Captain Bobby was here the other day showing off his newly overhauled old boat that he has named "Bridget & Mary". Lookin' Good Bobby!


Check out this tasty treat to try before the really warm weather gets here.

LOBSTER CHILI:

2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 lb lobster meat
1 onion
4 stalks celery
1 carrot
1 bay leaf
2 cups great nothern beans
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
salt
pepper

Preparation:
Dice half the onion, celery and carrot into large pieces, place in a 6 quart or larger saucepan or stock pot with the bay leaf and 3 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Fine dice remaining onion, celery and carrot. Heat the pan and olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion, celery and carrot until translucent, add garlic and saute a bit more. Add water, chili powder, and white beans and cook until beans are done, about 45 minutes. Add lobster meat to soup. Finish with cream and cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

We're celebrating our move to our new home by giving you a sneak peak at the amazing view from our new "front porch" along with a tasty recipe for everyone that likes a little spice in their life. Enjoy!

CAJUN MAINE LOBSTER PIE
Ingredients:
One 9 inch pie crust
2 eggs
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup bacon-chopped
12 oz fresh Maine Lobster-chopped rough
1 green onion
Salt & pepper
Cayenne
Louisiana Hot sauce to taste

Pre-bake pie crust until golden brown. Saute bacon and green onions until bacon is browned. Add Maine Lobster and stir gently. Mix in eggs and milk. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, and Louisiana Hot sauce (a little more than you think you should use!). Pour into pie crust and bake on 350 until crust is golden brown and set. Serves one hungry Cajun breakfast and maybe lunch. If you want to share, make two! - Lori from Louisanna

Valentine's Day is fast approaching! Check out our romantic Dinner for Two, complete with Valentine's chocolates! Click here to order!

As always, we'll ship lobster directly to you, fresh off the boat!

Trying to stick to that New Year's Resolution diet? Try this recipe that packs flavor but not calories.

Ingredients
2 teaspoons margarine or butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups skim milk
2 beaten egg yolks
1/2 lb. fresh, cooked lobster meat
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
2 whole wheat English Muffins, split and toasted

Directions
In a medium saucepan melt margarine or butter. Stir in flour and salt. Add the milk all at once. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly, cook and stir 1 minute more.

Stir about half of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks. Return all to saucepan. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly.

Stir in lobster, dry sherry, black pepper, and cayenne.Heat through. Serve over English muffin halves. If desired, garnish with snipped chives.

Happy New Year! Check out our new special, just in time for 2010! For a limited time enjoy six of our 4-5 ounce fresh-frozen Maine lobster tails and one pound of cooked and peeled Maine shrimp. Only $115.

NEW YEAR SPECIAL!

Captain Curt Brown out on his boat in the open water.

Ideal to use with our fresh cooked lobster meat

Ingredients:

1-1.5 lbs. cooked lobster meat, cut into chunks
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sherry or dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Topping:
Store bought puff pastry or biscuits

Divide the lobster meat into four 8-ounce ramekins or gratin dishes, or place all in a 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish.

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until bubbly, about 1 minute. Add the cream and sherry or wine and bring just to a boil., Whisk until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Season with the paprika and with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce over the lobster in the dishes. The sauce will thicken as it cools.

Top with store bought biscuits or puff pastry

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven until the sauce is bubbly and the top is golden, 10 to 15 minutes for ramekins, 15 to 20 minutes for a large baking dish.

A Jumbo of a Holiday Gift! Now through Dec. 31 send four delicious Jumbo lobsters, two gigantic Gingerbread whoopie pies made by Wicked Whoopies and a 2010 Catch a Piece of Maine calendar. Yum!

