thinking about trying my hand at lobstering

[Lil Dragonfly]

I never thought that I would become a hunter. To me death is depressing, not entertaining. I have always preferred that the animals I eat and wear be killed by someone other than me, so I don't have to look.

But lately I have begun to change my mind. Store-bought seafood is an environmental disaster. (And eating tofu is not the answer either, that promotes habitat destruction...) I know that there will be no non-target animals killed if I hunt my own dinner.

Today my mom told me that if I bring home lobsters she will happily pay me for them, in addition to supplying all my freediving equipment. (We have a family dinner every weekend, usually seafood.)

I know that you catch them with those little green net things, and that you put them in a mesh bag. What else do I need to know? Wouldn't I get pinched? Any tips and tricks? When I go diving tomorrow I will watch the others catching lobsters, but I thought it might be a good idea to make a post here too.

 

[Bill]

The best advice that I ever heard on the subject....

'Just pretend the lobster is a fifty dollar bill and the wind is blowing'

 

[marginatus]

aproach from the back and like Bill said, grab it like there's no tomorow

 

[nz676]

'Just pretend the lobster is a fifty dollar bill and the wind is blowing' best advice i ever heard lol good stuff

 

[Mr. X]

Good post Lil Dragonfly. I have a similar perspective. Fresh fish, especially if you caught it yourself, tastes much better too.

I've caught all my lobsters in an inexpensive, collapsible trap/pot which I put down on my way out spearing. Wrasse has been the most successful bait for me for lobster. The modest sized lobster I caught were pretty easy to handle, from behind as mentioned above. Ditto freshwater American signal crays. Same for brown/edible crab and spider crab - although occassionally you'll find a spider crab that has been doing Yoga or something and they'll reach right back over the top & nip you. Not a big deal if you have thin neoprene gloves on - I once got a tiny bruise on my finger. I actually quite enjoy avoiding the pincers, it's a bit of a game. Getting spiders into the bag used to be real tricky with my much missed, trusty RA cray bag but in truth the purse-style openings on Lidl's inexpensive dive bags are much easier to use with crabs.

 

[slingshaft]

Hey Dragonfly, I see that you are in Florida, the bugs do not have claws. HOWEVER, Do get good gloves! The tail is STRONG and lined with pointed edging,but they really can not hurt you. The antenna are annoying and will scratch your arms. Check out the device called a 'tickle stick' and threads about catching lobsters.

 

[octpora]

yes, gloves are the most important tool for the bugs, but also wear a long sleeved shirt when grabbing for them so you keep from scratching your arms or getting stung by the little coral polyps. And don't stick your hand into any holes you can't see into.

 

[Lil Dragonfly]

You mean that catching lobsters involves touching coral?!!

I'm not so sure I like the sound of this...

 

[hyeparis]

I dragged a few out - I think you won't get hurt as long as you wear gloves. And no need to justify your desire for lobsters. We were not gifted with hunting instincts just for kicks.

 

[tuffstuff]

I can catch lobsters with anything BUT the BEST method is a net ticklestick and orange lobster gloves...I can pull 1-6

lobsters out of the same hole on 1 breath with this method. It is called a TICKLE-stick for a good reason, all you do is tap or

tickle them in the back of the tail GENTLY convincing them to go your way and they will march into your net. Then swing the

net when the lobster is all the way in the back of it so it folds over trapping the lobster inside and securing it till you get into

the boat (or you could get a fancy lobster bag). A good lobster fisher doesn't work hard at all to obtain the lobsters and

barely touches any party of the rock.

I was born & raised in the lower Florida Keys and have been doing this since I was four years old.

goodluck and be SAFE I don't want to hear about more people dieing in lobster season.

 

[sanjugibbs]

Wow! That’s quite expensive, when you try to haunt for it you must earn a lot. it’s good you want to venture in a different kind of industry.