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Lobster: Thoughts and tactics
- Thread startertribs
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Thread Status: Hello
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There are a couple of deep shore dives off Plymouth called Eastern Kings & Firestone Bay. They go down to -42m in places, and along the reef wall there are some very deep gulleys and holes. The lobsters and crabs are massive. Very often, at the back of the crevice that the monster lobster is sitting in you will see the massive head of a battered and scarred conger.
I've never seen one co-habiting in shallow water though, its either a conger or a lobster.
cheers for that information baldy, make me think twice about jumping into gullies when im cricking, then again im wearing my "snake stompers" the beefiest pair of bomb proof walking boots i've ever seen. I tend to use a hook/ "tickle stick" which periodicaly does get wrenched out of my hand when the occupant of the hole ur probing turns out to be a conger. Most of the time though they just sit in their holes and try to pretend they are invissible. I would agree with trelawney though on never seeing them cohabit in shallow water, I think this is generally due to the average size of lobsters further in, which tends to be between quater pound-3lb which it quite munchable if your a big fat eel. Came across a conger last year in guernsey midway through a lobster lunch.
Thing is, I have killed about 20 congers (although not for 20 years now) & seen hundreds & hundreds but I have never been bitten or killed by one:t
I do remember a few interesting conger stories though!
My brother Derek caught one on a rod while we were night fishing over sand for ray, he got it on board, removed the hook & slung it back into the sea but somehow the congers tail slapped him across the face - he had a nice red face & this lovely slime in his hair & eyebrows!
When we had international spearfishing comps in Guernsey, durring the seventies & eighties, conger were caught in huge numbers!
Some guys would weigh in over 200lb of conger which combined with the wrasse took several journeys up the beach to the scales to weigh in!!
I would never kill another conger mainly because I feel guilty about the way we had no respect for them in the past & for what is a very exciting fish to see.
Long live the Conger
I do remember a few interesting conger stories though!
My brother Derek caught one on a rod while we were night fishing over sand for ray, he got it on board, removed the hook & slung it back into the sea but somehow the congers tail slapped him across the face - he had a nice red face & this lovely slime in his hair & eyebrows!
When we had international spearfishing comps in Guernsey, durring the seventies & eighties, conger were caught in huge numbers!
Some guys would weigh in over 200lb of conger which combined with the wrasse took several journeys up the beach to the scales to weigh in!!
I would never kill another conger mainly because I feel guilty about the way we had no respect for them in the past & for what is a very exciting fish to see.
Long live the Conger
I have a recipe for congor bisque from Gordan Ramseys christmas special and I intend on giving it a bash this summer
. I only ever took one shot at a congor, I missed the congor and the spear got stuck in a rock. Myself and NZ Regan could not pull it out. The reason I spotted the congor was because I was after lobster. I spotted the lobster 1st and only realised the congor was there after a couple of failed attempts at the lobster. The lobster was tight in at the back of the hole and the congor was just sitting there watching me. That was only in about 5m of water. NZ Regan will back me up on this one.
. I only ever took one shot at a congor, I missed the congor and the spear got stuck in a rock. Myself and NZ Regan could not pull it out. The reason I spotted the congor was because I was after lobster. I spotted the lobster 1st and only realised the congor was there after a couple of failed attempts at the lobster. The lobster was tight in at the back of the hole and the congor was just sitting there watching me. That was only in about 5m of water. NZ Regan will back me up on this one.
dont want to derail the thread, but the congor is a very fast growing fish... so like pollock its very sustainable!
Conger eel
Conger eel
...but doesn't reach maturity until it's ten years old so it is a bit vulnerable to fishing pressures. Especially as it gets bigger.
Having said that, one conger would probably be as much as most folk would want to eat in a year. I'm the only one who'll eat it in my household.
Male conger are relatively small reaching around 8-10lb & much slower grower growing than the bigger females.
As a species they are very territorial & easy to fish out from localised areas, perhaps the biggest threat to their sustainability would be crab pots!
Crab pots with a hinged buoyant flap over the neck, have pretty much annihilated the conger populations where ever they are used!
I am affraid to say like so many other fish, their decline in the last ten years has been dramatic!!
