MINI LOBSTER SEASON

Well, mini lobster season is now over.

Chris, Andy & I caught 34 lobster and Chris & his friend Vinni speared 6 hog fish and 2 grouper.

Decent catch, at least we made our limit.

But I was very disappointed with the rampant cheating going on.

We were out there at sunrise and already 2 of our spots had been raided pre-dawn.

And no, it would not have been possible to have gotten them with a bully net from the surface. They were large heads in about 20 ft of water.

(Mini season doesn't start till dawn in the Keys, except you can bully net from the boat. The rules are different from Miami.)

I can't tell you how many heads with no tails were spotted.

This is not only cheating, it's stupid.

On the end of every tickle stick is a plastic measure. You measure from between the eyes to the end of hard body, where the tail begins. The lobster needs to be longer then the measure.

But some idiots, when they catch a short, just rip the tail from the body and think they have solved the problem because without the body, you can't tell how big he was.

The fines and punishment for having tails with no bodies is MUCH bigger then having a few are almost big enough. If Marine Patrol stops you with a few that are close, they will probably warn you and throw the shorts overboard.

Don't this people realize that when you take the short this year, there are less lobster next year?

By a lot.

As in, she didn't get a chance to reproduce.

And speaking of reproduce, MAKE SURE THERE ISN'T AN EGG SAC ON THE UNDERSIDE OF YOUR LOBSTER!

Taking a female with a clutch of eggs still attached to her is insanely stupid. There is 50 less lobster for next year, right there.

But we had a blast, as usual.

I've got sea lice bumps, just shy of a sun burn, a small fire coral rash on my arm, blisters on my heels and I can't hear out of my right ear.

PLEASE SIR, CAN I HAVE SOME MORE!