Perfect for Christmas Eve dinner!
a traditional San Francisco style seafood stew with the addition of Maine lobster. The perfect recipe to make with one of our Lobster Shares or Lobster Meat

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 shallots, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
5 cups fish stock (you can make your own stock with the lobster shells)
1 bay leaf
1 pound steamer clams, scrubbed
1 pound mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Cooked meat from 4 1.5 lb lobsters (about 1 lb. lobster meat), cut into bite-size chunks

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, shallots, and salt and saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, and saute 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomatoes with their juices, wine, fish stock and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes.
Add the clams and mussels to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels begin to open, about 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and lobster. Simmer gently until the shrimp are just cooked through, the lobster has been warmed and the clams and mussels are completely open. Stir gently about 5 minutes longer and discard any clams and mussels that do not open. Remove bay leaf. Season the soup, to taste, with more salt and red pepper flakes.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with crusty bread, sourdough would be perfect.

Catch a Piece of Maine Lobster Risotto
This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled for a holiday feast!

Ingredients:
1 lb. lobster meat (click here to check out our special on lobster meat!)
1½ cups Arborio rice
5 cups lobster stock (made from lobster shells)
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
½ small white or yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Dash of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
Four tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs, such as flat leaf parsley, chives or tarragon.

Cooking the Lobsters
Place two inches of water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Place the lobsters into the water and cover. Cook for 15-17 minutes.
Once the lobsters are cooked remove them from the water and cool. Reserve the cooking liquid.
Remove the meat from the shells. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Lobster Stock
Place the shells back into the reserved cooking liquid and pour enough water to cover (about five cups of water).
Bring the water and shells to a boil and bring heat to low. Simmer shells for about one hour, or until the water turns a golden color.
Remove shells and pour stock through a fine sieve.
Stock will be somewhat cloudy.

Risotto
In a medium sauce pan heat lobster stock over medium-low heat.
Heat a large sauce to medium heat. Add olive oil.
Dice onion and grate garlic (garlic can also be finely minced). Add to sauce pan and sauté until translucent and fragrant (about two minutes).
Add Arborio rice and sauté for two minutes.
Add a dash of salt and pepper, seasonings can be adjusted later.
Add one to two ladles of the stock to the risotto. Stir until stock is completely absorbed. Continue to add stock one to two ladles-full at a time, stirring constantly, until rice is cooked through.
Add a bit more salt and pepper to taste and dash of cayenne.
Stir in parmesan cheese and lobster (cut in to bite-sized pieces).
Top each serving with a tablespoon of the chopped fresh herbs.

Yields four servings.

Well, the 70* weather of last week has passed! We've got quite a winter storm blowing through right now. No lobster boats going out today!

The weather has been crazy here in Maine lately! Yesterday the high was 68*. In December! At least it is good weather for lobstering!

Just a reminder, we fish for lobster year round. That means we can ship you the freshest that Maine has to offer regardless of how cold it is outside!

During storms lobster traps often wash ashore due to rough seas. This one was photographed at Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth.

perfect for a holiday dinner! recipe courtesy of one our customers. Thanks Barbara!

Lobster Filling:
2 cups cooked fresh lobster meat, chopped
10 oz ricotta cheese
1 large egg, beaten
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
Shredded mozzarella (to bind)
Half & half or cream, to moisten
¼ cup chopped parsley
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste

Pink Sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 heaping T. garlic, finely chopped
1-15 oz can diced tomatoes in juice (any kind), pureed
10 fresh basil leaves, julienned
1/4 cup heavy cream or half & half
1/2 cup fresh-grated parmesan cheese
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

Stuffing the Ravioli:
~ 48 (3-by-3-inch) wonton wrappers
1 egg white plus 1 tablespoon water
Flour

Directions:
To make filling: Combine all ingredients and blend well. Mixture should be thick and not too wet. Add extra cheese if necessary to get the right consistency. Refrigerate 30 minutes before using. (Can be made a day ahead.)

To make sauce: In a nonreactive heavy skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Saute garlic about 3 minutes, or just until it begins to color a bit; don't let it burn. Add tomatoes, basil and cream, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and let sauce reduce about 2 minutes. Stir in parmesan cheese until it melts and season with salt and pepper. Don't let sauce boil after adding cheese or it will get stringy. (You can make this a day ahead and reheat over low heat or in a double boiler.)

