Lobster catching gear

This thursday I will be in the Keys for three days and I have purchased the following items.... Lobster Inn, Green lobster snare, and the measuring tool. Ok now that I have these how do you folks carry them? How do you attach the Lobster Inn to your gear? And the measuring tool..... Do you attach it to your Inn or to the snare or just have it hanging off your BC? I have viewed several youtube videos but it can't get a sense of where the gear is attached. Or do you just hand carry these things? Please enlighten me

Thanks

Don

Sent from my iPad

Pretty common way around our group is the ruler is attached to the handle of the lobster stick. just like this: Lobster Quick Loop Stick with Gauge | LeisurePro
Then the catch bag is bolt snapped to a D-ring somewhere. I like it on my left hip D-ring next to my spg.

A good pair of gloves would make a nice addition to your gear.

Forgot all about gloves, lol. Don't go crazy, we use the mechanics gloves from home depot and they last me a season.

don't forget the license! and make sure to check for eggs before you get out of the water.

ekremer:

Pretty common way around our group is the ruler is attached to the handle of the lobster stick. just like this: Lobster Quick Loop Stick with Gauge | LeisurePro
Then the catch bag is bolt snapped to a D-ring somewhere. I like it on my left hip D-ring next to my spg.

Click to expand...

Does it come off so you can measure while you still have the lobster on the snare or do you remove the lobster from the snare and then measure? It would see easier to measure while in the snare?

You can carry the gauge any way you want as long as you have one. But one caution, when you measure a lobster push the gauge TIGHT. If you can make the gauge drop over the carapace, the bug is short. That is exactly what a Fish and Game officer will do. If he can make his gauge drop, he will start writing.

When he says tight he isn't kidding. Tight like making the eyes and horns come together because it is so tight. It happened to a friend of mine.

My lobster gears:
gloves
tickle stick
measuring tool ziptied to end of tickle stick
net with squared off bottom.
lobster bag is the PVC round top w/handle and blue netting with the zipper bottom.

All gear has snap hooks on them.

I don't use a snare, I find it pretty useless and catch plenty without the need for one.

Night dives are better, they are just walking around and you pick them up like candy. Rarely do you have to poke one out of it's hidey hole

To/From the areas we lobster, I just clip it all off and let it trail behind me. BE CAREFUL it clears the corals, you don't want to kill it!
Once we're ready to start catching them, I keep my bag tucked into the front (like a ball) until I catch the first one, it keeps it out of the way.
The net/tickle stick I carefully detach and check for entanglements on my gear (nothing sucks like having to mend a hole in your net wasting gas/bottom time).
I then carry the tickle stick and net in front of my (like a tennis racket). Once I see a lobster, depending what it's doing, I carefully separate the stick from the net, and if its just in the open I just net the bug. If its not tangled up, I measure/bag it myself, if it is I signal for my buddy to untangle it and bag it so we don't lose it. If it's hiding I usually put the flat bottom of the net on the sand right in front of the lobster, then poke around or through the net with the tickle stick to get him to dart into the net.

Once in a while the net gets tangled on stuff, but just take care to untangle it as carefully and as long as it takes. I once ripped it apart in anger and well... stupid me.. i then had a hole in my net.

---------- Post added August 12th, 2013 at 12:50 PM ----------

MrChen:

Does it come off so you can measure while you still have the lobster on the snare or do you remove the lobster from the snare and then measure? It would see easier to measure while in the snare?

Click to expand...

We do it while in the net. This way we know how careful to be with it if its legal or not. If its not legal, we take great care in handling it to set it free. If its going to be dinner anyway, we just rip it out and shove it in the bag. So long as we have a good hold of it, we always measure it ONE MORE TIME before stuffing it in the bag.

---------- Post added August 12th, 2013 at 12:51 PM ----------

iluvtheocean:

don't forget the license! and make sure to check for eggs before you get out of the water.

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Should check before even bagging it. That's a lot of damage to the lobster and eggs by further stressing it out and knocking eggs off or crushing them by further handling.

Check out Chiefy's Book for good tips on how to catch them. Available in most dive shops around here and Amazon i believe. "Catching the Bug".
Yes I would assume you would check before sticking it the bag -- but if you have any doubts - double check before FWC can get you for it.. At least one person here is currently experiencing what effect that is having on them for not checking.