Lobster Walk

[Scuba_Jenny]

Thanks for the clarification, especially since this thread resides in the Floida section.

 

[BRT]

Thanks for the clarification, especially since this thread resides in the Floida section.

I understand. Still looking for information from those who know things.

 

[Johnoly]

I understand. Still looking for information from those who know things.

You've seen my dive report pictures and I catch ALOT of lobsters. You're asking for a simple A or B answer, Sand or Reef but finding lobsters doesn't work that way. Lobsters eat tiny crabs, snails, buried mollusks, even small live fish. They are just as happy eating the hard shell for it's calcium as well as the flesh since their grinding jaws are located inside their stomachs. They don't like competition for their food and will walk at night up to a mile if they smell a strong line of scent even hidden under the sand. If you are drift diving & crossing flat sand bottom, many times you will notice a dark black long line in the sand sometimes with a few straggler plants. This is “hard bottom” which we can see on our depth finders. Often it will contain a long line of clams and mollusks. This a buffet table for lobsters that will smell the acids and scents they give off and the lobsters will walk to that sand line under the cover of darkness & return to hide at morning light. That's why you pull traps 1st thing in the morning.

A trap is typically bait loaded with animal parts like hog's feet that give off a scent. But you don't want your bait consumed by fish since that trap can soak for 2-4 days. So putting it near a reef or on top of a reef with tons of fish doesn't always work( but it can for a quick 8hr soak ). Also laying traps in the middle of 2 pairs of reefs can yield lobsters but only if they are already right next to it and can beat the competing fish to it before the bait is gone. But even if a 100 lobsters are right next to your traps on a very fishy reef, they WON'T enter a trap and fight the other fish-They hate competition for food.

Putting the traps a ½ mile in barren sand in 180ft deep, near a dropoff ledge and diver's can't reach it is extremely productive. To complicate it further, if a fellow trapper 1 week earlier put his traps near your target sand area and cleaned out the lobsters, it may take up to 2 months before they move around enough and re-populate that area. Barren sand or Reef? It depends as you can see above.

All of us bug hunters will tell you the same thing. Catching lobsters is Easy >>>> Finding them is extremely difficult. {Does this answer your question?}

 

[BRT]

You've seen my dive report pictures and I catch ALOT of lobsters. You're asking for a simple A or B answer, Sand or Reef but finding lobsters doesn't work that way. Lobsters eat tiny crabs, snails, buried mollusks, even small live fish. They are just as happy eating the hard shell for it's calcium as well as the flesh since their grinding jaws are located inside their stomachs. They don't like competition for their food and will walk at night up to a mile if they smell a strong line of scent even hidden under the sand. If you are drift diving & crossing flat sand bottom, many times you will notice a dark black long line in the sand sometimes with a few straggler plants. This is “hard bottom” which we can see on our depth finders. Often it will contain a long line of clams and mollusks. This a buffet table for lobsters that will smell the acids and scents they give off and the lobsters will walk to that sand line under the cover of darkness & return to hide at morning light. That's why you pull traps 1st thing in the morning.

A trap is typically bait loaded with animal parts like hog's feet that give off a scent. But you don't want your bait consumed by fish since that trap can soak for 2-4 days. So putting it near a reef or on top of a reef with tons of fish doesn't always work( but it can for a quick 8hr soak ). Also laying traps in the middle of 2 pairs of reefs can yield lobsters but only if they are already right next to it and can beat the competing fish to it before the bait is gone. But even if a 100 lobsters are right next to your traps on a very fishy reef, they WON'T enter a trap and fight the other fish-They hate competition for food.

Putting the traps a ½ mile in barren sand in 180ft deep, near a dropoff ledge and diver's can't reach it is extremely productive. To complicate it further, if a fellow trapper 1 week earlier put his traps near your target sand area and cleaned out the lobsters, it may take up to 2 months before they move around enough and re-populate that area. Barren sand or Reef? It depends as you can see above.

All of us bug hunters will tell you the same thing. Catching lobsters is Easy >>>> Finding them is extremely difficult. {Does this answer your question?}

Thank you

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Putting the traps a ½ mile in barren sand in 180ft deep, near a dropoff ledge and diver's can't reach it is extremely productive.

So there is an issue with divers stealing lobsters from others traps? That really sucks. I thought divers were better people than that!

 

[Johnoly]

So there is an issue with divers stealing lobsters from others traps?

Worse than that...There are Eco-nut activists who cut their lines, break/destroy their traps and more. It's a 3rd degree felony with up to 5 years in prison + fines in florida for molesting a lobster trap. That's nothing...there's been gunfire on the water in the keys involving poachers. Our law enforcement backs the commercial trappers 100%.

 

[Ana]

So there is an issue with divers stealing lobsters from others traps? That really sucks. I thought divers were better people than that!

Why would you think that?

Divers are people... Most people suck.
And the people that feel they are somehow saviours, are the ones that suck the most.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Why would you think that?

Divers are people... Most people suck.
And the people that feel they are somehow saviours, are the ones that suck the most.

I guess that I just prefer to have faith in people as a whole.... and I also have always felt that divers......at least the ones that I associate with...... are just more inclined to be decent folks because they understand better than others that in the whole scheme of things we are just plankton that choose to enter a world where we are not on the top of the food chain.... I still feel that way..

 

[Johnoly]

Lobster were walking.

The 'Walk' has been massive for the havesters. Word this morning is a couple of seafood wholesalers are stuffed with lobsters and not accepting new harvests at this time. Roughly 45% of harvested frozen FL tails are airfreighted out to southeast asian countries for sale. This weekend is a great time to visit your local favorite seafood restaurant for a very discounted Florida lobster dinner. Or visit your local seafood dealer/store and you should find lobster tails at incredible prices.