Lobster Hunting

A few days ago, Porter and I went lobster hunting. Porter, who had read all about fishing in the tropics, helped piece together the steps to achieve our goal: four sizable lobsters for dinner that night. The whole thing was fun for several reasons. Learning and doing the steps in an orderly, sensible way helped build on my knowledge and underwater swimming skills. Also, it felt good to help and be productive toward providing a meal for all of us. I like that sense of responsibility. (And, being a twelve year old boy, I'm not going to pass up the chance to brag.) The last reason is obvious; the eating. I love lobster and we have had so little in the last few years that it is great to taste that delicious flavor.

Before I give the detailed saga of the lobster catching adventure, I should clarify a few things. First of all, we were hunting with a Hawaiian Sling. A Hawaiian Sling is rather like an underwater sling-shot except it is more powerful, shoots a heavy barbed spear, and is used in the sport of spear fishing.  Second, we were hunting for Caribbean spiny lobsters. They look like the ones from Maine except they have extra legs, no claws, and larger antennae. 

The first steps of actually catching the lobster are scouting, finding, and identifying them. Porter and I searched and eventually found a nice den with the tips of antennae poking out. To our great fortune, there where seven large ones visible to us, a positive jackpot. While I quickly swam back to Sila to get a bucket and the dinghy, Porter identified the large, good, male lobsters. When we had anchored the dinghy, we set out to put the next step in action, actually shooting the lobster. 

Porter, who had found the pick of the den, pointed out the first target. I swam down and put the spear inches from the lobster's head. Then I released the spear which shot forward and hit the lobster in the face. I was aiming to hit our prey directly in between the eyes, an easy task as I started with the spear only inches from its target.

Next, I had to put the lobster in the bucket. This was probably a comical scene to anyone watching from the side. I was in the dinghy with the speared lobster, which was completely impaled and difficult to get off. I struggled to slide it into the bucket. The lobster flopped, an after death reflex, that caused me to shriek involuntarily. I'm not sure what I was afraid of! Finally, once four lobsters lay in the bucket, the two of us motored home.   

Once we arrived on Sila, Mama steamed the lobsters and helped us pick off the meat. For dinner we enjoyed a meal of buttery pasta with huge, succulent pieces of lobster. This whole experience was fun and intriguing. I enjoyed the process of hunting the lobster. After all, it is all about the journey, not the destination. Although, the destination was definitely delicious.-JackRabbit

 Here we hold up two of our lobsters.

 After Mama steamed them, we picked out the meat from the lobsters.

 Eventually, only empty shells remained.

 This photograph has nothing to do with lobsters, but we have not been able to post pictures lately, so we include this to show what the landscape has been like.

The water here is beautiful.