To fill ravioli: Working on a piece of wax paper with a sprinkle of white flour, spoon a heaping tablespoon of filling in center of each wonton wrapper. Lightly beat egg white with 1 tablespoon water. Using a small paintbrush, moisten all edges of wrapper well with beaten egg white wash. Fold wrapper diagonally and seal edges together by pressing with tines of a fork; press out any air. (You can make these several hours ahead and refrigerate.)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and drop in filled wontons. You may want to do these in batches so you don't overcrowd pot. Cook 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Drain well. Pour sauce over raviolis and serve with additional parmesan cheese. They are also good if you want to pan-sear them just before serving.

These freeze well UNCOOKED. Makes ~ 4 dozen raviolis.

From now until December 31 we have two great specials, perfect for holiday gifts and recipes!

With the purchase of a Lobster Share you will receive a FREE 2010 Catch a Piece of Maine calendar! Our calendar includes beautiful photos of the Maine coastline and our lobsterman. It makes a great gift! For more information or to place an order, click here.

When you order 4 pounds of our delicious, fresh-picked lobster meat you will now receive $30.00 OFF! For more information or to order, click here

Give us a call at 1-877-222-4630 or email andrea@catchapieceofmaine.com or laura@catchapieceofmaine.com with any questions!

Thanksgiving special! $10 off your order of 8 or more 5-6 ounce tails now through November 24. Enter Thanks09 at checkout.

Pumpkin Seed Crusted Baked Lobster Tails
the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving dinner starring lobster tails!

Ingredients
8 lobster tails
salt & fresh ground pepper
1 cup dry white wine
6 slices bread
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds roughly chopped
4 tablespoon Italian parsley (chopped)
1 stick of butter
6 garlic cloves diced small
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

For stuffing, tear the bread into small pieces. Chop parsley. Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add parsley and crushed garlic into skillet. Saute for 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Add bread, salt, and pepper. If needed, add a bit of milk or water to hold it together. Mix and set aside.

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Split top side of lobster shell down center with scissors, keeping tail fan intact. Pull shell open. Lift tail meat, leaving it attached at fan end, and lay over top of shell. Make a cut down center of meat 1/4 inch deep. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour wine into a large baking dish. Place lobster tails in dish. Spoon stuffing over top of meat. Sprinkle the toasted pumpkin seeds on top.

Bake (uncovered) 10 to 12 minutes until meat turns opaque. If desired, serve with melted butter and lemon wedges.

It was a cold start to the 2009 yesterday morning as Captain Curt and I participated in the Cape Elizabeth polar dip to help benefit Cape Elizabeth High School’s senior class. When I woke up yesterday morning and looked out the window I thought it was going to be cold but it wasn’t until I opened the front door and the wind literally took my breath away that I knew getting in the water was going to hurt bad. When we got down to Kettle Cove there was already a group of about 100 people ready to take the plunge. Walking down the beach toward the crowd in my bathing suit was sheer torture and any exposed skin turned red within seconds. There was a crew from a local news channel filming and as I passed them I heard the reporter say the temperature was -15 with the wind chill. This did not help. As I heard the countdown 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…I remember pretending that I was on a warm beach in the Caribbean and that I was running into crystal clear blue water surrounded by palm trees. The rule is you have to go all the way under the water before you can come back out and as I went under any thoughts of the Caribbean were quickly replaced with tunnel vision as I ran back out of the water in search of my towel. As I wrapped myself in the towel I vaguely remember seeing other people in the same state of misery and I thought (as I do every year) “There is no way I will ever do this again.”
You’ll notice that there are no pictures to document this event…there is a reason. The cameraman (who shall remain nameless) got too cold on the beach and missed Curt and I going in the water!
Happy New Year!!
-Captain Brendan

I got out for the first time in a while yesterday and as I was passing Ram Island Light the sun coming up over the horizon made it look like the clouds were on fire. Depsite the numb fingers and toes due to freezing temps this amazing view reminded me how nice it was to get back out on the water after almost a week off. For the past month the weather just has not been cooperating at all. It seems that every week the marine forecast consistently calls for winds around 20-30 knots and seas in the 6-9 foot range…not ideal lobstering weather around the rocks. I’ve been able to sneak out one day a week, maybe two if I’m lucky but not nearly as much as I’d like to go this time of year. I’m going a little stir crazy but also getting a jump on other tasks that need to be done for next season like painting buoys and repairing traps that got damaged in the last big storm we had a few weeks ago. I guess there’s not too much we can do about the weather so there’s no sense getting frustrated but I’d sure rather be out lobstering today instead of writing about it.
Captain John R.

