Two of our kids, Child Units 2A and 2B, were in town this week, so we chartered Captain Bob’s Lobster Tour out of Hampton Harbor (NH) to go see what lobstering really looks like.  This was SO cool!

We know our way around eating a lobster and have probably eaten more than is healthy over the years.  But we had never been out on a lobster boat!  I can’t recommend it enough.

Departing from Hampton Harbor we motored out to some of Captain Bob’s previously set traps to start the process.  You can participate as little or as much as you want in any of the work involved in this entire process.

And no, this was not our boat.

Once on-site Captain Bob set about grabbing the lines attached to his buoys (in this case one trap per buoy).  He would sling the rope through his winch and hoist the traps up onto the boat rails where his two able bodied mates (both really nice guys) would then check out each trap.

Each trap and each lobster (multiple lobsters in a trap) were carefully inspected to make sure they were big enough to keep, were not females pregnant with eggs, and met all the other strict requirements associated with keeping lobsters.  All those not meeting those rules were tossed back into the ocean.  And we were shown the difference between male and female lobsters.  Don’t ask me if I remember.

Those that were “keepers” were then banded and dropped into the hold.  I would guess that in our two-hour tour, there were roughly two dozen keepers, with as many thrown back into the ocean for another day.

Once the traps were emptied, the mates baited them with mackerel and set the traps onto the stern for redeployment and lobsters for another day.

Upon return to the dock, we were offered (for VERY reasonable prices) to buy as few or as many lobsters as we wanted.  We ended up taking 10 lobsters (about 15 pounds), thinking we would share with friends.  That evening we cooked them all, and sadly for our friends, we ate all but one!  These were the sweetest, most tender lobsters we have had in our lives!  Perhaps it was because they were only out of the water a few hours before cooking, but they were superb.

If you haven’t been out on a lobster boat and think it might be fun (it is!), reach out to Captain Bob or whoever offers such a service in your part of the world.  You won’t regret!