Lobster Reports.

[ScubaNorth]

SN:

I make sure that they are quite large - well over the 12" limit, and usually spear them, just by jabbing with spear gun (I don't use the band and trigger option ever - see below) but pole spear is great, too. It is a little more tricky on the north shore then south as they are usually on rock, not sand, so I spear, but make sure I hold the spear in place so I can reach down and grab 'em, other wise the spear bounces off the rock and they take off....

Allthough, get this: once in a lifetime play on a flounder I bet... at beginning of 2nd dive, my buddy was about 25 feet away from me, I turned over my left shoulder to check out what he was doing and saw a nice flounder coming right at me - I reached out (more out of instrinct then anything) and made a backhanded garb on his head!! My buddy had just attempted to spear and missed with his knife and couldn't believe the catch! It was pretty sweet!

OK off to look at spear poles I am. I need a tickle stick spear pole combo I guess. With my luck (poor skills) I will go for Flounder and the lobsters will all be keepers. I did notice up at Niles a few good sized flounder on rocks, guess they don't like the mucky bottom.

 

[crlavoie]

Saturday we did a couple dives off the boat to some of my favorite 'honey holes' on the north side of Cape Ann. Lobsters and winter flounder were abundant... got my daily limit on both after 2 dives! As people have been saying here, about 5/15 were slightly softer shell - let go maybe 4 others that were 'too soft' for my liking. 2 lobzillas with 'the triple' (v-notch, eggs, and oversized) were seen/released as well. Good sized flounder around as well! AND did some fishing on the way out and back and got about 15 strippers (a couple keeper sized!) and a bunch of blues!

A good day on the water - the only bad part was going back to shore and the 95 degree heat that awaited us!

-kk

ps: did 2x ~60minute dives, 40fsw max depth, vis was good ~20-25 feet, temp? don't know, temp gauge didn't seem to be working, but it was f-ing cold at depth(even in a drysuit!)...45(?)degrees below the 25' thermocline. lots of kelp/seaweed growing this year...???

Yep. North side of Cape Ann is where it's at.... But that's ALL I'll say. There's gotta be a little sportsmanship.

 

[Chebby]

Secret spot on the north side of Cape Ann? I bet it’s close to Folly or Hallibut. There were 50 boats there on Saturday with divers and snorkels. Saw lots of flounder too, even some good sized fluke and lobsters. Got a few of each.

This morning did one dive at Loblolly cove with mellow_yellow. Slim pickings. Got one softshell bug and one crazy flounder that was doing loops around me as I was chasing it with a knife around the reef. Almost stabbed my buddy too But 20 ft visibility was a nice treat. A lot of sea ravens for some reason.

 

[MSilvia]

I don't know how you can miss them... I even saw keepers at Sandy Beach in Cohasset, and that's mostly sand!

 

[mello-yellow]

This year I have dived only from shore so far -- and except for the very first time (May 3, IIRC) caught at least 2 lobsters on every dive. That is, counting two tanks in one day as two dives. Do you really need a boat -- or to follow someone else's?

 

[Diesel298]

stop and shop has some nice size ones

 

[ScubaNorth]

I don't know how you can miss them... I even saw keepers at Sandy Beach in Cohasset, and that's mostly sand!

I'm sorry but does absolutely the worst Lobster hunter in history ring a bell? I'm telling you the guy at the fish counter at Shaw's won't even sell me a lobster.

 

[ScubaNorth]

This year I have dived only from shore so far -- and except for the very first time (May 3, IIRC) caught at least 2 lobsters on every dive. That is, counting two tanks in one day as two dives. Do you really need a boat -- or to follow someone else's?

If the boat was stocked with legal sized lobsters it might help. I have only been out oh let me think 5 tanks so far this year and all on the South Shore. Let's hope I can manage Cape Ann this weekend and take home dinner. Wait scratch one tank, so I admit I haven't been giving it my all. I seriously have seen very few Lobsters of any size this year. I'm hooking up with you and Chebby, I know you guys have the "honey holes" down to a science. I did ditch the lickle stick this past weekend to try some more of the basic approach.

 

[jchaplain]

If the boat was stocked with legal sized lobsters it might help. I have only been out oh let me think 5 tanks so far this year and all on the South Shore. Let's hope I can manage Cape Ann this weekend and take home dinner. Wait scratch one tank, so I admit I haven't been giving it my all. I seriously have seen very few Lobsters of any size this year. I'm hooking up with you and Chebby, I know you guys have the "honey holes" down to a science. I did ditch the lickle stick this past weekend to try some more of the basic approach.

I picked up about 8 lobsters at Outer Brewster Saturday, but they were all undersize. A couple had soft shells and one was notched.
Looks like I'll have to try other places.
John C.

 

[MadisonK]

I haven't been diving much lately but two weekends ago off of Marblehead we saw hundreds of lobsters, mostly short, many eggers and vnotchers. I bagged 3 that were 2-1/2 pounds plus. I also grabbed 3 more chickens. The big ones were hard shelled and delicious. Since it was fathers day and ther were five of us eating I went to the market to get two more full size lobsters. They were two pounds each and cost me $44. Crazy! I've noticed the lobstermen's pots are suddenly everywhere so I think the lobsters are really in.