Winter is here along the Maine coast. Last week the temperature didn’t rise above freezing for three days. Other than the cold the weather has been beautiful, calm winds and calm seas. Heading out in the boat before the sun comes up is definitely the coldest part of the day. As I was steaming out last Friday freezing spray coated the entire boat. As the sun came up and it started to warm everything (myself included) began to thaw slowly. As you can see below, even the buoys were iced up. With cold weather like this it is important to get the lobsters out of the trap and in to the live tank as soon as possible or they will actually freeze. Most of the lobsters I am catching this time of year have a real hard shell and are packed full of meat. These cold water lobsters are so good I usually can’t resist taking a few home with me to cook up and eat…after a hot shower of course!
-Captain Curt

Yesterday was quite the fishy day out on the water. All day long I kept catching different fish in my traps. While this isn’t out of the ordinary, it is rare that I catch many different species of fish in one day. As the day went on and I kept catching fish I decided to get pictures of them to show you what else comes up in our traps other than lobsters. While I had my camera out I got picture of three different types of fish. The top fish is a sculpin. These fish live on the ocean bottom and will eat small lobsters and crabs. The middle fish is a cunner. Cunners live near the bottom and can range in color from a deep red to a light blue. The bottom fish is a dogfish. These fish are a type of shark and inhabit all depths of the ocean. Some days you can see the fins from whole schools of dogfish swimming near the surface of the water. The neat thing about lobster traps is that while they catch many different neat creatures, all of them remain alive and can be returned to the ocean.
-Captain Curt

The fall mornings here in Maine have cooled off pretty quickly over the last few weeks. I debated whether to put on my heavy jacket as I walked out the door yesterday morning at 5:00 a.m. For a second I even thought about grabbing my winter hat. I quickly realized that this is only the beginning of the cold weather and if I resort to putting on a coat and hat already, it is going to be a long winter out in the boat. Truthfully, yesterday’s morning temperature of 39 degrees will seem tropical in mid December when many mornings are below zero. That being said I was glad to see the sun break the horizon over the glassy calm water we had yesterday. The sun seemed to be taking its time coming up so I did my best to push it along as you can see in the picture below. Overall, yesterday was another perfect day out on the water here in Maine with plenty of sun and more importantly, plenty of lobsters!
-Captain Brendan

After narrowly missing another hurricane last week, the lobstering here in Maine is getting back to normal again. After a big storm system goes by it usually takes us a couple days to get our traps back in order. The big waves and swells actually move the traps and all too often they get tangled with other traps and it turns into a big mess. A good portion of my day yesterday was actually spent untangling “birds nests” of rope and traps. Luckily the storm wasn’t as bad as it could have been and I didn’t lose a single trap. Fall is certainly in the air here in Maine. The leaves are changing color and it is nice being on the water and seeing all the different colors of the trees on the shore. I think this is my favorite time of year out on the water, it is chilly in the morning but as the day goes on, the crisp air warms up and you can get away with wearing a t-shirt. The fact that the lobstering always picks up this time of year off of Cape Elizabeth helps too! We’ve been starting to take video cameras out in the boat with us to show you what it’s like so as soon as we get some of these videos online we’ll let you know. Keep checkin’ in!
-Captain John R.

