if you can catch them in a quiet moment and get them talking. The market opens around 7 a.m. each Saturday, at the navy pier in the harbor.

It just wouldn’t be fair to not mention one final option — restaurants. On some days it is nice to dude-up and go out to dinner.

Our local eateries are stocking up on fresh lobster from those same commercial fishers. Bon appetite!