Thanks. They’re not all that big :) I don’t usually lobster dive in a drysuit. After doing 4-6 dives a day over multiple days I sometimes wimp out and dig out the drysuit. :)

Probably about 6 pounds-I didn’t weigh it. I caught it on a night dive at Santa Barbara Island in the Southern California Channel Islands. Nice sized, but not the biggest I’ve caught.

that’s impressive. my largest is only about 3 pounds, but I’m new to the sport. Hopefully I can find a beast like that some day. How deep was he, if you don’t mind me asking?.

I got that one in about 25 feet of water. Honestly the big ones are easier to grab than the smaller ones, but they are usually deep back in the holes (smarter) Best hunting is at night when the come out to scavenge :)

Thanks for the info. Do you just grab them by hand? I’m on the opposite coast, up in New England. Here we have to use a stick with a loop on it, similar to what dog catcher use, only smaller. You can use your hands, but if you miss with the bigger ones, you can lose a finger or get your hand crushed. The power they have in their claws is unbelievable. I saw that there is a trip to the Channel Islands next October, I’m gonna try and make it if I can.

California spiny lobster can only be taken by hand-no gadgets of any kind can be used. We always have a great time. Are you considering the Scuba World trip? Our shop has the boat that goes out the first 4 days of the season every year so we get the first pickings. We usually do very well. We average about 20 or so divers on board and usually bring back between 400-500 lobsters on the opener. Let me know if you might want to join us sometime. We are heading back down for the season closing trip in mid March. One of these days I am going to head east and try hunting the clawed beasts. I’d also like to head to Florida during their mini season...

I was looking at the WC Reefers trip mentioned on this site. Do you have the details for your shop’s trip? How many days is it, how much is it, and what are the dates? I definately wouldn’t be able to go this season, but I want to try and make it in the fall, if not this fall then next one for sure. Also how taxing is the diving? My wife is just getting her open water now, but by fall she’ll have a handful of dives under her belt. Thanks for all the info. This seems like such a great trip.