One Last Lobster Hunt!

I know I said last week was our last hooping of the year but Jason called and said "Want to go hooping again Tuesday Night? We can squeeze in one more last night." "Of Course!"

It was a typical pre-hooping day - load lobster gear, stop at Trader Joes for Wraps for dinner, buy mackerel from Hogan's for bait and drive to San Diego.

I arrived early and was able to set up our new hoops, lines and buoys. Once set up, we made a run to the bait receiver for fresh sardines. Back at dock, I set out the nets and bait cages and Jason chopped up the mackerel and sardines in a big orange bucket. I baited the cages and Jason clipped them in the bottom of the nets. We loaded the nets and bait in the boat then donned our hooping clothes - Grundens.

Daylight Savings Time shortened our hooping time as we had to start an hour later. Lobsters don't crawl until after dark. We also were faced with a 6 foot incoming tide that meant we faced a strong current and needed to have plenty of line on our hoops for the depth and current changes. We decided to hoop inside close to the hotels in 30 to 40 feet of water. We dropped 10 hoops (all Ambush Style) around 6:30 pm.

As we waited for it to get dark, Jason handed me a beer and we celebrated our last trip of the year. We had high hopes. I made our first pull close to 7 pm. We came up with completely empty nets. We waited another 45 minutes and I tried another pull. On the ninth hoop we had one large (2 plus pound) lobster. Nothing in the tenth hoop.

It was reasonably clear when we dropped our nets but the clouds on the horizon slowly crept our way. It was supposed to be warmer than previous trips but that proved to be wrong. As the clouds drifted towards us, slowly engulfing us in fog, the weather turned cold and damp. We watched the fog closely, concerned about finding our way back to dock.

Jason started the third pull and we got a smaller but legal lobster in one net. All the rest were empty. Then we had a big black garbage bag get wrapped in the prop. We were dead in the water with a strong current pulling us away from our hoops. It took Jason 15 to 20 minutes to remove the plastic from the prop. Relief! Jason started the motor and we went back up for pull number 4. I pulled up 10 completely empty nets. Disappointment set in. With the horizon becoming increasingly black, we opted for one more pull then to call it a night.

The last pull, at 11 pm, yielded one more legal lobster. We emptied the bait cages, rolled up the lines and stowed the buoys. We were in very thick black fog as we started back towards dock. We followed the right edge of the harbor until Jason recognized the entrance to our dock area.

We unloaded the boat and put my gear in my truck. Jason asked if I wanted the two small lobsters or the one large lobster. I asked for the smaller ones as I can't dispatch the larger lobsters by myself. Mike is less than thrilled when I ask him to help with this task. He prefers to see them later, cooked and on his plate.

The drive home was slow due to heavy low-lying fog. I got home by 1:15 am and slept until 7:30 this morning.

After a very distressing moment of watching a crumbling aluminum ladder with my husband, Mike, falling to the ground, I finally got around to cleaning my gear and dispatching with the lobsters. (Mike seems to be OK, no broken bones - just bruised right ear and cheek, twisted back and scraped leg. I'm watching him closely.)

I washed down all the hoops and gear with fresh water then I took care of the lobsters. I twisted the tails off and cleaned the intestinal tract, rinsed them and put them on ice until they meet the Barbeque tonight.

Last of the Season Hooping!

Seizing the opportunity to hoop for lobster one more time this year on Jason's boat, I wanted to make the most of it. Our previous outing left us short of bait cages especially the seal proof PVC ones so my morning quest was to locate the necessary equipment and bait.

I found one bait cage at Hogan's Tackle and one at the Jig Stop in Dana Point to add to our other 4. I still needed 4 more which I found in San Diego at Angler's Center. As for bait, I found a 25# block of mackerel at Hogan's for $40.

I left for San Diego yesterday around 11:30 and got there early enough to take a cat nap in my car before we loaded the boat and baited the cages. Jason had gone to the bait receiver earlier in the day for a bucket of fresh sardines. He mixed the mackerel with the sardines and we stuffed them in the cages. We loaded them up and headed on to the outside to set out nets.

We were in the water by 5:30 pm and waiting - when we saw Bob Fletcher and his family ready to do some hoop netting himself. We chatted and he decided to try inside. We set our radios to channel 72 so we could keep each other informed.

I made our first two pulls and we got loads of crabs and one legal lobster. Jason made the next and in all we made 9 or so pulls. Each pull was similar - loads of crabs, lots of short lobsters (just under legal) with an occasional legal lobster. Throw in a few octopus, sculpin and rock crab and we had a busy night. We checked with Bob and he wasn't having any luck inside, so we called him on out where we were. He didn't stay very long so we think his luck didn't match ours. At nights' end, we had 11 legal lobsters - woo hoo! A good way to end the season.

We stuck it out until 12:15 am before we headed to dock. By the time we unloaded, packed my truck and I drove home, it was 2 in the morning. I was exhausted but it was well worth the effort. Thanks again Jason!