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Lobster hunting..

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if lobster is tough

A while ago, my friend's mom taught my mom a trick to avoid lobster meat getting tough from boiling it. Instead of boiling it, "sub-boil" it. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the temp until it just doesn't boil anymore. Then drop the bugs in. You will need to keep adjusting the heat until the water is adjusted to having the lobster in it, but just keep it right below boiling. After once or twice, its easy to keep it at sub-boil. Try it. It works.
 
Murat,
No I don't think that it is illegal to shoot crays and lobsters here,
but I would have no compunction shooting one if it was big enough and far back in a cave or crack.
however I didn't even need to spear this one , it was walking along on a flat bottom!
anyway once you spear a cray they go all soft and floppy, I would prefer to use a cray noose and pull em out alive!
 
Here in Hawaii we also have the spiny lobster so we dont have to worry about claws. It is against the law to spear them because you are not allowed to keep any with eggs which I think is a good regulation. We typically night dive for them. Got to grab them quick because once they get a good grip on the rocks they are hard to pull off. Unfourtuantly many people I know will spear them with a sling spear and rip off all the eggs from underneath if it is a female that is carrying eggs.
 
Im pretty sure rigdvr said "rocks" , and this tree hugger keeps stating you " bumped" coral . Im not to sure but i think theres a differance there.....
Oh and also i would bet this guy thinks rocks have feelings ..
 
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Cooll tip LutzSpearo :) Thanks I will try that out next time we get a big lobby, if the sea ever clears enough to see one :head
Headlands, that wasnt me but I wouldnt stick my hand into any hole in coral, under any circumstances, wether I could see inside or not; theres just to many bad guy's that can hide in any nook and cranny in coral holes :)
 
Re: if lobster is tough

Originally posted by LutzSpearo
A while ago, my friend's mom taught my mom a trick to avoid lobster meat getting tough from boiling it. Instead of boiling it, "sub-boil" it. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the temp until it just doesn't boil anymore. Then drop the bugs in. You will need to keep adjusting the heat until the water is adjusted to having the lobster in it, but just keep it right below boiling. After once or twice, its easy to keep it at sub-boil. Try it. It works.
that's called poaching and it does work. just make sure that the lobby is cooked thru, otherwise, you could have some serious problems.
Alison, is it legal to use a tickler in the uk? it's illegal to use anything but your hands to catch lobbies in california.
 
I remember years ago before Alison left the UK, she used to own a Faralite with a dimmable switch. She used to circle the torch in front of a lobster hole, slowly dimming and brightening the light and like magic the lobsters would come out of their holes, pretty cool to say the least
 
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Interesting, I have often thought of doing some night dives here, I bet you'd see a lot more than just lobsters and crabs!
I was thinking that as well as a main and redundant torch you woul probably also want a few cyalume stick on you, maybe mask strap/weight belt etc
 
Huan,
You do indeed see more lobsters and crabs at night. I once led a nice 8 pound lobster (the clawed variety) from a shipwreck 15 feet across open sand right to my grasp with the beam of light from a Darrell Allen light at night off New Jersey.
Mark
 
Huan,
you'll also probably want a light on shore/the boat... coming up you might find it difficult to find where you parked your car etc. depending on the moon. Night diving is quite different and requires more concentration but you are correct, it is very different. The night down below is like a different world and you should try if you have not!

If you are a scuba diver, most clubs (PADI, BSAC) have speciality training for these to help with the stuff you might forget (extra lights, signalling methods to your buddy, etc.) You should check these out if at all possible!

regards,
 
Thanks Anton

I was thinking about having two lights on shore, two different colours and on behind the other so that you could take a "fix"
on your position.
I have done a night dive on the GBR many years ago on scuba but not freediving, I have been talking about it for a while with my mate but just haven't got around to it yet.Now that winter is making the days short , it might be a good time to do it.

