Happy Lobster Season, Y'all

[ProfessorLongArms]

Hey all,
I'd posted this elsewhere and thought I'd share here for any who like to share the stoke

Lobster is such a medley of feelings for me.

I’ve been freediving for just shy of 2 years, and my course actually was punctuated by a spear/lobster trip in PV.

While my first year was slow starting, my second year was one of absolute frustration where I reached a point of focusing on other more fruitful pursuits in spearing and foraging.
Setbacks included almost dislocating my shoulder with the help of a big wave on the rocks in PV in pitch dark *and* losing my brand new dive watch in the process, sifting through dozens of shorts just to find a stray legal here and there, and just generally not understanding how to get one out of the rocks when I’d find them holed up.

Also, acknowledging that one doesn’t really get to choose how they feel as much as how they listen to that feeling, I have an unusually strong feeling of anthropomorphizing lobster.
Second only to an Octopus, it’s one of the only ocean creatures I feel a good bit of unease and remorse toward harvesting for food.
I think part of it is that they move remarkably similar to our little rescue pup when she’s nervous.
I think another part of it is my wife’s strong push for me to make absolutely sure I’m humanely dispatching them (something that’s pretty widely debated...

My approach finally settled on putting them in the freezer for half an hour while doing other stuff, and then bisecting completely down the middle longways….
If you think that's impractical or over the top, and prefer boiling a critter alive or ripping its lower half off while it's still kicking....
I'm not really sure what to tell you and you can keep that one to yourself

Not to say any of _that_ would stop me in my pursuit. Lobster tail seems a pretty amazing culinary balm on my conscience. 😊
Plus I think it’s a healthy opportunity to actually sit with some sadness around the fact that being an omnivore means killing stuff.

Anyway, the first of October had a pretty pivotal day for me. I’d had one fruitless frustrating day hunt to start the season, and kept finding that the shadow I cast was driving any bugs deeper in their holes, despite seeing well over 50 in a couple of hours.
Full skunk. I was actually considering getting a set of hoop nets for my kayak and just saying screw it.

On the 6th I decided to take a birthday dive with a favorite dive buddy and meet up with some good friends who were hooping.

Not only was I able to pull three legals in a few hours (leaving only for parking restrictions), I fell in love with a new spot that was different from anywhere else I’ve tried, and I finally had a technique just “click”.
Part of it was some gains I’ve made in freediving… not just bottom time, but the ability to shut out my brain’s noise of “JFC you’re holding your breath in the water” and just zero in on a catch. I immediately recognized that feeling of peace a few times that night and it felt like solid gold.

All of this is to say, I’m regularly gratified by the decision to take on freediving, kayak fishing, and spearfishing as an intense challenge, specifically as a test of patience and will. The learning curve can be such a daunting one, and I keep thinking about something I recently heard on a fishing podcast about the difference between conscious vs unconscious competence and incompetence. Something I’ve learned over the past two years is that if I can just push my frustration and energy into being more educated and aware of my lack of competence, the rest will follow in time…

All of it reminds me of a saying from my best friend and business mentor “You’d be amazed at what you can get done if you just show up and be in a good mood”

So far I'm at 6 bugs on the season. Following that trip, I hit one of my favorite reefs for a late night hunt, and managed to learn a new sensation: What a sculpin sting actually feels like. One of my first legal bugs for the night was huddled under some kelp, and I didn't see the Sculpin right next to it.

My immediate thought was "Wow, that lobster's spine got through my dyneema glove... That's unusual".... Then about 2 minutes later, I started to feel it spread, and immediately knew what I'd done. I was thankfully able to just barely use my hand enough to pull 3 for the night, but there was definitely a touch and go period between 30 and 90 minutes in where I was afraid I might have to call it. Might have been a bit of swearing. Can't be sure.

Aside from the early sharp throbbing pain, I basically got a glimpse of what arthritis must feel like, all the way up to my elbow.
Thankfully two advil and a Benadryl helped me get to sleep that night, and it was only about 48 hours before the swelling/soreness went away entirely.

I'm still pretty new to cooking them, but I've not been too keen on the whole "Thorned-antenna-as-Disembowling-tool", so I've been content to just cut straight down the middle, separate the tail, remove the intestine and organs, and steam both halves.... I haven't been able to really find a difference in texture from boiling/steaming whole, and have actually found it easier to gauge doneness.

From there, I've been diligently making stock, and *LOVING* the bisque that I get from shellfish. Head meat and a little sheephead or calico goes really well in there.... Super simple recipe.... I just make a sachet of herbs (usually parsley and whatever I have lying around), cook up mire pox (carrots, onion, celery) or sub in bell pepper for the carrots if I'm feeling cajun trinity.... White wine or sherry to deglaze once they're nice and brown... Then lobster stock to cook down until they're soft enough to throw in the blender. Bit of cream and some more butter when it's nice and smooth... Can't beat it with a stick.

Since I can't seem to get enough of it, I've also been grabbing an urchin or two when I'm headed home.... Such a a nice and easy side if that's the sort of thing you're into

Aside from steaming, boiling, grilling, smoking, and making stock...
I'm curious what you like to do with your lobster.