Lobster: Thoughts and tactics

[tribs]

Experienced comments please!!!!!!!!!! Can I somehow rig a torch to a speargun at the front so that it becomes a light wand/speargun comination, to look into deeper holes without buggering up all the line release etc??????????

Tribs

 

[foxfish]

Easy - buy a air gun.

 

[James T]

Tribs I use a 55 rubber gun and I mount a stubby torch (Ikelite) to the side of the handle. I use an old bit of belt rubber wrapped around the torch and then use two longish cable ties to secure the torch to the handle. the torch is in line with the barrell of the gun and the cable ties go through inside the trigger guard and around the gun handle. Don't have any pics but it works for me. James

 

[johnnybuoy]

Hi lads, just thought id add some info on my experiences. I soak a couple of pots for personal consumption and see a lot on scuba too. Have noticed a few things:
1. u would be surprised where you will come across them. the spot i use would never be thought of as a hotspot for them but ive often caught 2 in a pot over 3lb. Which leads me to the next point;
2. they do fight like crazy in the pots or bucket so rubber bands or seperate bags or cut the tendon in the claw to paralyse the claws.
3. A very useful way of finding them freediving is to look out for dead crabs or crab shells(usually brown crab/sand crab), a hole is usually nearby holding a lobbie. More often than not though they leave the carcus outside their door.
4. just as the sun goes down is best to look armed with a torch. I have an SMB reel which i connect to the fload with a 6lb diving weight tied to the line. easy to drop and retrieve and great to mark a hole containing lobster.
5. Bring some old fish in an onion bag and drop it at the start of a dive and go have a look on the way back and you should have a bit of feeding going on.
Thats all i know although i know u can use pierced sardine tins to attract them. Ive heard rabbit is one of the best baits for pots but im sure its banned. would it be due to myxomatotis?
Thats about all I know. The more u look the more you see and learn about there habits.

 

[tribs]

Hi lads, just thought id add some info on my experiences. I soak a couple of pots for personal consumption and see a lot on scuba too. Have noticed a few things:
1. u would be surprised where you will come across them. the spot i use would never be thought of as a hotspot for them but ive often caught 2 in a pot over 3lb. Which leads me to the next point;
2. they do fight like crazy in the pots or bucket so rubber bands or seperate bags or cut the tendon in the claw to paralyse the claws.
3. A very useful way of finding them freediving is to look out for dead crabs or crab shells(usually brown crab/sand crab), a hole is usually nearby holding a lobbie. More often than not though they leave the carcus outside their door.
4. just as the sun goes down is best to look armed with a torch. I have an SMB reel which i connect to the fload with a 6lb diving weight tied to the line. easy to drop and retrieve and great to mark a hole containing lobster.
5. Bring some old fish in an onion bag and drop it at the start of a dive and go have a look on the way back and you should have a bit of feeding going on.
Thats all i know although i know u can use pierced sardine tins to attract them. Ive heard rabbit is one of the best baits for pots but im sure its banned. would it be due to myxomatotis?
Thats about all I know. The more u look the more you see and learn about there habits.

Great post friend. I will look more closely for crab carcasses in future and might start scraping up Mr Flopsy bunny as my local roads seem to be a Mecca for suicidal carrot munchers. If there's a mixy scare on then old Mister badger must be fair game? Save the foxes and the birds getting to it! Waste not want not - if its road kill then its lobby bait.

Tribs

out

 

[Spiderman]

Something I learned by frustrating experience is that lobsters can drop claws at will so don't try and carry them by the claws!
A few months ago I got hold of the biggest lobster I've ever seen with one hand on its back and one hand restraining the slicing claw. The crushing claw then got hold of my finger. For obvious reasons I let go of the back to pull the crusher open and rescue my finger before grabbing the back of both claws to restrain them. Suddenly I was holding just the claws!
Spent a frustrating 20 minutes looking for the rest of the lobster with no success.
Consolation prize was two good meaty claws that weighed just over 3lbs

 

[Fro-in-shorts]

Nice spiderman, thats happend to me before, its soul destroying. You get all excited, put the time effort and skin into trying to catch it and the bloody thing drops its claws and sods off.
Haven't been able to dive a whole lot this summer but had a few though (had 2 cricking on saturday ). The kill count stands at 25 since April (most taken rock pooling with a hook and a few tricks Lobbies can be found all year round, but this year in my dive spot they were around in the highest numbers in Aug/Sept.

