AMATEUR HOUR

Grabbing the Antennae

It is easy to get caught up in the moment and try to pull a bug out of his hole with your bare hand. Every lobsterman has tried it at some point. Those antennae sticking out from underneath that rock just look too tempting. However, as you will quickly learn this is a fast way to not only scare your catch farther into his crevice but to also sentence it to death.

Spiny lobsters don't have claws to defend themselves, that means their antennae server as their main defensive weapon. Despite this, a lobster will quickly shed its antennae and limbs if they are grasped by a predator. There is no way that you will catch a lobster by grabbing it by anything other than its carapace, so don't even bother to try. Not only will you not have a way to clean the bastard if you do manage to catch him, but he has become an easy meal for smarter predators than you. Studies have shown that the survival rate for a lobster without antennae is substantially less than that of one with even one antennae.

Likewise, you also want to be careful when removing a lobster from your net and measuring it because at that point the lobster is extremely threatened and will easily drop its appendages in an attempt to escape. Remember, those shorts will some day be legal sized and if you rip off its legs and antennae then some fish, and not you, is going to be the one eating it.

AMATEUR HOUR

The Open Catch Bag

One mistake that is easy to make but should never be made, is to start lobster hunting without checking to make sure that your catch bag is securely closed. There is nothing worse than putting that first keeper into your bag just to see him shoot out the other end and into the murky abyss.

There are a variety of different catch bags, some close with velcro, some with zippers, and others with latches. Whatever is the case be sure that yours is securely fastened.

If you can convince a friend to do it, having a bag man can be very useful. This will increase your mobility and allow you to more easily catch those pesky lobsters. Plus not only do you get to blame him if the lobsters escape but if the ghost lobster happens to appear it will be the guy holding the bag full of lobsters he will be pissed off at, not you.