Sometimes when I’m watching a trap come up through the water I can just tell there is something huge in it. That was certainly the case yesterday afternoon as I was hauling a trap in Peabbles Cove. I saw the trap coming up and was surprised to see something massive in the back of a trap. It looked too big to be a lobster but as the trap broke the surface I realized that it was the biggest lobster I have seen so far this year. I usually only see two or three lobsters this big every year, not because they are not down there, but because they are too big to fit into a trap. This lobster probably weighed around 10 pounds and was so strong I had a hard time holding onto him. You have to be very careful with a lobster this big because if he ever got a hold of one of your fingers he’d probably keep it. After this picture I threw him back into the ocean where he belongs. Another way we protect our resource is to release all lobsters over a certain size in order to protect the breeding population. He’s probably been roaming the bottom of the ocean for twenty years and because he’s protected he’ll hopefully be around for at least another twenty more.
-Captain Curt

September and October are the time of year when lobstermen up and down the coast keep a constant eye and ear on the marine forecast. Here in Maine we see the remnants of many of the hurricanes that make landfall on the east coast. Right now we bracing for the remnants of Hurricane Hanna. This Saturday and Sunday the forecast is calling for 45 knot winds and 10 foot seas…not exactly ideal weather for lobstering. Because Cape Elizabeth is exposed to these storms, we have to get out to move our traps into deeper water before the storms hit. Luckily I got out yesterday and bumped all my gear out and baited heavy so hopefully the traps will be stuffed with lobsters whenever I can get out next, probably early next week. This time of year the name of the game is risk and reward. There are lots of lobsters in risky spots right now. It is tempting to set a lot of gear in these hot spots, but one storm could do some real damage. Check out this picture from a storm two years ago, on the left is Captain Ted’s boat riding the storm out. His boat was fine but any traps in the area probably didn’t fare as well.
-Captain Brendan R.

Labor Day marks the unofficial halfway point of the lobstering season for most lobstermen. Looking back at the season to this point it has been quite eventful for us here at Catch a Piece of Maine. The first highlight was Trap Day where all the Catch a Piece of Maine lobstermen set their traps and we had a big party on the dock with friends, family and lots of lobster rolls. The season started off slow as it always does, spring fishing is spotty at best but around the Fourth of July we started to see the lobstering pick up and since it has been a pretty good season. The lobstering this month has been particularly good, especially compared to last year. The CBS national morning show came up and filmed us on Trap Day and then came up again in July to film us hauling our traps. This Sunday they will actually air the piece on the CBS Sunday morning news between 9 and 10:30 am eastern time. Overall it has been a great summer for us, the biggest thrill for us has been taking customers from all over the country out to haul their trap. It makes us feel like kids again to see the excitement on our new friends faces when the traps come up out of the water. We hope you've enjoyed the season to date as much as we have. Thanks to all involved, and keep an eye on your trap, the lobstering is only going to get better from here on out.
-Captain John R

Some days out on the water are better than others. Yesterday was definitely one of the better ones. Actually it was the best day I’ve had out on the water yet this year, for a number of reasons. Heading out before the sun came up I was treated to an incredible sunrise. My first line of traps that I had set in a new spot was a hot spot with lots of lobsters. After hauling about twenty traps stuffed full of lobsters I was hauling up a trap and it was all tangled with monofilament fishing line. I figured my luck had run out but as I untangle the thin line from my rope I noticed it getting heavier. Wondering what was on the end of the line I continued to haul it up and sure enough there was a brand new fishing rod…no joke! I have no idea how someone’s fishing rod ended up tangled in my rope but I do know that I now have a new fishing rod. After about another hour of good lobstering the water just exploded with action and I was able to test out the new rod. Bluefish were chasing pogies all along the surface so I spent a good hour and a half trying to catch some bluefish. The fishing was incredible and the rod worked great. You can see the white water from the pogies being chased to the surface in the picture below. I spent the rest of the day alternating between lobstering and fishing and didn’t get back to the dock till about 7 at night. As I was tying up the boat I grinned and thought, just another day at the office.
-Captain Curt

