Catalina Lobster Opener 2011

Lobster opening night has been a tradition for me since I started diving heavily back in the early 1990's. I have very fond memories of plunging into the cold dark water at 12:01 AM in search of the elusive bug off La Jolla Cove and Boomer's, my stoppin' grounds. Some years I've had great luck, but usually we all come up empty-handed and look forward to months filled with diving. I've been lucky enough to have great seasons after the "hype" wains and usually after Thanksgiving weekend so that's the true season for me. I prefer to dive solo at night focusing on the task at hand rather than constantly checking on a buddy (most true lobster divers feel the same way) so you know where I'll be this winter...

From September 30 to Oct 2 I spent 3 days diving with the Sundiver crew off Catalina and the conditions where excellent. 60 foot or better visibility, and 61 degrees on the bottom. While this trip didn't yield any "bugs" I did take some great pictures, this was the Catalina I remember growing up. We hit dive spots such as Goat Harbor, Red Cliffs, Fraggle Rock, Yellow-Tail Point and more. This brought back great memories of the days I did collecting for the aquarium. Below are a few pictures for the 3 days.

Garibaldi: California state marine fish

Bug grotto

very healthy kelp forest

schooling pacific sardines

giant black sea bass; each one is roughly 4-5 feet long

How's that for buoyancy? Drysuit diving at its best

typical scene diving everyday; it doesn't get much better than this

lobster and morray eel, look closely before crabbing!

blood star

gorgonian seafan