beats a skunk

[William Novotny]

Dropped hoops in DP monday night with a few guys from the board. Pickins were slow for me as haul after haul produced empty nets. Right about the time I found a good crawl, the bolts on my pro angler seat busted giving me a rocking chair to pedal in...not comfortable. In one pull I managed one bug whos carapace measured about an inch over the legal mark, on that could have been legal but too close to risk and 2 definite shorts. Well I caught my first California spiny lobster! Tried to stick around to find him a companion but the weird rocking peddling was super annoying so took it in around 9:30. Was home by 10:15 with a bottle of bubbly and had this guy cooked and served up for me and my wife by 11. Im hooked. Can't wait to get some morehttp://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee392/williamnovotny/20131007_215956.jpg

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[DanaPT]

Nice work, nice sized first.

Now that DP is out of bugs... where should we be hooping next? Kind of surprised to see so few reports.

[LawDog]

As past history indicates, no(or few) reports isnt necessarly a bad thing. People are a bit reluctant to tell about their honey hole untill they are done with it. Just do your thing and make good educated decisions.

[makobob]

I guess lobster blood counts!! Nice eats. Congratulations.

[blitzburgh]

Nice bug!

[danjor]

As past history indicates, no(or few) reports isnt necessarly a bad thing. People are a bit reluctant to tell about their honey hole untill they are done with it. Just do your thing and make good educated decisions.

Well I will agree DP is out of bugs, Monday yielded very few shorts and even few to no legals for the yaks out there, same story with every boat I talk to out on the water. I also noticed more commercial traps than last year out by the headlands.

[Aaron&Julie]

Congrats on breaking the ice. It only takes the first one to hook you on "bugging".

[William Novotny]

I think it's pretty obvious to most where the bugs are when the season opens. Didnt look to be a secret from the blinking lights every 5 feet down the breakwall. Just surprises me how fast the legal bugs get picked off and how many shorts are left to pick through in a few short weeks. My question is from all the bugs that are just short of being a keeper, how long until that same bug is big enough to take? How fast do these guys grow?

[Mahigeer]

How fast do these guys grow?



It takes about seven years for a bug to become large enough to be considered legal.

Thus, depending on the size of the particular "short", it maybe few years. With all of the shorts that are out there, if the poachers don't keep them, in few years we should have plenty of bugs to keep.

[TJones]

reaping the rewards . yes we love this sport for its exercise and the feeling of being on the water with all its serenity , let alone the closeness with the creator . but there is nothing like the rewards at the end of day and getting back some of what we put into it . what a special feeling . money well spent this trip . :cheers1: .

[DocHaole]

That's right, Dana Point is officially out of bugs. Everyone can all go somewhere else because they are fresh out until October 2014.

However I will continue to go just to check on the stock. And I promise to report back just incase they show up again. :D

[William Novotny]

reaping the rewards . yes we love this sport for its exercise and the feeling of being on the water with all its serenity , let alone the closeness with the creator . but there is nothing like the rewards at the end of day and getting back some of what we put into it . what a special feeling . money well spent this trip . :cheers1: .

Well said:cheers1:

[Vikingj]

Hey WN,
Very nice bug! Thanks for sharing. Didn't know there were any that size left in DP. My 3 buds and I were out about an hour before you and got an earlier start to score an average of 3 just-legal bugs each. Dozens & dozens of shorts but few keepers. All of our nets came up empty about 8:30 so we went home.
Otherwise, it was an exceptional night!.. colorful sunset, calm as a lake, little wind, twinkling blue/yellow/red/green lights reflecting off the water, bright stars overhead, plenty of company and lively/friendly chatter (I counted 11-12 yaks + several pb's). A real change from the usual choppy, windy. and overcast nights last week.
Wayne