Tickle stick
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OceanObsessed
Guest
I use an aluminum 3/8 inch dowel rod about 3 feet long. You can buy them at Home Depot or Lowes. I have used this type prod for over 25 years and for me there is no better prod. You purchase the rod straight but you can bend it in any shape that you like. I drilled a hole through the end so that I could loop a string through and tie a lobster guage to it; the other end has about a 90 degree bend to it. Although I have only needed to do this a few times… a big advantage of this prod is that you can bend it while you are underwater to fit the situation you need.
Whatever prod you use be sure that it has some rigiditiy to it. I see a lot of people use those thin fiberglass rods that they sell in the dive shops and in my opinion they are too short and are just not rigid enough. A monster sized lobster will just laugh at one of those thin fiberglass prods
. You want to use the prod gently with lobsters, this keeps them calmer, but in the event that they get spooked then they can become uncooperative and you will see the value of a more rigid prod.
Whatever prod you use be sure that it has some rigiditiy to it. I see a lot of people use those thin fiberglass rods that they sell in the dive shops and in my opinion they are too short and are just not rigid enough. A monster sized lobster will just laugh at one of those thin fiberglass prods
. You want to use the prod gently with lobsters, this keeps them calmer, but in the event that they get spooked then they can become uncooperative and you will see the value of a more rigid prod.
I see you are in NJ. Last I knew you could not use a tickle stick in NJ
MSilvia
Contributor
It's basicly a straight stick of some sort with a bend about 4-6 inches from the "business end". Typically, the stick is about a meter long, and the bend is usually somewhere around 45 degrees. I've heard rumors that a 90 degree bend is illegal here in MA, but I've never seen any hard evidence to that effect.
In any case, the idea is that you slip the stick into a lobster's hiding hole, and then tap the bug on the abdomen/tail with the bend it the stick, which makes it think there's something behind it. Most sensible lobsters, being helpless from the rear, will try to turn and face the hidden aggressor, which hopefully will require them to exit their hole and allow you to grab them. The tickle stick is not intended to be a mechanical lobster-prying tool so much as a lobster-fooling device, so I'm not sure what advantage rigidity would impart. When I use one at all, it's as often a bent coat hanger as anything else.
In any case, the idea is that you slip the stick into a lobster's hiding hole, and then tap the bug on the abdomen/tail with the bend it the stick, which makes it think there's something behind it. Most sensible lobsters, being helpless from the rear, will try to turn and face the hidden aggressor, which hopefully will require them to exit their hole and allow you to grab them. The tickle stick is not intended to be a mechanical lobster-prying tool so much as a lobster-fooling device, so I'm not sure what advantage rigidity would impart. When I use one at all, it's as often a bent coat hanger as anything else.
Richesb
Contributor
You can use anything for a tickle stick. Bug hunting is about tecnique. We catch more than our share of lobsters daily (in season) using our spear shafts (still on the gun). It's pretty much a preference thing. Down here there are no length or shape laws.
Richesb
Contributor
Now that's inovation. Way to go.
OceanObsessed
Guest
I agree that in most situations you can use just about anything as a prod. We even use a 10 foot pole spear in one deep crevice where they are hard to reach.
We frequent one reef where there are many crevices where you have to reach in far with your prod and maneuver the lobster out into the open, or within snare range, to catch them. For example, one of these crevices is about 10 inches high 15 feet wide and goes about 15 feet back. This crevice is usually loaded with lobsters but reaching them is the challenge. Once you prod out a few lobsters and catch them the remaining ones realize what is going on and become very defensive and will literally attempt step over your prod or just push through your prod to get into deeper holes on the sides of the crevice where you will never see them again. When the lobsters become defensive like this they do not always respond well to a light nudge or tap with a flimsy prod. Having a rigid prod allows us to be slightly more aggressive with them and allows us to prevent the lobster from stepping over or pushing through the prod and getting away.
I have also found that large lobsters (3 lbs +) can be more stubborn and sometimes resist prodding. This is where a rigid prod is advantageous because it allows you to be a bit more forceful with them.
As a disclaimer I am speaking about the Florida Spiny Lobster. I don't know a thing about catching the Northern Maine lobsters... they may behave differently for all I know
We frequent one reef where there are many crevices where you have to reach in far with your prod and maneuver the lobster out into the open, or within snare range, to catch them. For example, one of these crevices is about 10 inches high 15 feet wide and goes about 15 feet back. This crevice is usually loaded with lobsters but reaching them is the challenge. Once you prod out a few lobsters and catch them the remaining ones realize what is going on and become very defensive and will literally attempt step over your prod or just push through your prod to get into deeper holes on the sides of the crevice where you will never see them again. When the lobsters become defensive like this they do not always respond well to a light nudge or tap with a flimsy prod. Having a rigid prod allows us to be slightly more aggressive with them and allows us to prevent the lobster from stepping over or pushing through the prod and getting away.
I have also found that large lobsters (3 lbs +) can be more stubborn and sometimes resist prodding. This is where a rigid prod is advantageous because it allows you to be a bit more forceful with them.
As a disclaimer I am speaking about the Florida Spiny Lobster. I don't know a thing about catching the Northern Maine lobsters... they may behave differently for all I know
yea, its pretty simple, as far as I know there are no tickle stick rules down here in florida. You just make sure you don't mess up eggs on a carrying female thats bad... The only thing they really don' tlike is a mophead on the end of a stick
OceanObsessed
Guest
I have also heard that you can’t have more than a 90 degree bend with a tickle stick but this is just a rumor when it comes to South Florida rules. The rule is simply that you cannot puncture the lobster.
One of my buddies even uses a shark hook on the end of his prod. The point is filed down so that it is rounded and will not puncture the lobster. We have been checked by Marine Patrol/Fish & Wildlife Officers countless times and although the officers have picked it up and looked at it suspiciously they always hand it back to him after he shows them that it is filed down to be just a prodding device.
One of my buddies even uses a shark hook on the end of his prod. The point is filed down so that it is rounded and will not puncture the lobster. We have been checked by Marine Patrol/Fish & Wildlife Officers countless times and although the officers have picked it up and looked at it suspiciously they always hand it back to him after he shows them that it is filed down to be just a prodding device.
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