Lobster dive question

[poomero]

So I have a few dives now and I really want to do a lobster dive. How long should a new diver wait to do a dive like this in your opinion? Is it a harder dive then just going out to explore?


Any info would be great.

 

[KRL1973]

No lobster in norcal. Need to travel to southern waters to find them. Consult fish and game regs carefully, need a socal stamp and lobster stamp I believe. I think the season starts in November some time, not sure. For best result need to dive at night and this poses a risk to a new diver. Also while hunting there is a strong tendancy to "bend the rules" of safe diving to "get the big one" this leads to a lot of accidents IMO.

If you want to bring home dinner you might be better off starting with a pole spear and going after fish. Much easier, and can be done locally during daylight. Still have to consult F&G regs carefully though and be licensed, there are many rules and F&G is totally unforgiving of any violation with huge penalties (think jail sentance -yikes!)

 

[Keith.M]

Well, it sounds like you are in the same boat as I am.

I currently have 31 dives, with more than half of them in NorCal waters.

I am going on a 3 day live aboard next week out of Santa Barbara to the channel islands with my LDS.

It is slated to be a Lobster hunt. I will probably do some hunting, but primarily I am just trying to get more dives in so mostly it will be watching and sight seeing, picture taking...

As far as the regs, you need a valid CA fishing license with an ocean enhancement stamp. You can only catch them by hand and you cannot use any type of tickle stick to help.

I do believe it is correct that the "best" time to hunt is at night, as they are mostly nocturnal, however they can be caught in the day as well. I know I have seen spiny lobster during the day in Cozumel.

I have yet to do a night dive and suspect that I will, however I probably will not hunt and just concentrate on the dive.

 

[Bratface]

Lobsters can be tricky. They don't want to be caught and will spread their tail out and lodge themselves in their den. Snaring them can be a challenge as well as getting them in your catch bag. Their shells are sharp and will cut your hands so protect yourself. Don't reach into any holes. Good luck.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

There are occasional lobsters in NorCal. Clinton Bauder has a picture or video of about five in one hole at Monastery. And they are occasionally seen on night dives at the Breakwater.

Chuck

 

[cmburch]

California Department of Fish & Game, Marine Region, Invertebrate Management Project, Invertebrates of Interest: California Spiny Lobster

Print out the info brochure.

No snares or implements allowed for California. Hoop nets or hand only.

Channel Islands Truth Aquatics out of Santa Barbara may be good.

What tends to occur. Not hunting for lobster, see them walking in line across the sand at night and in holes and crevices during the day. Hunting for lobster, holes are empty, they all went into hiding.

 

[Keith.M]

I will be prepared... Now just to be able to execute! I definitely know they do NOT want to be caught! Hope to also get some scallops as well.

I'll be diving 7mm with hood and gloves.

Just got back from dive shop and got my guage, catch bag and game bag.

This is going to be a blast!

 

[pasley]

I have personnaly observed seasoned divers get so intense on finding and catching lobster that they failed to observe the basic rules of SCUBA and got injured. In one case the diver with over 1,000 dives was doing a square profile dive to 80 feet. He went down before me and surfaced after me. I dove to the limit of NDL so I would guess he exceeded the NDL. I do know for a fact his tank was totally empty (not even a faint puff of air) and he was taken away by ambulance after he collapsed paralyzed on the boat. Note when lobster hunting you are diving solo. Even if you have a buddy, trust me, you are diving solo as the thrill of the hunt takes over.

I do not recommend any activity (photography, hunting etc) until the diver has sufficent dives to have the mechanics of scuba be second nature to them. Bug hunting usally is done at night. Your advance certification would train you for night dives. I would recommend 30 to 50 dives would be a starting point. Bugs are hard to catch and the activity will consume air more rapidly than just watching the pretty fish. So take time to check your air often, more often than normaly. Lobsters and Eels often share the same hole, check twice before reachin into a whole. The bugs will brace their legs and lock into the hole and they are strong little buggers.

You must have: Fishing License, Ocean Enhancement Stamp and Lobster Card (total of about $70). The loster card must be filled out for date, location and means of take (scuba or hoopnet) BEFORE you enter the water. Upon surfacing you must enter the number taken (usally a zero) be it zero or 7. Lobsters must remain whole until cooked. Measure carefully, if the lobster guage fits over the caprice, even if it clicks when it does, it is too small. Losters under the legal size or having over the limit can cost you over $700 per bug and loss of your scuba gear, car or boat etc as well as other penalties (jail). When in doubt about the size, release the bug. Down load the brouchure on bugs at
https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=36321&inline=true
Note where it talks about the limit. Know the limits. You are allowed to have ONLY 7 lobsters in you possesion, including your home, car, etc. It is NOT a per day limit. If you have 7 at home, you are done hunting until after you eat some. If you go out on a multi-day boat, you can get a multi-day permit which allows you to catch up to 7 per day of the trip (day 1, allowed to have 7 bugs, if you have 8 on day 1 you are over the limit, day 3 you could have 21 bugs).

MLPA - Know that starting January 1, 2012 there are large areas of California that are closed to hunting. Some closed areas allow an exception for lobster, others do not. Check the MLPA maps at California Department of Fish & Game, Marine Life Protection Act, Printable MPA Guidebooks and Maps They also have an app for your cell phone.

 

[Jon Nellis]

I did that trip last year with Dolphin and had a good time, but I took scooters and didn't just focus on finding bugs. While most others had there head stuck in the eel grass getting beaten by the surf 80% of the time, I mostly dove solo cruising the kelp and in the process saw a 6 foot angel shark on one of the night dives, played with a curious seal for 20 minutes while diving for scallops (offered him one of my scallops, but he wasn't interested) and saw two very large bat rays mating in an open area in the kelp one day. Just a note, they don't like "voyeuristic" divers and the 5 ft wide bat ray ended up charging me and chasing me off. Glad I had a fast scooter.

I came out with five lobster, 21 monster scallops and an urge to repeat the trip down south again.

Have fun, but don't just focus on finding lobster and look up every once in a while to see what may be swimming over you. Most of the dives were in the shallows (20-30ft). I wore a 7mm one piece with a 3mm shorty underneath and was comfortable above 45ft.


Cheers,
Jon

 

[Keith.M]

Thanks. I had read that on DFG site about 7 a day including in your refrigerator! I have to look into that multi-day permit you are referencing. I would doubt I would get over 7 in the three days!

I appreciate your assessment as well. I figure the majority of dives will simply be exploring. I knew about the lobster card, failed to note that above. Will definitely keep a close eye on the SPG!

My trip is also with Dolphin and Truth Aquatics... Hope to end up some some local dive buddies as well.