If you have an August lobster trip booked, this is a must read!  We are far enough into season for me to gather information from my own eyes and reports from local commercial fisherman.  Mini season was a boom and likely a record one as far as participants and harvest.  Different from previous years, this year the weather and conditions have been A+.  Great for everybody that was here, but it was extra lethal for our lobster population in the areas I take my beginners.  Only a few areas have experienced lower pressure due to poor conditions and the commercial traps in those areas are picking up where recreational divers left off.  So, what does this mean for your trip?  For me, it means I have to go further, place you in some deeper areas and work harder to put you on keeper lobster.  Typically, I can expect to average 1 keeper lobster per lobster hole averaging when we hit between 12-14 holes in a trip.  What I am seeing now is 1 keeper lobster per every 6 holes, so this means more work.  It is not a case of not having good lobster spots, rather there was such a massive amount of divers here the past week, literally almost every legal lobster was caught.  It seems like we are picking up the legals that have escaped less skilled divers.  Usually this time of year we have some weather issues, which is vital in moving the biomass of lobster around  and refilling in spots.  As of now, the weather has been perfect and the clarity of the water has been great.  This keeps the lobster in place and the migration grinds to a halt.  Put a bright full moon on top of this and there is little chance for the lobster to make any big moves at night.  To sum it up, they took a major whack and the replacements are slow to come for now.

On your end it means more work to put lobster in the boat.  There are plenty of short lobster out there to catch, but that isn’t what we are after.  As mentioned in my previous article on lobstering, I need my customers to step up your game.  Your equipment needs to work perfectly.  I am spending so much time messing with poor quality or new/unused equipment that is failing you.  I can guide you through checking your snorkel gear or purchasing some gear that is appropriate.  Also, you need to really know how to snorkel!!!  If your mask spends more time on top of your head and you choose to not use your snorkel as you swim, your chances of making is more than 20 minutes is pretty low.  I want this to be on the easy side for all of you, but the reality is lobstering is a lot of work when everything is right.  Your equipment and the way you use it more important than I can express to you in words.  Finally, doing your homework is also very important.  I understand most of you have never done this before, so watching an hour of YouTube videos is key to your success.  You are doing this on your own, so you create your own success.  Looking at me when you don’t know what to do or asking questions when you are a distance away in the water is not gonna help you as much as you like.  Preparation on your behalf pays off when you have the confidence that you do know what you are doing.  Given the amount of time you have to prepare and the effort I am willing to give to help you prepare and the vast amount of information available at your fingertips, there is not much room for being unprepared on your part.

Again, it is not all doom and gloom!  I am going the extra, extra mile to give you the best information and prepare you for your trip, aka reality.  My customers this past week have had good to excellent catches of lobster, seen all sorts of great wildlife and sunken treasures and have learned a lot about themselves by the process of lobstering.  It is challenging, frustrating, physically taxing and so on, but that makes the rewards greater, the experience more vibrant and leaves most people with a thirst only quenched by coming back next year for more.

For now, I am booked solid to the 23rd for lobster trips and am only taking additional reservations with the complete understanding that there has been extra heavy pressure out there.  I place a very high standard for myself in the operations of these trips.  I do everything I can to stack the odds in your favor of bringing lobster home for dinner, so I do err on the side of caution.  I know what it is going to take for you to have a good day, so be ready and get ready to work hard and have some fun!  They are out there and we have to find them and catch them.  It will be a full team effort.  The better the team and effort always yields a better result.

Kevin

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