As my first trap broke the surface this morning I saw a huge four pound lobster inside. After taking a quick look at this lobster's tail, I carefully grabbed this lobster and released it gently back into the ocean. Why would I do such a thing? The answer has everything to do with the conservation ethic that Maine lobstermen are well known for. For decades lobstermen up and down the coast of Maine have protected the broodstock of our resource by releasing pregnant female lobsters in order to sustain the fishery into the future. Before we release these lobsters we look at the second tail flipper from the left for a v-notch. If there is no notch in the tail of a pregnant lobster, we cut a small notch so that other lobstermen will know that that particular lobster is a breeder and is to be set free again and again. A quick look at the tail of this morning’s monster lobster and I could see that it was a breeder. Knowing that in the next year that one lobster alone will produce over 100,000 eggs makes it a little easier to throw back such a nice lobster.
-Captain Brendan

Never knowing what is coming up in the next trap is one of the things that keeps lobstering exciting. Yesterday I caught something I had never seen before…at least not here in Maine. I’m more used to seeing these triggerfish when I’m diving down in the Caribbean so you can imagine how surprised I was when this triggerfish came up in my trap. According to one Gulf of Maine fish identification book: “it is only as a stray that any member of the family enters into the Gulf of Maine fauna.” Hopefully this tropical fish has the sense to head south soon because it won’t be long before the water here in Maine starts to cool off fast. Check out the neat shape of the triggerfish along with its color and teeth.
-Captain Curt

Last Sunday we enjoyed a day out on the water watching the lobsterboat races in Harpswell. The rain held off and hundreds of boats turned out to race or enjoy the show.

Monday we were socked in with some real thick fog. Hauling in the fog is a little extra challenging because I can’t see shore and I always have to keep track of where I am or I lose my bearings. One way I keep track is to always keep an eye on the lobster buoys around me. Knowing which buoys head in which direction helps me orient myself and I can just move from buoy to buoy as I haul. If I lose track of my buoys my compass always gets me back on course. Around noon time the fog broke and it turned into a hot sunny clear day. Since then the temperatures here in Maine have been sweltering in the 80’s with high humidity. Yesterday it was so hot I had to take a break from catching lobsters (lots around right now) and jump in the water to cool off. Despite the hot weather, the water here is still wicked cold and I couldn’t get back in the boat fast enough. Lots of fog and lots of lobsters means that summer is in full swing here in Maine.
-Captain Curt

Tuesday was another nice day out in the boat, no wind and not a cloud in the sky for most of the day. The lobstering picked up too, more and more lobsters are starting to show up as the water warms. Unfortunately, this summer weather brings with it some severe thunderstorms and Tuesday afternoon was a good example of why we keep an eye and ear on the weather. Around 2:30 some dark clouds started heading my way so I finished hauling my last traps, cleaned my boat and started heading back to the harbor. On my way in the sky kept getting darker and darker and then I could see a wall of rain heading my way. I hit the throttle hoping I could beat the heavy rain in. Unfortunately, the rain caught up with me and was coming in sideways so I got pretty wet. The wind was whipping and it got a little snotty but luckily the thunder and lightning held off until after I got the boat tied up. We got a pretty good show for a good half hour or so and I tried to get a picture of the storm over the harbor but all you could see were the rain drops on the lens. I’m sure we’ll get another storm soon so I’ll try and get a good picture next time, hopefully from somewhere dry.
-Captain Curt

If you’ve ever been to Maine you’ve probably noticed all the different colored buoys floating on the surface of the ocean. These are lobster buoys. Every lobsterman along the coast of Maine marks their traps with buoys that float on the surface and are attached to the trap with rope that runs from the trap up to the buoy. Each individual lobsterman has different buoy colors so they can distinguish their traps from others. Buoy colors range from plain white to elaborate color schemes with stripes and dots. My colors are fairly simple with green on top and tan on the bottom. I’m often asked how I chose which colors to use. The answer is pretty simple, when I first started lobstering as a kid I needed to decide which colors to use so I walked out to my parents garage and in the corner were two old buckets of paint. One can had green paint and one had tan paint and that was that. Below is a picture of my buoy I took today while I was out in the boat.
-Captain Curt

