Another great thing about vacationing on Cape Cod is that our in-laws live there. That’s good, I swear. They can often be found feeding us, distracting our kids so that we can pass out somewhere, and driving us around on their boat.
Grandpa P has a Boston whaler that they dock in their backyard, which happens to back into Nauset Marsh as it funnels into Town Cove in Orleans. It’s a good spot to catch lobsters, among other things. Last week, GP took Husband, the preschooler, and I out to check his lobster traps.
The traps, which sink to the bottom, are attached to a long rope and a buoy that floats on the water’s surface. In addition to keeping the rope from sinking out of reach, the buoys help to remind you where the hell you dropped your traps, as well as which ones are yours. All of your buoys have the same color scheme (and are registered with the State) to differentiate yours from your neighbors'.
Your boat should also have a matching buoy on-board to show you’re not stealing someone else’s catch. And, yes, lobster theft does happen. GP’s color scheme is half green, half white. This one isn’t ours.
(Don’t worry, Mr. Fancy Stripes, we got our lobsters fair and square.)
The traps are large, wire cages with two compartments: the bait chamber where a mesh bag containing tasty treats hangs (GP uses herring for bait), and the parlor chamber where the lobster eventually gets trapped while chowing down. You leave the traps for a few days or a week, and then check to see if you caught anything.
Sometimes, traps get lost. If this should happen, there’s an escape hatch built into the trap that is fastened by iron rings. Over time, the rings rust and fall apart, allowing any trapped lobsters or other sea creatures to escape.
Hoisting up the traps requires some serious muscle.
We just sat back and let GP do all the work.
Sometimes the traps come up empty, but sometimes they don’t. Woo hoo!
You need to check the size of each lobster to make sure it’s large enough to keep. You measure from the back of the eye socket to the end of the carapace (the body shell, which is separate from the tail), which needs to be at least 3-3/8 inches long.
Throwing the young ones and any females with eggs back into the water gives the lobsters a fighting chance against otherwise certain extinction. Here’s a little one walking the plank.
Bye-bye, baby lobster. See you next year. (Eat your sea spinach.)
For the keepers, a thick rubber band around each claw is always a good idea.
Most lobstermen wear gloves, but GP is a badass.
Along with any lobsters, there might also be a few crabs, starfish, maybe a giant snail. There was a large flounder in one of the traps a few years back. It was delicious. (I’m not kidding.) This one pulled up a mother load of mussels.
Guess who got to bring some of them home? Once you empty the traps, you bait them up, and drop them down again.
It’s purty out here.
Three keepers and a bunch of mussels out of four traps. Not a bad day out.
The End.
The photos look great, and Grandpa P has totally hot legs for a grandpa!
I've never been farther north than New York City, but you make it look appealing. Perhaps I should look into it.
PS, how did you get your kids to learn to go to sleep without nursing? It would be nice if my husband could get him to sleep once in a while, especially when school starts back in the fall and I won't even BE here to do it.
Posted by: Heath | July 12, 2007 at 04:13 PM
Wow! That was so interesting Tammy! Thanks so much for sharing. Lobster is my favorite seafood - you lucky girl.
Posted by: Sally | July 13, 2007 at 06:27 AM
I know Grandpa P and Grandma J and they never take for granted what you see on this page!! They enjoy EVERY minute of it. A very nice piece!!
Posted by: Shellfish Suzie | July 13, 2007 at 10:44 AM
What a great post!
~Especially for those of us who don't have a boston whala or our own lobsta trap.
Posted by: sandi @ the whistlestop cafe | July 14, 2007 at 12:16 PM
Sandi: Spoken like a true Yank!
SS: They truly do! Thanks for visiting.
Sally: I'd be happy to eat a lobster in your honor.
Heath: Grandpa P will be happy to hear that. You're going to have to come further north than NYC. That doesn't even count at all. Not that I've been further south than Virginia (except for Florida, which totally doesn't count, either).
Posted by: Tammy | July 14, 2007 at 10:55 PM
Wow. I've never eaten really fresh sea food. Throwing the smaller ones back must be tantalising but make you feel like St Francis.
Posted by: Cottage Smallholder | July 15, 2007 at 08:18 PM
CS: It's not easy. Then again, they get bigger!
Posted by: Tammy | July 16, 2007 at 08:45 PM
Something I have never done. I know we have crabbing in the PNW and I need to go do that.
Okay so where are the lobster recipes?
Posted by: peabody | July 17, 2007 at 03:22 AM
I just recently posted on my recent road trip to the Boston area. We boiled lobsters... but didn't catch them! A quick trip to the Scituite Harbor for these.
I remembered seeing your post in July... fun!
Posted by: sandi @ the whistlestop cafe | August 27, 2007 at 12:35 PM
I am very intrigued by the thought of catching and killing my own food. I don't know why...
Is it weird that I went there unprovoked?
Posted by: Jon | November 05, 2008 at 10:47 AM