SettingSteel SpearGear
Showing posts with label lobster snare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lobster snare. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Got Tail- PART 2- Florida Lobstering



Part 2 getting some tail. Quite a few methods for lobstering are commonly used.


1) tickle stick and net
In this method you simply find a bug, usually under a ledge or rock, using your tickle stick (which is generally any type stick, often transparent), to tickle the bugs tail with, forcing him to exit the hole- at this point you tap him gently on the horns to get him to crawl back into your net, which was prepositioned when he crawled outta the hole






2) Snare or loop
this is similar to a tickle stick but it has a loop of heavy nylon or coated cable that wraps tight around a lobsters tail, same process as above, first use the device as a tickle stick, once the bug is outta the hole, loop his tail and pull taught. Quite a few variations of the loop have been invented the latest is an automatic trigger release type that seems pretty cool, I have yet to try one.




3) Bull netting
This method is the number one method for night time lobstering, while on the boat with high output lights you search for bugs, usually on the flats or grass beds, when one is spotted you place the net over it and in its attempt to high tail out he gets all tangled in the net, at which point you quickly snap him onto the boat, A lot of guys swear this is the number one method for getting big bugs, prime time is 12-5am after that the bugs start to hole up

4)Mano a Mano
Heavy gloves and a quick hand is all thats needed, hence the least expensive of all the methods, but a low percent success ratio. I know a few guys that fetch their limit every time with this simplest of methods nonetheless.




Where to find them-
Florida Spiny lobsters havwe a lot of different habitats, alot of divers look for them in reef structure that has lots of rocks and holes, sure the frequent this type structure, but you can also find them on small ledges, with a sandy bottom. Often bugs are on grass ledges, that is those thick ledges of sea grass that end abruptly where the sand starts, Then their is the tires, steel plats, cynder blocks and even submerged pipes that are often loaded with bugs....one thing is for sure bugs like structure, so find the structure and you'll find the bugs!




No doubt Florida has some great tail....enjoy it and DIVE SAFE ;)








Till next spearfishing report, tight bands, straight shafts, and smooooooooth triggers!

Tone

http://www.settingsteelspeargear.com

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Matheson Hammock Report-Test Drives and Bugs

We finished some final work on the old whaler and decided we'd shoot out for a test drive last Friday. I've mentioned test drive "s" in that I'm totally outa shape, so I honestly wasn't planning on getting wet...but the temptation of testing the last of the mohican prototype pole spear was too much (of course the lake placid type conditions weren't any help either). I also happened to have all my gear on board, as well as a lobster lasso prototype I've been tinkering around with, for a few months. So you can say I didn't have much choice. MH is a "fun" marina located http://www.miamidade.gov/parks/parks/matheson_beach.asp It truly has quite an assortment of activities and a family can easily spend a day enjoying this great park and marina http://www.divespots.com/scuba/destinationID-3/partnerID-7/typeCode-4/partner.info for more info I purposely tied this link into this report, because this site is awesome packed with great info and some pretty neat dive spots, don't miss surfing into http://www.divespots.com/scuba/site-miami/destination.info we've spearfished all these dive sites and some can be incredibly productive for public numbers!!!! So we headed out and the Whaler was a gem, engines purrred like sphynx http://picsdigger.com/image/1c3d5cc0/...hate to repeat, I'm pathetically out of shape...over worked and over indulged, made me think how much I enjoy the sea, and how long its been, amazing how just a simple day out in the ocean can be so calming- it also gave me a reality check that I need to get my lame ass in shape...so expect a few of my old spearfishing workouts, as well as some new ones that are being used by alot of spearos during training these days. Expect also to see some spearfishing exercises as it relates to apnea...can't get one without the other, right? Lately crosstraining is the in term, and their are also quite a few crosstraining and core exercises (yep another in term) geared perfectly towards spearfishing- so expect a few great workout training tips for spearfishing coming soon. The seas were flat water was patchy- milky in some areas and gin in others, and seems to be cooling up-really wasn't expecting much, other than to try out my final version of my custom pole spear which I hope will soon be available at http://www.settingsteel/ speargear.com...and yeah I guess trying out my custom prototype lobster snare would have been nice, but not high on the list, as the area we were cruising was and has always been hit hard, we ran outa sands cut, a tricky booger of a cut, and immediately were met with same very clear waters and some weird readings on the sonar had me hustling with my gear. We found some pretty nice color changes in about 30 feet that proved to be a lobster bonanza, so with custom lobster snare in hand, I managed to fetch over 15 bugs in a 15 minute time span- with quite a few keepers in the bunch, a short drift bought me to a transition area that was, ahhh so very hoggie looking that I had to go up and fetch me custom pole spear, to be met be a decent (for that area at least) hoggies- a short pull, a gentle release and hog fish snapper on the stringer- and a quiet celebration knowing that my new custom pole spear is finally finished!!! so a few lobsters and a hog on the first drop-off MH- who says Miami has no spearfishing????





We proceeded spearfishing on to some deeper ledges, in about 80'ish, then 60'ish, but zero, nada, of fish of in the house, and viz was challenging. I notice some nice bottom as we headed out so we back tracked back to the area and I bumped into a boulder of a rock that had over 30 roaches so I picked them over pulling another handful from the bunch; apparently all the commotion brought some hogs in that all virtually impalled themselves on to my pole spear, and that bought in a very nice mutton snapper well over 22", of course while I was horsing the hog....no worries I got his number ;)...so all in all a nice day spearfishing in Miami with some new spearfishing waypoints....and not to mention a classic whaler http://www.whalercentral.com/Boston_Whaler.php that has a new life-final tally a few bugs and hogs, a great custom pole spear, and soon to come an awesome lobster lasso....oh and yeah some serious training to be cont.....








Till next spearfishing report, tight bands, straight shafts, and smooooooooth triggers!

Tone

http://www.settingsteelspeargear.com