Here's a little trick for you, learn't off some "old Jenkins" (mysterious old welsh fisherman/mystic) its worth keeping a small lobster in your bag, not to keep but as a decoy. Find your large target lobster which is holed up to far to retrieve and as a last resort insert your little lobster. Hover over the hole trying to stay out of sight and wait for the big target lobster to come out and shoo/forcefully evict your little decoy. A bit time consuming but works a treat.

 

[tribs]

Nice spiderman, thats happend to me before, its soul destroying. You get all excited, put the time effort and skin into trying to catch it and the bloody thing drops its claws and sods off.
Haven't been able to dive a whole lot this summer but had a few though (had 2 cricking on saturday ). The kill count stands at 25 since April (most taken rock pooling with a hook and a few tricks Lobbies can be found all year round, but this year in my dive spot they were around in the highest numbers in Aug/Sept.

Here's a little trick for you, learn't off some "old Jenkins" (mysterious old welsh fisherman/mystic) its worth keeping a small lobster in your bag, not to keep but as a decoy. Find your large target lobster which is holed up to far to retrieve and as a last resort insert your little lobster. Hover over the hole trying to stay out of sight and wait for the big target lobster to come out and shoo/forcefully evict your little decoy. A bit time consuming but works a treat.

Clever, won't work with a ferret though will it!!!!!!

Thanks for that.

Tribs

out

 

[Mark Lamont]

I'm the worst but have done it enough to bag a few. California divers normally dive nighttime with a super flashlight and measuring device. The nice red/orange color stands out at night under light. We put them in a game bag and haul them to shore. No hooks or spears are allowed. My largest was almost 12 lbs. bagged during the day of all things.
Good hunting.

 

[Fitzy_1982]

Something I learned by frustrating experience is that lobsters can drop claws at will so don't try and carry them by the claws!

Damn, thats my plan ruined. I am sick of finding lobster then not being able to get them out of their hole so I decied to make a snare. I made it out of copper pipe, a few fittings and clothes line wire. Havn't tested it yet though. My plan was to use it to snare a losters claw and pull him out by the claws. As you can see from the picture I've been practicing on my sons toys.

This is how it works. The cable is looped up through the pipe and then the 2 loose ends are fished (no pun intended) through one side each of the tee piece at the other end. Then the cable is tied in the middle of the tee piece and taped up with insulation tape. When you pull on the tee piece the snare tightens. It actually holds pretty well once you've pulled it as there is a bit of friction between the cable and the fittings on the pipe. Near the top of the pipe I've marked the legal size for a lobsters carapace in Ireland with green and yellow insulation tape. When you dont want the tee piece to come loose it can be locked in place with the nut on the tee piece. I've heard of snares being made of plastic but with this its vertually indestructable, I hope.

Materials needed(Found in any plumbers merchant).

15mm copper pipe(whatever length you want)
15mm 318(tee piece)
15mm 310(straight adapter for tip of snare for a smooth finish on the copper)
Clothes line
Insulation tape

Anybody any suggestions on improving it, or on how best to use this, or is this just out right cheating.

PS; I'm a plumber in case you didn't guessrofl.

 

[jtkwest]

IN FLORIDA we have spiny lobsters. they dont have claws, just spines all over them and and a pair of horns(very sharp!) a trick that i have used, to get one out of a deep hole, is to takea bunch of womens pantyhose, stapled to the end of a 2' stick. you shove the stick inthe hole and wiggle it around- the spines on the lobster get caught on the spines and you can just pull the stick out with 1 , 2, or even 3 lobsters stuck on there. the trick is to not let them get away when they clear the hole, as soon as they are out in the open , they spazz out ! its a good trick though. works well! and is NOT illegal in florida. BTW: o have a plastic lobster snare that locks as you cinch it down, it is very sturdy and works very well. i have had it for 3 seasond and it still works very well!

 

[Fitzy_1982]

IN FLORIDA we have spiny lobsters. they dont have claws, just spines all over them and and a pair of horns(very sharp!) a trick that i have used, to get one out of a deep hole, is to takea bunch of womens pantyhose, stapled to the end of a 2' stick. you shove the stick inthe hole and wiggle it around- the spines on the lobster get caught on the spines and you can just pull the stick out with 1 , 2, or even 3 lobsters stuck on there. the trick is to not let them get away when they clear the hole, as soon as they are out in the open , they spazz out ! its a good trick though. works well! and is NOT illegal in florida. BTW: o have a plastic lobster snare that locks as you cinch it down, it is very sturdy and works very well. i have had it for 3 seasond and it still works very well!

