Scuba Diving club,
Southern California
Lobster
Grabbing
By Jeff Shipley
Grabbing
lobster is partially a state of mind and partially a matter of conditioning
your body and your equipment.
- The first rule of lobster grabbing is to avoid getting urchin spines in your hand. While sometimes this rule is ignored, especially for big bugs, it is self enforcing and so should rarely be ignored.
- If you want lobsters, swim as far and fast as you can. Cover territory. This is especially true if you want big bugs.
- He who hesitates doesn't get bugs. Grab before they can register your presence.
First the equipment: You need to have your diving gear streamlined and working in excellent and predictable condition. If you have any piece of you gear in a suspect condition, you will not have the confidence to be comfortable, let alone when it may let you down! You must have as little things hanging off of yourself that could cause you to swim slower. This is a definite disadvantage!
Physical conditioning: Conditioning your body takes two paths, one for you head and one for your body. Your body must be ready for the rigors of diving, you must have the stamina to make repeated dives and you must be comfortable in the water. Good lobster divers always make every possible dive that they can, to keep in shape for the time when they need to start diving for the bugs. As for your head, you must be ready to get off the boat when they drop the anchor. You also must have a positive attitude for grabbing. That is if you see a legal bug, you must have the mind-set that he is yours!
|
Bagging
Lobster · 1) If it looks
short --- it's short, leave it, move on. · 2) If it looks
borderline -- it's short, leave it, move on. · 3) If there is
any doubt in your mind -- it's short, leave it, move on. · 4) Looks legal
-- measure it. · 5) Bigger around
than a fat beer can -- bag it. · 6) A two hander
-- bag it. · 7) Bugs seem to
shrink when you bring them to the surface -- measure them all again before
you transfer them to the holding well. |
Good grabbers also can tell the difference between a short and a legal bug. They cover a lot of ground, passing over short antennae looking for the bigger ones. Why is that: Short lobsters are very quick and larger lobsters are slower! In order to achieve all of these factors, you must dive often to get in shape and notice the difference between shorts and legal bugs!
Even when you are in the best of shape, have your mind directed, have your gear perfect, you may not
even do good, as lobster move around and nobody seems to be able to predict where they will be. Are they shallow, are they deep, you never know, but if you dive often, you may have some clues. Mostly, when the water is warm they are shallow, when the water is cold they are deep, but this is not always true. How do you know? Dive a lot and you may have an edge on the other divers!
Recipe Chilled Gazpacho with Lobster
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Posted October 13, 2003