Another perfect Maine weekend brought warm temperatures and lots of sun for all us to here along the coast of Maine. The warm temperatures help heat up the waters of the coastal harbors and bays. This increase in water temperature is a warm welcome to millions of lobsters that have been migrating from offshore waters back into the shallow and protected "molting" grounds. Each year around this time lobsters will travel into the warmest waters where they will "shed" and grow into another larger shell. This is the transformation of a "hard-shell" lobster into a "sheddar" or soft shell lobster. During the molting process, the lobsters are extremely vulnerable to predators because their shell is so soft. Right now the catch is very low because most lobsters are in the process of molting and we will not catch them for a month or so. All of us here are checking our traps once to twice per week. If we catch one legal lobster per trap per week, we are happy right now. With the nice weather this past weekend, Johnny and I had the chance to take the Catch a Piece of Maine boat over to Richmond Island, off of Cape Elizabeth for a cruise. We didn't catch many lobsters this past week, but I can assure you that we caught quite a sun burn over the weekend!

In anticipation for an early morning of lobstering, I loaded the boat the night before and turned in early to be ready for the 4:15am subconscious alarm clock. Unfortunately the morning broke with thick fog and zero visibility. I had to abandon my lobstering till later in the day. The late afternoon was as nice as it gets here in Maine with glassy calm conditions and temperatures in 70’s. With four hours until dark, I asked Captain Curt to join me to speed up the hauling as to get through all the traps. Captain Curt was pleased make the ride due to picture perfect weather conditions and also to get a better look at my secret lobstering spots. Normally I am quite secretive; however I made a business sacrifice to let Captain Curt see my lobster “honey holes” in trade to get fresh bait on all the traps before dark.
The first trap we came to was in a small cove in front of Portland Headlight. Very shallow and protective surrounded by steep rocky walls. As we looked up towards the light house, twenty or so on-lookers were aiming their cameras down at us to get the perfect picture to take home with them that represented their trip to Maine. As the first yellow trap broke the surface, three or four big lobsters were hiding in the back of the trap. Captain Curt and all our new friends with cameras up above were excitedly surprised. I on the other hand just let my secret spot out of the bag and it no longer was a secret to Captain Curt.
Captain John R

I brought a few lobsters home with me to eat after a long day out on the water last week. I was starving and really excited to eat a couple delicious lobsters until I looked in the refrigerator and realized there was no butter. Panicked, I rifled through the fridge but still found none. While putting everything back in the fridge I came across two lemons when I remembered someone saying how good lobsters were with lemon juice. Let’s just say I’ve found a new way to eat my lobsters. I’ve already stocked up on lemons and am looking forward to trying it again tomorrow night. I’d suggest next time you decide to Catch a Piece of Maine try a little lemon juice with your lobster, I think you’ll like it.
-Captain Curt

The arrival of Memorial Day weekend has brought the start of summer for us here in Maine. Early Sunday morning I was fortunate enough to spend the entire day on the water in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. At 5:15 am I climbed down the ladder at Hobson's Pier and started up the engine to my boat. As I cruised out of the harbor and watched the sun rise over Ram Island Lighthouse, I could only smile as a feeling of content overwhelmed my vessel. I asked myself, "What other job could make me so excited to wake up at 5:15 am on a Sunday morning and go to work?" The answer for me is simple. There is nothing that compares to the excitement and rewards of lobstering. I feel so lucky every morning I wake up and watch the boats pass by the harbor. Maine is a special place. We wait so patiently all year for the arrival of summer. We all complain during the winter and sometimes question why we live here. The arrival of summer burns away all memories of the cold long winter. For the next 3 months, we will all watch Maine come alive and the only question in our minds will be, “how could I ever imagine living anywhere else?" All of us lobstermen at Catch a Piece of Maine are excited to share our summer with you. We don't consider lobstering to be a job; it's a way of life.
-Captain Brendan

Here are five things you may not know about lobsters:
1.Lobsters take between five and seven years to reach legal size.
2.Lobsters live in waters from Newfoundland all the way to North Carolina, but the highest densities are right here in Maine.
3.Lobsters can grow to more than 50 lbs and lobsters more than 20 lbs are fairly common throughout New England waters.
4.Lobsters have very poor eyesight but a very good sense of smell.
5.The easiest way to tell the difference between a male lobster and a female lobster is the females almost always have a wider tails than the males.
-Captain Curt

Check out our latest video on the Down East Magazine website!

