Lobster fishing

[fisher]

Anybody here want to know anything about lobster fishing? If so ask away. I will do my best to answer.

[Marie5656]

So, how do you know where the best fishing is? What do you do to prevent over fishing an area?

[guppy]

how big do they have to be before you can keep them?
is there a limit per season per boat?
how do you keep from getting pinched by their claws?

in the keys we go to the bottom, touch them with a tickle stick and then pick them up before they skitter away...amateur way of doing it.....did you know you can hear them making a clicking noise when you are close to them underwater?...it sound wierd to me.......

how do you catch them? by cages?

how do you store them before you sell them? do you throw them on ice?

[koan]

can you tell us about the best part of being out on the open sea?

I'm from Canada originally. Howdy, eh?

[guppy]

do other sea critters ever steal your lobsters?

[fisher]

Originally Posted by Marie5656

So, how do you know where the best fishing is? What do you do to prevent over fishing an area?

Good question. This is when experience comes into play. After fishing season after season you kind of know where the hot spots are. But having said that it can change from year to year. So at times we set our traps in an area that was very good the previous season and it turns out to not so good this season. So at that time we must move all the traps to a different area.
For over fishing!
We are only permitted to set 375 traps in the fall and 400 in the spring. We must also put back any female lobsters that are seeded(egg bearing) and v notched. A V notched lobster is a female that was caught with eggs and we notch the tail and when this lobsteris caught again it must be put back. The Lobsters must also be 3 1\4 inch on the back shell. Also the season is six months long.

[fisher]

Originally Posted by guppy

how big do they have to be before you can keep them?
is there a limit per season per boat?
how do you keep from getting pinched by their claws?

in the keys we go to the bottom, touch them with a tickle stick and then pick them up before they skitter away...amateur way of doing it.....did you know you can hear them making a clicking noise when you are close to them underwater?...it sound wierd to me.......

how do you catch them? by cages?

how do you store them before you sell them? do you throw them on ice?

The shell must be 3 1\4 from the back of the eye to where the tail starts.
No limit on the amount of lobsters we can catch just the trap limit.
Some times we do get bit and it hurts like hell. When this happens the best thing to do is just let it bite. If you try and free yourself it will bite harder.
We catch them in a trap, you could call it a cage i guess.

[fisher]

Originally Posted by koan

can you tell us about the best part of being out on the open sea?

I'm from Canada originally. Howdy, eh?

The best part! I guess I would have to say the money. This is very hard work and most people are there only cause of the money. I myself love it on a nice clear day. The clean fresh air and beautiful sunrise is great.

[fisher]

Originally Posted by guppy

do other sea critters ever steal your lobsters?

Yes. The cod fish will feed on small lobsters. It was not uncommon to open up a cod fish and see two baby lobsters inside. A fish call a Scalpen also eats Lobster.

[fisher]

Here are a couple of pics of a blue lobster. I did not catch these lobster, the picture was sent to me by a friend. I have caught them in the past and I have also seen yellow ones as well.