August 2023

Many people travel to Florida exclusively for Disneyworld. Before becoming full-time residents, we would visit Florida at least once a year for lobster season. It’s an incredible experience. It’s fun for the whole family and you don’t have to stand in seemingly endless lines waiting for the ride. It’s like an easter egg hunt in the ocean and the entire family can actively participate. From ages five through eighty-five, it’s all inclusive.

In my opinion, this ride is better than anything Disney has to offer. The best way to locate lobster in new areas is to tow people behind the boat with ski ropes over the coral reef at the slowest speed possible. If you’re in the boat, it feels like you’re at a crawl. If you’re the one in the water with a snorkel, mask, and fins, it’s amazingly perfect as you witness numerous schools of multi-colored fish and beautiful coral fans as you pass. Once lobsters are spotted, the people being towed let go and the boat quickly returns to help.

It’s an ‘E’ ticket ride. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, find an old person who’s been to ‘Disneyland,’ not ‘World’ and they’ll explain. Get the explanation as quickly as possible and move onto another subject or you’ll never hear the end of it. I’ll save you the hassle… it’s the best ride the park has to offer.

My daughter caught her first lobster in the Keys when she was eight. We measured the lobster together in the water. It was just on the short side, so it got a reprieve. To this day she says it didn’t count because it wasn’t large enough to keep, but I disagree and was very proud of her accomplishment at such a young age.

Back in the Keys:

After my 21-hour drive back from Cleveland, I was finally home in the Keys. We only had a day and a half to prepare for Mini Season. The two-day Mini Season starts on the last Wednesday of July and concludes Thursday. The main reason it was put into place is to allow recreational anglers to catch lobster before any commercial traps are set.

I’m going to briefly address the only downside to Mini Season: it can be dangerous. People get ‘lobster fever’ and become obsessed with the chance to load up the boat ignoring basic safety rules. I could rant on this subject for numerous pages, but I won’t.  The red and white ‘Diver Down’ flag is universal.  Please don’t let your ‘fun’ or ‘entitlement’ endanger others. If it’s your first time lobstering, I would suggest coming late August or September after the conclusion of Mini Season and opening day.

How do you catch a lobster? There are two legal ways in Florida: a snare or tickle stick and net. I prefer a snare, but Meg uses a tickle stick and net. They both have their pros and cons. Nets are easier in the grass as you can use the net to push the grass down behind the lobster scooping it up to the surface. A snare is better for coral or ledges as you can ease in behind the lobster without damaging the surroundings.

This is me using a snare:

Mini Season:

In my neighborhood, this is a monumental day. Everyone has prepped and scouted for lobster weeks in advance to take full advantage of this opportunity. Everyone has their ‘secret spots’ on GPS and ready to start before first light. With that said, we are all friends and look forward to everyone’s successful outing and the traditional lobster BBQ dinner later that evening.  However due to weather, there would be no BBQ.  The storm conditions only allowed a few windows throughout the day for lobstering.

In Mini Season or on opening day, it’s best to have someone in the boat to keep an eye on the people in the water while watching out for potential boats not respecting the proper distance. This year it was just Meg and me, so we took turns.  I was up first. I pulled four out of the first spot. By the time we made it to our second spot, the skies were darkening on the horizon.  Meg was up on our second spot and quickly netted three more lobsters.  With lightning approaching, we made the call to head back to the house leaving three more keepers in our spot to be caught another day.

After we docked the boat, we had time for one quick picture before the storm arrived.  Trigger, as always, was there for support.

Seven lobsters in just over an hour isn’t a bad day’s work.

Although the BBQ had to wait a night and we didn’t secure our limit of twelve for the day, it promises to be a very productive season.   With a limit of six lobsters per day per person and living on the water, it’s pretty easy to fill the freezer at a moment’s notice.

We’ll be headed back to Cleveland next month to get the camper and fish Michigan for trout and salmon.  As always, we’ll pack up twenty or so for the In-Laws on our return.