Click here to watch Captain John Ready explain how a lobster trap works!

This past weekend Brendan and I took the Catch a Piece of Maine boat out together for the first time this season. Usually our busy schedules keep one of us on shore where the other gets the excitement of hauling traps. The boat departed around 6am with flat calm seas and little wind. Our day of hauling began 20 yards from shore off Portland headlight in the shallows of a rocky reef made of boulders and broken rock formations. Read More...

With the ocean temperature still below 50 degrees, the lobster catch remains slow in Maine. With the high cost of deisel fuel and poor catch, many of the Catch a Piece of Maine lobstermen are letting their traps "set" for 6-7 days before tending the traps. Captain Randy spent much of the week working on Long Island Read More...

The wind finally let go yesterday and I was able to get out lobstering for the first time in almost a week. I never know how I'm going to do after a string of bad weather, sometimes the rough seas shake the lobsters into crawling and I do well and other times the lobsters hunker down and don't trap. Yesterday was a little of both for me. Some spots didn't catch many lobsters at all but other spots looked pretty good. One spot in particular was wicked good, I had four counts (four keeper lobsters in one trap) out of two traps in a row. Check out the picture of one of these traps, I wish all my traps looked like this all the time. Notice that in this picture you can't tell where along the coast of Cape Elizabeth this trap is located, that's because I don't want any of the other lobstermen in the area to know where this hot spot is. Well the forecast looks good for tomorrow so I've gotta go get some more traps ready and I know exactly where I'm gonna set 'em!
-Captain Curt

Another breezy day with winds out of the Northeast direction keeping our CAPOM boats in until tomorrow. In chance of a flawed weather forecast, I arose around 5am to check on the sea conditions at Two lights, the outer tip of Cape Elizabeth. Large waves with a strong ocean surge, plays danger for any traps left up in the shoal, rocky bottom. One of Captain Ted’s Orange lobster buoys looks like it was placed to close to the rocks as a large wave pushes it closer to shore. This is half the battle, fishing in the danger bottom of the Cape shore. It’s a gamble for the big catch and the Gourmet lobster dinner for our partners. Like any business, its risk and return and this time the sea won. Captain Ted can rescue his trap at low tide later in the day by dragging it up the beach to safety where it can be reset tomorrow.
-Captain John Ready

Lobster catches remained spotty throughout last week. All of the Catch a Piece of Maine lobstermen managed to haul through their traps atleast once during the week. Captain John Ready and I enjoyed the Maine spring weather as we shifted our traps towards the rocks off of Portland Headlight. Captain Ted, Captain Curt and Captain Randy all were forced to move their traps away from their favorite spring areas due to a potential northeast storm heading our way this week. The northeast winds bring heavy seas and waves that destroy lobster traps that are in too shallow of water. Captain Bobby and Captain Jeb are fishing the deeper water and saw a few promising signs last week as they reported a high number of "shorts" (undersized lobsters) in their traps. Hopefully the larger legal sized lobsters will end up in their traps next. We're all planning on heading back out in our boats wednesday for another day of lobstering. -Captain Brendan

I saw Captain Curt returning from a research trip today and took a quick video of him cruising by the office. To see this video and others, Click Here!
We will be adding lots of videos as the season progresses so check back often!
~Wendy

Some of the Catch a Piece of Maine team experienced quite a thrill this past Tuesday night as we hosted a lobster bake for the entire Team USA hockey team. Team USA was in Portland preparing for the upcoming World Hockey Championships up in Canada. Read More...

John and Brendan Ready have been named as the 2007 SBA National Young Entrepreneurs of the Year. They have been recognized for their success and innovation in the business world. They will travel to Washington D.C on April 21st for a 3 day awards banquet. The award is given annually to the top entrepreneur age 30 and under who exemplify a creative, successful business that provides additional jobs and added value to their industry.

This inaugural Catch a Piece of Maine lobster season begins May 1st, 2008 when the lobster traps are set into the cold waters of Maine. Read More...