FishRap News


Photo by: Courtesy of jim Sharper
Off and Crawling - The 2008 California spiny lobster season opened Sept. 27 to an all-out bug blitz in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Less than ideal conditions kept the catch count down in the Ventura and Santa Barbara areas, but there were lobsters to be had for those who braved the elements. The most successful early-season lobster hunters concentrated their efforts in shallow water, 30 ft. deep or less.


Photo by: Courtesy of Jim Salazar
Bug Bonanza - Jay Kleinhesselink, Jim Salazar and Arnie Quevedo show what bug season is all about. Fishing the Sunday following the opener, the three friends had their limits after pulling just four of the permitted 10 nets per boat.

Up north, the bugs are a-crawlin’. Big ones, averaging a solid 2 lbs., made for an exciting opening weekend for the 2008-09 California spiny lobster season.

The crustacean hunt got under way Sept. 27 at 12:01 a.m. And although reports indicate the results were mixed that first early morning, by the next night it was clear many Los Angeles and Orange County lobster hunters were practically overcome by the flood of bugs that rushed their baited nets.

Fishing the north Los Angeles coast on Sunday evening, lobster hooping expert Jim Salazar said he and a pair of friends scored limits only four nets into their first set of 10. Nestled in one net was an edible treasure, a chunky 8-pounder. It was too much of a bug bounty.

“We were tossing them back like crazy!” said Salazar, author of the new how-to guide “Hoopin’ It Up.”

Jason Morton, marketing director for hoop-net manufacturer Promar, paddled his kayak to a tasty easy limit that same evening. Benefiting from action termed “a sick crawl,” Morton’s seven-lobster dance card was filled out by 7:30 p.m. It wasn’t a cakewalk; Morton stuck it out through fog and a nasty wind chop that splashed over the deck of his small craft.

“It was a lot colder and snottier than you’d expect,” Morton said. “I saw people suffering in shorts and T-shirts. I was thankful I had my winter clothes.”

Both Morton and Salazar found the best results in water as shallow as the weather would permit, about 30 ft. in Salazar’s case.

Indeed, conditions reported as far from ideal deterred lobster hunters from Los Angeles up to Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Most who braved the elements were rewarded for the effort, bagging at least a few lobstesr, with some scattered limits.

In Orange County, John Near reported the lobsters crawled early and shallow. “We just had to wait for the tide to turn,” said the experienced hoop-netter. For anglers who hunted the right places, limits – and family-pleasing lobster barbecue dinners – were common.

Eric Stromwall, designer of the Red Riser hoop net puller, said he had high hopes for a lobster trip out to Catalina. Finding little current, his group of three pulled a lot of empty nets. A final “Hail Mary” pull as the sun lit up Sunday morning’s sky somewhat salvaged the trip.

“There were four legals in there, much to our surprise,” said Stromwall, who termed the venture one of the slowest Catalina hooping trips in memory. “But you never know, other people might have done better.”

Reports out of San Diego weren’t much better. Bobby Arms, who runs Southern California’s only annual hoop-netting derby, said the fishing pressure on the jetties was intense. Fishing for lobsters Sunday night on a friend’s boat, Arms found slow going.

“It shut down at 9 p.m. There were no signs of life afterward, not even sculpin,” Arms said. The pair finished the night with a handful of bugs between them.

Arms expects the San Diego lobster harvest will improve. “I never limit out the first week or two of the season,” Arms said.

Encouraging evidence bears Arms out. Tommy Gomes of Catalina Offshore Products, a seafood wholesaler based in San Diego, reported Baja’s commercial yield of spiny lobsters is up 30 percent from last year. The Mexican commercial season begins a week or two ahead of California’s recreational opener. In general, it’s a reliable indicator of the shape of the season to come. Gomes termed the early going “a phenomenal start.”

Melt the butter. It’s lobster hooping time.

The New Spiny Lobster Report Card and Other Lobster-Hunting Legalisms

New for 2008, every recreational lobster hunter must possess a Spiny Lobster Report Card. That goes for everyone, even those who don’t require a license such as children under the age of 16. The cards are available most places fishing licenses are sold.

Spiny lobsters can only be taken by hand or hoop net. Anglers may use up to five nets per person (two from a pier), with a maximum of 10 nets per boat.

Lobsters must be a minimum of 3-1/4 in. measured in a straight line on the midline of the back from the edge of the eye socket to the rear edge of the body shell. Carry a gauge and immediately release short lobsters; the fines for breaking the rules are steep. The daily and possession limit is seven lobsters per person. The 2008-09 season started Sept. 27 and runs through Mar. 18.

This article first appeared in the October 2008 issue of FishRap. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated.