Scuba Diving for Lobsters
On a number of occasions people have inquired because I live in Florida, if I do any spear fishing or lobster diving.
My initial answer is that I haven’t done any spear fishing for two reasons, first it looks too easy to spear an unsuspecting fish that is most times sitting right in front of you that I see in my regular diving. Now, on the other hand, those avid spear fishermen that are seeking those big game fish as well as free diving without scuba equipment, my hats off to them who most of the time have to chase their prey.
What’s the second reason for me not participating in spear fishing? I hate to clean fish!
Diving for lobster, now that’s another story! I find it a lot more sporting and the catch is more delicious. Most of the time you have to hunt for lobster because they’re not going to swim out to greet you. Lobsters have a tendency, in the day time especially, to hide under ledges or in small caves or crevasses in the reef. At night it's a different story because lobsters come out of hiding and walk around foraging for food.
There is a lobster season in Florida which runs from early August until late March. It is illegal to harvest lobsters without a permit in Florida. First you have to get a fishing license and then you purchase what’s known as a lobster or crawfish stamp which allows you to take 6 lobsters per day per person for Monroe County and the Biscayne National Park, which takes in the area that is most plentiful with lobsters. For the remainder of Florida, the bag limit is 12 per person.
I mentioned the term crawfish which is the family of crustaceans where they have no claws but are also called spiny lobsters because their entire body is covered with small protrusions so gloves are standard equipment when hunting.
Even at night if you find a spiny lobster walking around, don't think you can just up and grab them because they still don't want to be captured. They have a very powerful tail muscle that allows them to fly backward for a number of feet, faster than a diver can travel so the game is on and the diver has to be quicker than his prey. Furthermore, it is also illegal to spear a Florida Lobster.
Lobster out for a stroll at night
Most lobster hunting is done during the day when it can be combined with some enjoyable sightseeing of the various reefs. Divers will head for the Florida Keys in the South where the water is shallow and "bugs" are more plentiful. Divers will gather in groups and sometimes share catches so everyone has their quota. Of course, there are those divers that are not satisfied with their allotted amount and will try to take home more than they are allowed. This is the reason game wardens meet the boats as they come back to the docks.
At the beginning of the season some lobsters don't meet the minimum size requirements that can be taken and that too can pose a problem for the authorities. Even if the diver catches smaller lobsters sometimes the lobster loses legs or feelers in the process and when released has a problem with survival. Another reason a lobster may have to be released after catching, even though it meets the size requirement, is if it's a female carrying eggs. The eggs are visible under the tail section and are a vivid feathery orange color.
In order to keep your catch, it's a must to carry a lobster gauge that allows you to measure the lobster. It's a simple aluminum or plastic gauge to measure what's known as the Carapace or the distance from between the eyes to the beginning of the tail.
Gauge and How it’s Used
Now, do I run down to South Florida as soon as the season opens, no. I have never gone hunting lobsters in South Florida because it is a zoo down there and I don't want to experience the free-for-all that exists in the area. On top of that I want to hunt a lobster that is larger than what can be taken in that area. Most of the time the lobsters in the South don't get the chance to grow into the size that are much bigger than what you can buy at your local supermarket. I'm looking for the granddaddy ones.
For this reason, my son and I search off the East Coast of Florida in the areas off Cape Canaveral and Jacksonville. In these locations the lobsters can grow to a size that weighs out at 10 to 12 pounds.
There is a charter service out of New Smyrna Beach by the name of Sea Dogs Dive Charter who we have gone out with a number of times. They run a good operation and drop the divers on a number of small coral heads where the lobsters frequent.
A typical catch on a Sea Dogs Charter
We will be in about 60 to 80 feet of water which is also a deterrent to most divers who hunt lobster, but this is where the big ones hang out.
Another location I mentioned is off Cape Canaveral where the space shots take place. Here there are no local charter services which cut down on the participating divers even more. The location is about 12 miles off shore and is known as "A Reef". It is about a 10-foot ledge that runs for about a quarter mile at a depth of 80 feet. I had a 20-foot boat that allowed us to travel out to this location and hunt.
Gary and I had some great lobster hunting in this area. The procedure for hunting was to swim along the wall and look for antennae of a lobster sticking out of a crevice. Now when we finally locate a lobster there are certain cautions you have to remember. Sometimes lobsters bed down with a companion that also likes to hide in secluded spots during the day and that's a moray eel.
