We went LOBSTERING in Portland, Maine! 🦞 (Lucky Catch tour + trying FRESH steamed lobster!)

Good teamwork ladies. First bite of lobster, Maine lobster. Today is all about the number one food item we think of when we think of Maine, lobster. This afternoon we're going on a one and a half hour lobstering tour with Lucky Catch Cruises where we're going to get to learn all about lobsters, see some beautiful views from the water and get to help catch lobster, which we will then get to eat afterwards. By law, every boat's got to display their buoy somewhere on the boat. Back in the old days, the wooden boats guys would just slash a couple stripes of paint on the side but it's easy to just lay that right over the VHF antenna. But yeah, first one's right in front of us, white buoy, red top, green string. We like to let the trap stay down for about three days before we do the same one over again. So now the rope goes around the winch. That's controlled by this lever here and that's going to bring the traps up to the boat. These first two traps are coming up from about 30 feet deep. And keep your fingers crossed because we don't know what's going to be in there. Could be totally empty, could be other marine life in there besides lobsters. Alright, lobster and a crab, that guy's not going to be big enough to keep. These guys right here, these are called Jonah crabs. Yeah, we have no market to sell these crabs so we end up throwing them all back in. Oh, this rock crab right here, so that's the other species. They look a lot alike, it's hard to tell them apart but these guys are much more feisty. This is the closest thing we'd have to a blue claw crab like you found on the Chesapeake. These are very similar to stone crabs like you get down in the Gulf of Mexico. So from the eye socket down to the edge of the back here has to be at least three and a quarter inches. The short side of this gauge from this point to this point is exactly three and a quarter inches. So this point hooks right behind the eye, pull it back and then you watch to see where this point falls. If it falls on the back, he's big enough. Under the back, obviously this one's small but see how that touches underneath. But if that bottom point touches up here, you got yourself a keeper. This is a great example of regeneration. Can you see the claw right there, that little tiny stripe? Yeah, that's what I was thinking. So lobsters can regrow their claws or their legs or even these antennas. These parts of their mouth will go back if they lose one. So on a small lobster, it takes about a year to regenerate and then the older the lobster gets, the longer it takes. You can see how the traps work, guys. So everything walks up these ramps here on the side to get at the bait. You can see they chew on it right through the bag. We're down to mostly bones in there. Eventually, they're going to fall on the floor kind of near the brick and have a hard time getting back out. So what they do is they climb this second ramp just because that's the easiest way to go. But once they're in the back of the trap, small ones have a way out. See this little vent down here on the bottom and this one on the door? Those, by law, have to be a certain width so all the smaller lobsters can eat for free and then just scoot right out. So it actually takes a lobster seven years to grow to be keeper size. So for six years, we're just training them to go in and out. And then once they turn seven, that's when they get stuck. That little guy probably could have made it through. Now we need three fish in each bag. Head first, okay guys? Guys, get behind that one together, okay? Get a hand on it. So I'm going to slide this one in first and then it's going to be about 10 seconds. When I say one, two, three, you guys just slide the second one over, all right? Yeah, we won't see these traps for about another three more days. Here goes the first one. One, two, three, push. Good teamwork, ladies. So we made it to the first set of traps. They took it out. They saw what was in it. There wasn't really anything to keep. They changed out the bait and then I got to help throw it back in. And I got to help put more bait into a bag because I got to touch a fish. That's all crabs, guys. I'm going to slide this one back. And then anybody that wants to volunteer, come on up and grab those crabs and toss them overboard. While you're right here, go ahead and let's change this bait out, okay? All right. So I just got to put on the gloves and throw back the crabs for the lobsters. So far, we have yet to play we'll get to have dinner tonight. The next one. We're going to remove some crabs. Where is everyone? Oh my God, I'm kind of scared. You're evicted. He did not want to go. They're stubborn. They're stubborn and they are grabbable. Yeah, all of them need to go? You almost got to wait for them to be on the move sometimes. Can I just try for this little buddy? Bye. Oh, this is fun. Okay, I'm going to go for this big boy. Oh God, he looks so mean. He looks like he wants to hurt me. I got him. Almost. You got one more. I'm really impressed. Really impressive. I only ripped one off. Is it a male or female? Soft and feathery. That was such a whirlwind. So much fun. It was a blast. You really feel like you're working on a lobster boat. He kept saying like, come on, we got to get these crabs off. We got to rebait the traps. Like, come on, keep moving, keep moving. So you feel like you're really being put to work. You're a part of the experience for sure. And the tour itself cost $40 per person before tip, which was more than worth it because you learn so much. You get a super scenic boat ride. And at the end of the tour, you have the option to purchase a lobster from the boat for market price. And we got ourselves one lobster for $10. So we're going to take this lobster next door to Portland Lobster Co. And for $12, they'll cook it up for you and they'll give you corn, fries, and coleslaw. I think that's a pretty good deal. Pretty good deal. So we have both never had lobster before. So I cannot think of a better place to have it for the first time than here in Maine. And one thing you'll notice about this lobster is that when you catch the lobster from the ocean, it's kind of a brown color. It doesn't turn that iconic red color that you think of until it's actually cooked. So we watched a YouTube video on how to eat this yesterday. So we're basically experts. But if we do it wrong, don't judge us. All right. So apparently you're supposed to take it by the tail here and give it a twist. Ooh, steamy. Yeah. Maybe you could use this. I think you do it this way first. Oh. There we go. Now we're getting somewhere. We're going to have to come help you. No. First timer here. Look at that. Big lobster tail there. First bite of lobster, Maine lobster. That is really good. This thing is super meaty, way meatier than I thought it would be. It's kind of chewy, chewier than I thought it would be as well. But it has a really good kind of a little bit of a sweet, meaty flavor. And then when you dip it in the butter, just butter goes good on anything. It just takes it to the next level. I really like it. I'm a lobster fan now. Just one bite in. The butter is good. Yeah, it's kind of chewy like you said. No, it doesn't really have like a strong fishy taste or anything like that. I tasted the butter instantly and it had a really good buttery flavor. But together, it's a pretty good combination. As I always say, I still prefer steak. But this is actually pretty good. Next up is the claw. I think you're just supposed to crack it here at the knuckle. I don't know. We're just going to do that. Something like that. Maybe. I don't know. I saw that that's a good sign. That comes right out. Look at that. That's cool. I like the claw meat better. It's a little bit more tender, a little bit more flavor. Claw is the way to go so far. Yeah, I agree. I like the claw better too. I don't know if that's what you're supposed to like better. I don't know if the tail is supposed to be better than the claw. That's just what we like. It was so much fun learning about lobstering. We can't recommend that experience enough. And also trying lobster for the first time. But our time in Portland isn't done just yet. Tomorrow, we're going to explore and eat our way through the city. Are you ready to catch some lobster? Oh, yes. It smells fishy. Fishy fingers.