Good point but lobsters in Eire dont have spines, I wonder could they get caught up in them though. That begs the question, do the pantyhose need to be bridget Jones sized or skimpy. Luckily for me my wife only has skimpy so I'd have to go out and buy the big onesrofl.She might get suspicious if I start arriving home with giant womens underwear so I'd have to be careful with that one.

I wont ask if they should be clean or dirty because thats just silly.

 

[Fitzy_1982]

Keep this thread going people, any info at all, catches, near misses, tactics, pictures

Heres my 2 cents. I travelled down from Kildare with another spearo from New Zealand(living in dublin) and went to Ballycotton in Cork. I caught my 1st lobster when I spotted him wondering across a sandy patch between rocks. I also caught another easy one on the edge of a rock. One of the other guys that was there caught another 2 under rocks. I've never come across an easy catch like that again.

Last week when I was out with my new Zealand buddy NZRegan I decided to leave a burley which was basically a small pollack chopped up in sections. I left it for 10 mins and when I dived back down I could see a good size edible crab coming out from under a rock. I called Regan and we both went down, I nabbed the crab and for some reason I didn't see the lobster that was heading straight for the burley, although Regan did. We missed him anyway and he managed to slip into a hole. Eventually he came out a bit, tempted by the burley. I went for him but he was too quick and started back into his hole. I got pissed off so I went in after him and tried to grab him by the head. The lobbie latched onto my thumb and when I pulled my hand out all I had was a lobster claw clamped on my thumb. When I got to the surface I had to prise the claw open with my dive knife(to the amusement of my dive buddy). It was clamped on pretty good and it hurt like hell:crutch. It wasn't a bad days catch, crab and lobster claw for dinner that night. The pain in my thumb made the catch taste even better.

Leaving a burley is something I will definetly try again, it was like a feeding frenzy of small crabs which then brought in the big boys. Somebody once told me when you leave a burley, each time you dive down and there is small fish or crabs around it just smash and kill everything until something big comes along.

 

[foxfish]

Fitzy, you might like to find out if there are any restrictions on collecting crayfish (same as spiny lobster) where you live.
Crays grow huge but, we are not allowed to take them by diving in Guernsey..

 

[Fitzy_1982]

Fitzy, you might like to find out if there are any restrictions on collecting crayfish (same as spiny lobster) where you live.
Crays grow huge but, we are not allowed to take them by diving in Guernsey..

Nice photos ff. The legal size carapace length in Ireland is 85mm, also shellfish of any kind cannot be taken while scuba diving. As far as I am aware that is all the regulations there is that would affect me. One thing I am not sure of is if the legal limit would actually apply to your average spearo or is it commercial. To be fair I stick to the legal limit, not that I've caught that many.

 

[bobdonny]

legal limits apply to all fitzy, today I made a lobster snare / tickler tool. I had the gear for a few months but your pics egged me on, good work

I'll post some pics tomorrow, not sure when I'll get a chance but I'm thinking about hitting that lobster spot soon

 

[Fitzy_1982]

Go for it, no time like the present! Heading out for a few hours tomorrow myself so hopefully I will have a tale to tell.

 

[bobdonny]

How'd ya get on?

There was a 3m surf when I got to the bay, so we picked some mussels and found a big brown crab instead, the tickler came in very handy.

 

[Fitzy_1982]

How'd ya get on?

There was a 3m surf when I got to the bay, so we picked some mussels and found a big brown crab instead, the tickler came in very handy.

Na, bit of a disaster. We headed for Waterford but the wind was blowing from the south and there was a fair swell. It looked like there was a patch that seemed calm but when we got in we were just getting thrown around. Viz was non existant.

Don't know when I'll get out again.

How did you use the tickler?

 

[Mr. X]

I've tried all sorts of off-cuts & tinned sardines in my lobster/crab post but the bait which caught lobster was wrasse (offcuts of large ballan wrasse, used in Bouillabaisse). I've also seen a professional potter using wrasse, among other off-cuts. Kind of makes sense, wrasse are prolific in the rocky areas close to shore where lobster tend to be, as their skin has a distinctive "pepperiness", at least that's how it seems to me.

One of the SA forum members suggested limpets - again, found on the rocky shore where you tend to find lobsters. Although I suspect anything oily/fishy/meaty/manky could do the job.