freediving lobsters, how to spot the signs

[terallan]

Hi folks,
First post into this smashing forum, been reading for a while and thought I'd ask if anyone can share some expert lobster hunting advice.

I'm no stranger to the water, as I've been freediving scallops and shellfish for years. Recently taken an interest in lobsters (European Lobsters) the big clawed variety in our colder Scottish waters.

Keeping night hunting out of it for the moment, I was reading that spotting the signs where a lobster is held up in his hidey hole requires a keen eye, unless the beastie is obvious. I've been out looking and what I can see sometimes is a large boulder/rock on the seabed with what looks like a fairly big half dougnut shaped excavation where sand, shells, etc., have been cleared away to make a hidey hole. Some of these would need a fair bit of strength, as the pile of debris seems shoved a good bit away from the excavation.

Would I be on the right tracks thinking these largish excavations could be what I'm looking for? The only other things about are the occassional brown crab and few small wrasse.

Am I also right in thinking that night hunting is the way to go too?

Any advice and input would be super

 

[foxfish]

I dont know if there is single answer to your question because it would appear different areas offer different habitats.
Where I live, we hunt the reefs for lobster but searching for suitable holes in the actual reef.
By diving down & parting the kelp you can often find crevices & small caves where the lobsters live durring the day light.
Once you find a hole it will always be worth checking it even if you took its previous inhabitant the day before!
Brown crab tend to dig under boulders more & can very often be spotted by a pile of sand.
I have quite often found lobster by actually moving (lifting) large boulders but they can be quite fast....
Some of the guys on the forum simply see them walking around the bottom but I have never seen this in 35 years!
I am not a keen night diver so I will let others deal with that part but yes they are active at night!

 

[Island Drive]

Signs, I'm not able to comment, have picked em off kelp like apples at Catalina island in the late 70's, but I always carried a coat hanger with me years ago to bump em out too me....