During our vacation that turned into a babymoon, we did something I’ve always wanted to do – lobstering. For those who don’t know, lobstering (also known as lobster fishing) is very popular in New England, particularly Maine as Maine is known for it. That being said, it was an activity that was high up on my list of things that I wanted to do during our visit.
When deciding on which company we wanted to embark on this experience with, we ended up going with Lucky Catch Cruises – a company located on Commercial Street that specializes in allowing guests to experience lobstering and even catch a few of their own. I found out about this place during our last visit to Maine as we were walking past it. It’s advertised as not just an opportunity to catch some lobster, but also an excursion that allows you to see landmarks along the water, seals, and you even get to cook the lobster that you caught. On their website, they say the following:
You’ll see how these tasty treats get from the bottom of the ocean to your dinner plate and learn about lobster habits, conservation efforts and the difference between hard shells, shedders, shorts, culls, and keepers. Any lobsters we catch can be purchased after the cruise for wholesale “boat” price, and if you don’t have a pot at home, take them across the pier to the Portland Lobster Company restaurant for the freshest lobster dinner anywhere.
How cool is it that you can take the lobster(s) you caught and either take them home or enjoy them cooked fresh right next door? After reading that, it’s safe to say that I was sold on the experience and couldn’t wait to do it. My wife was hesitant at first, so it took a bit of convincing, but she eventually agreed to do it because of how excited I was about it and ended up enjoying herself. We both walked away saying that it was one of our favorite activities from our babymoon and how glad we were that we did it.
If you’re thinking about going lobstering in Maine, here are some things that stood out to us from our experience there.
They’ve Been Doing it For a While:
One of the things that stood out to me was how long they’ve been doing this. According to their website, they have been lobstering for more than a decade, which gives you added confidence that they know what they’re doing and that you’re in good hands.
They Allow You To Make Bait & Catch Lobsters
They’re typically caught through a lobster pot method where lobsters are lured into the pots (that look like almost like little wire baskets) by fish and are unable to escape. This was the method used on the excursion that we went on and it was exciting to witness and be a part of. My wife got some photographs and video footage of the experience since she was too nervous to do some of the tasks while pregnant. We will have to share those later.
They Teach You As You Go About How to Identify the Best Lobsters to Catch:
While there, they tell you information about how to identify the best kind of lobsters to catch so that you’re getting the best-tasting lobster. They went over everything from how they avoid catching female lobsters – especially ones that are pregnant, so they showed us how to identify which lobsters were male and female. They explain what to look out for to catch the sweetest lobster. It was fascinating.
You Get to See Seals and Landmarks:
During our time on the boat, we got to see seals, which was cool. We got quite close to the rocks where there had to be at least 20 of them, relaxing and playing along the water. Additionally, you get to see some neighboring landmarks, which they point out to you while you’re on the cruise. It’s not something that we expected them to do prior to getting on the boat, so it was a pleasant surprise to be able to experience that.
The Lobster Lunch/Dinner is More Affordable if You Catch It:
I can’t remember the exact price at this moment, but the meal for both of our lobsters ended up being cheaper than it would’ve been had we purchased dinner there without catching it on our own via Lucky Catch. For our meal, you could get a baked potato or french fries as your side, but it comes with coleslaw and corn. It was quite a bit of food for a reasonable price and the route we’d recommend going. The lobster was fresh and was probably the best lobster that we had.
You May Not Catch Any Lobster:
In our case, we didn’t end up catching any lobster because the seals (which they were plenty around that day) kept eating the ones that were caught in the traps. Luckily, they tend to keep lobsters from their previous excursions that day in water, so you can grab one of the lobsters from there when taking them home or to the Portland Lobster Company to enjoy. Even though we didn’t get to eat one that we caught, it was still a great experience that we’d recommend anyone do at least once.
There are more photographs from our experience with Lucky Catch Cruises that we shared over on our Substack! To view the post with some of our favorite photographs from their experience, click the button below!
