GEARING UP

Tools of the Trade

There are a few different ways to catch lobsters (1) with a net and tickle stick, (2) with a bully net, and (3) with a snare. I've never known anyone who used a snare although I have read they are effective. Our one attempt at bully netting resulted in seeing a total of one lobster and spending most of the time trying to catch needle fish by hand. Therefore, this post will focus on what you will need to catch lobsters by hand the old fashioned way. Maybe someday an expert in another technique can send me a guest article about the other catching methods. 

There are four essential items that you will need when hunting lobster: (1) a net, (2) tickle stick, (3) gloves, and (4) lobster gauge. Bonus item number (5) a catch bag, is needed if you are diving on a tank.

Net: Your net is what you will use to actually trap the lobster. During the catch the net is positioned and the lobster is coaxed into it. Nets are pretty standard, just keep in mind that the bigger and bulkier the harder it will be to swim with. The main thing about your net is to make sure that you check it to make sure there are no holes in it because I guarantee those bugs will find them.

Tickle Stick: The tickle stick is your main weapon in the fight against the spiny lobsters. It is the tool you will use to help guide the lobster out from its hole or rock and into your net. There are a few different varieties of tickle sticks, when shopping around just keep in mind that you will most likely lose it, especially if you are a newbie. Once you are a professional lobster hunter I would suggest buying whatever tickle stick you want, but until then go with a cheap one. I prefer the metal versions with a slight bend on one end, as opposed to plastic ones or straight ones. I think metal ones feel better in the water and are a little more durable when digging under rocks. The bend is useful to get behind the lobster and force them out of their hole.

Gloves: Gloves are a necessity because those bugs are prickly. They have spikes and horns all over and in the water they are powerful bastards. When they start thrashing around while you are trying to get it from your net to your catch bag you will be damn glad you wore those gloves. You don't need any high tech gloves, the basic bright orange ones that come in almost every lobster hunting package are all our group ever use. In my opinion there is no sense in ruining or risking losing expensive diving gloves when cheap ones get the job done, but then again maybe I'm just a cheapskate.

Lobster Gauge: Your lobster gauge is required by law rather than as an essential tool to actual catch the lobster. The most convenient way to carry your gauge with you is to attach it to your tickle stick with a key ring, which is normally how you will buy them. The lobsters have to be measured before you take them out of the water so always measure your lobster while you have it trapped in your net to make sure it is a keeper. Plastic gauges are best, believe it or not they are actually more durable then metal ones. If you metal one bends at all it will become inaccurate and you could end up accidentally keeping an illegal lobster, and trust me the FWC isn't going to care what your excuse is. Plastic gauges are also brightly colored and can be very handy in helping you locate your tickle stick if you happen to drop it while battling with a slippery bug.

Catch Bag: If you are free-diving you will not need a catch bag, unless perhaps you are diving away from your boat (probably not the best idea) or are swimming off shore without a boat. If you are diving on a tank however, then you will most certainly want a catch bag. These are bags designed to hold numerous lobsters, so that you can continue catching them without having to return to the boat each time you net one of those suckers. The two main types are bags with one-way doors and bags with locking latches. If you are diving without a bag-man then you will 100% want a one-way bag. Otherwise there is too great of a risk of losing lobsters every time you have to open the bag to put a new one in. If you have a bag man either type of bag will work, its really a preference of the team. With a one-way bag just be sure that it is zipped up before you start shoving those lobsters in there.