Hello! My dad retired and got his lifelong dream...a boat! He has gotten all of the lobster hooping supplies and has the basic system down, except he is not able to get any lobsters. He is going out in Long Beach harbor, choosing spots close to rip rap or rocks, varying depths of 30-50 feet and working SO hard and not having success. My brother helps him and they have 10 nets and do at least 30-40 pulls, and nothing. Is this just common in Long Beach? Is there something else we are missing here? I went with them last week and it was so disheartening to watch them work so hard and have nothing...again!

He has a bait tube/cage and is using a combination of squid and mackerel. Is there some other way to choose a spot? I know people are protective of their exact spots, and I completely get that, but if you can just help with tips that would be amazing. Also feel free to PM me if you don't want it public. They go out right at dusk, they try different locations around rock formations, and vary depths too. They stay until midnight, make sure they hit high tide, all of the things that are supposed to work. Based on what I read this seems like their system should be working better. I know it is like fishing where some nights are better than others, but they never have a good night! :(

My husband's birthday is in a few weeks and my parents want to have a lobster dinner for his party (of the 6 of us) and out of six nights of hooping they have 2 lobsters total. I know we can buy lobster but it means so much to them if they can catch them. If anyone has suggestions I would really appreciate it. I felt so sad for them I wanted to go buy lobsters and stick them in the hoops just so they had something to show for all of their work! Thank you so much to anyone willing to help!!