How I so desperately want to be writing about marinating my ten pound lobsters in butter this weekend, but I can’t because they were all too small to keep. But we got to look at them and imagine their satiable flavor and above all, we learned a LOT.
I’m going to turn 30 this February and about a year ago I wrote a list of 30 things to do before I turn 30. One of the things on that list is to go hoop netting for lobster.
Well, lobster season opened to recreational fishing this past weekend and Saturday night we were ready to go: tanks filled, hoops rigged, suit holes mended, licenses purchased, gear packed, and most excitingly, recipes selected for our well anticipated feast... the butter already melted.
We decided to dive first because we had heard this method is by far the best for catching lobster and all lists aside this was our priority goal. We found a beautiful spot about 3 miles north of Mission Bay jetty, perfectly decorated with all the surrounding lights from the city: the hotels, the roller coaster, the lighthouse. We dropped down and to make the longest dive of most horrible conditions ever recorded a shorter story, we failed. More appropriately, I failed. John caught two lobsters; thank goodness because that was the majority of all the lobsters I got to see that night.
However, failing to see anything was not my major error. I was well aware I had under weighted myself and towards the end of our dive I had an unplanned ascent. It was so stupid on my part and I haven’t gotten over the shame. This is how people die and all because I didn’t want to get back on the boat and get more weight. Lesson learned and I know it will never happen again. It’s kind of like those near miss accidents on the road that make you a better driver because you got so close to really bad things happening. You feel lucky to be alive; it is a warning forever imprinted into your brain.
Aside from that, it was a unanimous decision to ditch the diving idea. The visibility was in inches, the surge was in horsepower, and the terrain was in-habitable. But, we finally got to hoop net, and that was a blast! Super easy, super mellow, and once the nets were placed we could just chill and have a beer and watch the water. It is so exciting when you pull up that net and you can hear the little bug flapping around, advertising for all your fishing friends to hear: ‘You caught me! You caught me!’ Of course after measuring he was about 1/18th of an inch under legal limits. But I still stared at him ravenously, mentally complimenting him: ‘You would taste so good my little friend and I have suffered so long and worked so hard to catch you’. Oh, how I looked at him, so tempted to take him home to my dinner table.
Tempted like I was tempted to touch those forbidden glass figurines in the gift shops when I was little. My mother loves to shop and anytime we ever went into one of those curio shops, or gift shops that had anything breakable, she would say “Hands behind your backs”, meaning my brother and I had to hold our hands behind our backs preventing us from touching anything; preventing us from breaking anything. This was like that moment. What would have happened if I had picked up the beautiful porcelain ballerina from the curio shop? She would have, no doubt, slipped from my hands and shattered all over the floor. What would have happened if I took that too small of a lobster that I caught in my net? His species sustainability would have slipped and shattered all over the ocean floor.
OK, I’m being dramatic but there’s an idea behind it. Theories are going around that this summer’s cold weather has stunted the growth of the lobster; stunted the growth of many things. And yes we work so hard and put in so much effort, but do we really need those prizes we strive so hard to get? Isn’t it really the experiences that are so much more meaningful? The learning and the adventure and the memories we create in doing them. I know that lobster would taste so good, but the image of that night tastes so much better. Besides if you get caught taking that too small lobster, Fish & Game will put your hands behind your back for a reason, then throw you in prison (AKA give you a fat fine).
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