Feeling the Pinch : Anglers Spring Traps on Opening Day of Lobster Season : ‘ Right now, it’s too rough out there, but I’m willing to bet it’s going to be a good (lobster) season. ‘ Pat McDonald, Dana Point fisherman

Excited by the start of lobster fishing season, seafood connoisseurs Robert and Genevieve Noyes drove from Ontario to Dana Point on Wednesday to buy $80 worth of lobsters that had just been hauled into port.

“I had tried to get them by phone, but I couldn’t get through,” Robert Noyes said. “We’re getting the lobsters now because it’s such a short season.”

Commercial lobster fishing season began at midnight Tuesday, the moment at which the state Department of Fish and Game allowed fishermen to begin hauling their traps from the water. The fishermen were allowed to set traps for the California spiny lobsters last Thursday and to bait them earlier Tuesday.

The storm that accompanied the start of the season was both good news and bad.

The choppy ocean stirred up the sea floor and made waters murky, which causes lobsters to crawl, often to traps. But the choppiness also tossed the small boats around, making trap salvaging difficult, said many of the dozen or so commercial fishermen at Dana Point.

Conditions were so bad that some couldn’t check their traps.

“We went out yesterday to bait the traps and we had to turn around before we could bait them all,” said Pat McDonald, a Dana Point fisherman. “Right now, it’s too rough out there, but I’m willing to bet it’s going to be a good season.”

Some were a little less optimistic.

“As far as the lobsters go, it’s hard to say how good of a year it’s going to be,” said Rodger Healy, a fisherman from Laguna Beach.

Most of the lobsters caught Wednesday were fetching $6.25 to $7.25 a pound from buyers.

“We have a lot of response, but it looks like the weather is not permitting,” said Loi Diep, a buyer for Wellco Trading Corp. in Los Angeles. “Our company expected 3,000 coming in today, but it looks more like 500.”

Although there was no official tally, the haul was not as high as expected. But fishermen said they expect the next few days to be better.

They advised consumers to buy lobsters now, because with the number of commercial lobster fishing boats along the California coasts, the lobsters probably will be fished out a month into the season, which officially ends March 22.

“Get your lobster now, before the end of December, or you’ll be paying $30 a lobster,” warned John Mushnick, a Dana Point fisherman.

Robert Noyes won’t be. At the end of December, he will be enjoying Wednesday’s catch, he said.

“We’re going to have them boiled, split and cleaned. We’ll have some for dinner tonight, and then we’ll freeze the rest.”

Lobster Tale Each year, commercial fishemen in the waters off Orange and Los Angeles counties catch more than $1.3 million worth of California spiny lobster. A six-year trend: *

Pounds caught In thousands ‘93*: 193.5 * Preliminary *

Value In millions ‘93*: $1.3 * Preliminary *

Creature Close-Up Species: Panulirus interruptus Range: Point Concepcion to southern Baja California. Habitat: Rock and coral crvices Features: Fives sets of legs; female has crab pincers on the last set of legs Size: Up to 16 inches long; 15 to 20 pounds Life span: Up to 30 years Distinction: Has no claws, unlike the Maine lobster. Dining habits: Emerges at night to scavenge on marine life. Sources: California Department of Fish and Game; Times reports Researched by CAROLINE LEMKE / Los Angeles Times