Huan
 
A good time to go is on a full moon and a clear night (not for barking!!) that way there is a good amount of light anyway which is a great help when your new to it. thing to remember is if you cant see the shore, is to switch your torch off so your eyes can get acustomed to the dark. As you get more experience blah blah ... Not wise to go alone either, have a buddy and someone on the shore (with a good torch or a Tilley lamp) and also remember that if anything is ever going to go wrong its on a night dive so be organised. Night diving is very cool though, your always going to see something on one
 
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What's really eerie is when you see sharks at night. Their eyes glow an evil looking shade of green in the beam of your light. I've noticed this effect most with angel sharks. Then they go away...and you can't see where they are anymore. Spooky. Go on October 31 if you can. Hhhwwwwaaaaaa! ;o) Night dives really are a hoot. Coral that looks hard in the daytime takes on this soft fuzzy appearance as the animals come out of the exoskeleton to feed on the plankton and all sorts of nocturnals like crabs. lobster and octopus become more active and come out of their holes into the open. It's a different world, but you still just do the same things the same way you do them in daytime except for the lights. Highly recommended. The anticipation is more intense than the reality.
Mark
 
Steam them

If you put a grate or vegatable steamer base in the pot and then put the lobster in the steam instead of the water it should be just fine. This one was 17 1/2 pounds and was quite tender. I had to hacksaw the claws open but the meat was fine. Just be sure to not overcook it. Lots of people think if the bug is twice as big as one that requires 15-20 minutes to steam properly, like a 5 pounder, for example, then you need to steam a 10 pounder for twice as long. Don't do it! I steamed this one for 25 minutes and that was plenty.
:p
Mark
 

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Dude - that is a huge lobo !

Nice.

Thinking of buying a torch for lobster hunting.

I dive in the UK - is a Ikelite PCa going to give me enough welly for shallow diving at night looking for lobsters ?

Was thinking of buying two and having one dangling from my float and one in the hand or strapped to an arm - is this a good approach ?

I dont want to blow a wad on an HID - so I guess my budget is about £40 to £60.

Oh...nothing bulky either ... is there a freediver specific dive torch (burns for about an hour maybe an hour and a half / streamline / nice colour temp etc) - or am I dreaming ?

Seems that the better torches cost the earth but can go down half a mile without imploding ... erm, that's overkill for me !

Cheers
Ed
 
Yes those little lights are some help. I recommend against tying them to anything other than your lobster bag. My light preferences are the Underwater Kinetics UK 1200 (8 D cells) or their 8 C cell model. They are economical, compact and bright... quite adequate for lobster hunting.
Mark
 
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You can use an Extractor or Crab/Lobster hook to get the Lobsters out of there holes the extractors are easy to hold when you have gloves on either buy one or what i did as they are quicker and easier to get from my your local DIY store is to make one out of a long paint roller by bending it in a vice to make the long section straight then bending the end into a curve in a the vice. The paint roller will probaly not last as long as the stainless steel extractor online but a good option if you need one quick or on a tight budget.
https://www.spearfishingstore.co.uk/mge-crablobster-hook.html?search=hook
https://www.scubastore.com/scuba-diving/picasso-extractor-standard-80/603028/p

extractor.jpg
 

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Good info Brochman! I had my best lobster season since 2004 last season :)

We were seeing a few lobsters on each night dive. A lot of them were just out and about on the sand, quite a few minimum size but some takers there.

Haven't needed to use a 5 foot stainless steel hook that a mate made yet.

Torches are brighter than 2004 too. I bought that Ikelite and used it for a couple of years - moved on to led torches.
 
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Thanks Portinfer, am just passing info on so it can help others. I have finally got back to freediving after a couple of years out as i was setting up a run down farm but all that is sorted now so this year i have to find the best places for Lobster as i am in a new location but on the plus side the sea is so much closer :)
Glad you had a good season last year hopefully it means that the Lobsters are going to be more abundant for you or did you just change your stratogery for catching them?
 
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