Legendary: Peanuts Larson

George 'Peanuts' Larson.

(Words from Croul Publications)

It took only two weeks after Laguna Beach's new marine sanctuary laws went into effect on January 1, 2012, for the Dept. of Fish and Game to make its first arrest of poachers. Two night divers were caught with a haul of 47 spiny lobsters which were photographed for evidence and then released back to the briny deep.

The incident put us in mind of Laguna Beach's George "Peanuts" Larson, shown in this '50s photo with the kind of lobster nobody has seen in local waters in recent memory. Peanuts was a skilled diver and fisherman who eked out a subsistence living so that he could surf full-time — leading the "surf lifestyle" long before there was even a term for it.

But Peanuts himself sometimes ran afoul of Fish and Game, although he was arrested only once as far as we know. On another occasion, he got himself out of a jam in this very funny story as told to author Craig Lockwood by Ernest "Doc" Farley:

"So Peanuts was bug diving and the F'n'G is standing there when he comes out: 'OK, let's see what you have in that sack, buddy.' Lars opens the bag and sure enough there's six nice size bugs squirming around. 'Well, those look like lobsters to me, son. You even got a license?'

'License? Why, officer, I don't need a license for these lobsters, they're trained pets.'

'Trained pet lobsters? There's no such'a thing. Are you crazy?'

'Not at all sir. I keep them at home and every few days I take them down to the beach and let 'em crawl around [in the ocean]. Then when I tap the glass on my mask three times, they crawl right back.'

'Ba-loney, that's impossible.'

'You want to see?' says Lars. 'Watch, I'll show you ...'

"And he took each of the bugs out, petted each one and called it by a name — 'Suzi, you come right back. Freddie, you too. Mona, you be good,' like that —and put them back in the ocean and stood there. After a couple of minutes the F'n'G says, 'OK, now call them back.'

'Call who back?' says Lars.

'The lobsters, stupid'

'What lobsters?' says Lars."