Moray Eel
Moray Eels are not overly aggressive but if you choose to stick your hand in a hole where one is cohabiting with a lobster, they will surely bite you. And that's not a simple bite because their teeth hook backward similar to those of a snake and the more you pull the more they will dig in.
Before we go any further let's look at the type of equipment you may want to carry to try and be successful in capturing one of these crawfish.
The most common item, other than the gauge, is what is known as a tickle stick. This is a plastic or aluminum rod, about three feet long, with a 45-degree bend at one end.
Tickle Stick with Homemade Gauge
The theory behind the tickle stick is that you slip it alongside the lobster and touch their tail with the angled portion to make it believe there is something behind them which encourages the lobster to come forward so you can grab it. I used the word "theory" because it doesn't always work to the diver's advantage. This is because in most cases the lobster has allowed for additional room behind them where they can hop over the tickle stick and scoot back into the cave. It's not always like this because I have had them come zooming out and hit me right in the chest so I can grab them or the other situation where they come out and zoom under your legs or over your shoulder only to fly away into another hole.
Lobsters with room to back up
The tickle stick is still the best tool I have used and it's funny when you're trying to slip it around the side of the lobster how they will use their antenna to touch the stick as you attempt to get it passed them. Something like "I know what you're trying to do buddy".
Another option used is the snare which is a stick about the same length as the tickle stick only it contains a movable wire loop that runs inside the handle. With the loop open it's snaked around the lobster, similar to the tickle stick, where you can hopefully loop it around the lobster's tail to be pulled tight to capture.
Snare
I have never had much luck with this device because the loop is very seldom in the proper angle to use effectively or the lobsters, tail is laying flat and you can't get under it.
A number of times, if your quick enough, you can just reach over the lobster and grab them around the top of their body but once again check for roommates.
I have even heard a suggestion of using an old rope mop that you could possibly get it caught in the lobsters' spiny legs and body but I have never seen one used.
OK, now you have just extracted a lobster from its lair, what do you do with it so you can continue to hunt for more? There are a number of common so called "bug bags" on the market. They are usually constructed of a plastic or nylon mesh with a very wide opening in order to get the lobster in it because a lobster is like an open umbrella with eight legs, feelers and a spiny body. Some bags have a large plastic shoot attached to the opening so the spines don't hang up as you are trying to insert the lobster.
Wide Opening Bug Bag Plastic Opening Bag
Both these bags are functional for small to medium size lobster but when you do your hunting further North along the East coast of Florida you may have a hard time inserting more than one lobster in the wide opening bag and you will probably not be able to get your lobster through the plastic tube on the other bag.
As an example, when Gary and I were hunting off Cape Canaveral one day the visibility was good and we were fortunate to encounter a couple of good-sized lobsters on A Reef. This time my tickle stick worked just like the advertisement and when I touched the lobster's tail it came charging out right into my arms. Gary had the same luck with another one and both of us had to head for the surface because the lobsters were so big that we could not get them in our bags. When we arrived home one turned out to be 9 pounds while the other was 10.
Two large lobsters in one day
When we returned back to the dock the usual game wardens were checking the various catches but paid little attention to lobsters due to the ones this far North usually always being over the size limit.
There was an instance when a dive buddy of ours decided to spear fish along with searching for lobsters. When he returned back to the docks and the game warden asked him what he had caught, he showed his catch of lobsters along with a fish he had speared that he was unaware of the specie. The game warden informed him that it was a Snook and that they were out of season and you were not allowed to spear them. It proved to be a very expensive trip.
Cooking Lobsters
I am not going to pretend to be an expert in cooking lobsters but I do know this, if you have a regular one or two-pound lobster tail you can easily cook them on the grille with melted butter and seasoning. Not so with the size lobsters we would bring home from off the Mid Florida Coast. If you were to follow the standard way of cooking the outside meat would be cooked but the inside would still be raw. You have to butterfly the tail by making a cut from underneath and spread the two halves out meat side down or even up if you wanted to baste with butter while cooking. It tends to be a little tougher meat but still good eating.
So that's lobster hunting with Scuba! It's one of the major sports in Florida and provides some great meals as well as supplementing your diving hobby. Let's face it you spent a substantial amount of money on your equipment so get the most out of it. It doesn't require a lot of skill you just have to outsmart a bug.
George