lobstering: part 1

Dan and I were dying to visit my college roommate, Cait, and her boyfriend, Kris.  Kris has been lobstering for as long as he can remember and Cait is working towards her lobstering license.  So, when they invited us to come out on the lobster boat for a day, we jumped at the chance.

On Monday, we headed down to Brunswick (where Kris is from).  Upon our arrival, we went to the marina to help Kris's dad, Fred, load bait onto the boat for the following day.

Here is Fred on the Tyrant, their lobster boat.  They keep it in Harpswell, a few miles away from their home in Brunswick.  Although I grew up in Maine and have a lobsterman cousin, I know relatively nothing about lobstering.  So here are some facts I picked up on our trip:  Fred fishes 350 traps and hauls traps on Tuesdays and Fridays.  Legally, a lobsterman can have up to either 800 or 880 traps (there was some discrepancy here).  The lobstermen with big productions will often haul traps 4 to 6 days a week.  It is generally considered wise to let your traps sit for about 2 days to increase your catch.  Hauling around 350 traps can take anywhere from 7 to 11 hours depending on how smoothly the day goes. 

Here is the co-op where Fred gets his bait and gasoline.  He brings his catch here at the end of the day and is paid the difference between what he catches and what he consumes (by way of bait and gasoline) every two weeks.  Currently, Fred gets about $2.90 per pound of soft-shelled lobster.  This is a pretty low number.  It's crazy to think of how much the price inflates once that lobster makes its way to a restaurant.

Trying out for Mr. August of the Lobstermen of the Year Calendar?

Dan is bringing a crate of pogies from the bait ice house to the end of the dock to be put on Fred's boat.  We filled up 6 crates half with pogies and half with red fish.  And by "we"  I mean Dan, Kris and Cait.  I didn't actually help with this....I was too busy documenting?? Whoops.  Why use both red fish and pogies you ask? Well, lobstermen and seals don't really get along.  Although they're super cute, seals can be an awfully big pain in the butt.  They will try to eat the pogies out of the traps, thereby reducing the chances that a lobsterman will catch any lobster.   That's where the red fish come in.  Although more expensive than pogies, their spiky heads poke the seals before they can get at the pogies and keep the pogies nice and safe for lobsters to find them.

Here's a crate filled with red fish.  Ugh.  Sorry to show you something gross, but that's all part of a day in the life of a lobsterman. I mean, you've gotta catch the lobsters somehow, right?  Now, want to hear something even more disgusting?  You know McDonald's fish filet sandwich?  Well, it usually comes from red fish.  And, get this, the red fish filet is cheaper, yes, cheaper, than the left over head.  How's that for appetizing?

A crate of red fish being lowered onto Fred's boat.

There's Cait operating the crane for the very first time!  Imagine how nerve wracking it would be to try to lower a crate of smelly fish heads over your boyfriend's father.  Tipping the crate would be not only costly, but potentially detrimental to your relationship.  But Cait handled the pressure well and did a great job! 

When we they finished loading up the bait, we headed out to Jewell Island on Kris's skiff to camp for the night.  Jewell Island is the farthest out in Casco Bay and was used as a strategic military lookout during WWII.  At the time, people were very afraid of attacks on Bath Ironworks, which built many of our nation's ships. 

Jack was our watchdog.

Here I am setting up camp.  We had a really awesome campsite surrounded by water.  Behind me, you can see what is referred to as the Punch Bowl and is basically like a gigantic tidal pool. To my left was a rocky beach.  You just can't beat being lulled to sleep by the ocean.

These pictures are of another part of the island called Cocktail Cove.  It's a popular place to moor your boat for the night.  We watched the sun start to set and could even see a microscopic Portland Headlight flashing in the distance.  Then we headed back to camp, where we cooked up some delicious dinner over the fire and went to bed early, in preparation for our 5:15 am wake up call the next day.