Taking a conger for the pot is a individual decision, they are very easy prey to shoot but, horrible to clean, a pain to drag around on a belt or float & stink to high heaven, they cover everything in slime & look very pitiful once dead.
However they are quite edible if you like that sort of thing. We eat one a few years back that had been given to me by a lobster fisherman but to be honest the work cleaning the dam thing was not something I am going to do again in a hurry!
Another little interesting fact - lobster potters durring the last few years have started using mackerel as pot bait. Mackerel has always been a good pot bait but it would also catch conger by the shed full! So the commercial boys never used it as removing conger from pots takes too long & as they have no commercial value it was just not viable to use mackerel for bait However .... now virtually all Potters use mackerel because there aint no more conger on the potting grounds!
As a species they are very territorial & easy to fish out from localised areas, perhaps the biggest threat to their sustainability would be crab pots!
Crab pots with a hinged buoyant flap over the neck, have pretty much annihilated the conger populations where ever they are used!
I am affraid to say like so many other fish, their decline in the last ten years has been dramatic!!
Taking a conger for the pot is a individual decision, they are very easy prey to shoot but, horrible to clean, a pain to drag around on a belt or float & stink to high heaven, they cover everything in slime & look very pitiful once dead.
However they are quite edible if you like that sort of thing. We eat one a few years back that had been given to me by a lobster fisherman but to be honest the work cleaning the dam thing was not something I am going to do again in a hurry!
Another little interesting fact - lobster potters durring the last few years have started using mackerel as pot bait. Mackerel has always been a good pot bait but it would also catch conger by the shed full! So the commercial boys never used it as removing conger from pots takes too long & as they have no commercial value it was just not viable to use mackerel for bait However .... now virtually all Potters use mackerel because there aint no more conger on the potting grounds!
Never shot one or eaten one, I don't agree with forming sentimentalities with fish, hear a lot of that about doggies and rays. We should be unbiased hunters and look at the environment we hunt in and make our decisions based on that. From what Foxfish says of his area I would agree with not spearing them there. But anywhere else should be weighed up individually... my own opinion on it....
Anyway... yet to catch my first lobster
Anyway... yet to catch my first lobster
Never shot one or eaten one, I don't agree with forming sentimentalities with fish, hear a lot of that about doggies and rays. We should be unbiased hunters and look at the environment we hunt in and make our decisions based on that. From what Foxfish says of his area I would agree with not spearing them there. But anywhere else should be weighed up individually... my own opinion on it....
Anyway... yet to catch my first lobster
Agreed to some extent - being cute doesn't mean something shouldn't be eaten or vice versa.
However I think any species that is an apex hunter needs to be treated with respect as they seem to be the ones that are most environmentally fragile.
Its got teeth therefore treat it with respect, it stinks to high heaven and takes a while to clean= leave it alone, will just have to make do with bass, macks and lobbies oh well .............
A friend at college, a zoologist, used to argue the opposite, that it was OK to kill non-cute things (flies, rats, frogs, etc.) but not cute things (Bambi, fluffy bunnie wunnies, etc.). He was smart enough to realise the inconsistency of his argument but - like many/most I suspect - he also recognised that was really how he felt.
So congor eels are cute?:hmm Never shot/eaten one. Do occasionally shoot wrasse for bouillabaisse & some consider them cute/easy meat (offcuts also make good lobster bait
).
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What do you think of this cute little lamb. Now who's going to say no to a leg of lamb with mint sauce mmmm rofl
Need I say anymore
Need I say anymore
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How many of you eat doggies? I know I shouldnt of asked that!!!Are they fair game ? some one said they make the best scampi going? Is it easyer to cook them whole or fillet them I had ' rock salmon' from a chippy onece it was fine. Whats the trick to killin them quick to? Any info would be great
I remember my father used to make scampy out of them years ago, I havn't had it in a long time. It's worth a go. If you could get a bull huss it would be worth the while. look up the hall of fame.
http://forums.deeperblue.com/spearo-board/82043-deeper-blue-spearfishing-hall-fame-6.html#post784914
http://forums.deeperblue.com/spearo-board/82043-deeper-blue-spearfishing-hall-fame-6.html#post784914