Assault by fish

[ScubaNorth]

I am still cautious about sticking my hand in a lobster hole. I am curious if anyone has been grabbed to the point of injury by a lobster. I am guessing they could inflict some serious damage but the few times I have been pinched I don't think I would qualify for a Purple Heart. If anyone has any fish injury stories feel free to share. Other than the rather large Bass appearing out of the gloom and making me jump when I didn't expect them I have no incidents on record.

 

[ClassAction]

I've ruined a pair of gloves and got a few cuts, but mostly it's just a harmless pinch. It all depends on the size of the lobster. A lobzilla, I'm told, can crush bones. Personally, I don't think this is a good way to catch them anyway. I used to just rush in and grab the lobster (sometimes by the claws, etc.), but this doesn't work well with softies! Also, I don't think it's that effective. When you see one, just be patient and use your stick to coax him out. If it doesn't look like your stick will work, just give it a minute. The lobster might forget that you're there and move. If he retreats deep into the hole, try knocking on the roof of the hole (on the outside). My buddy likes to stir the sand up in the hole to smoke him out, but I'm not sure this works. I saw a website last week that said you can catch a little one and put it into the big bug's hole to stir things up, but I haven't tried it yet. Patience, patience, patience... And for the record, I'm no expert. But I am getting better with each dive...

 

[abitton]

I was attacked by a bass 1.5 weeks ago...

Apparently the females are spawning and protective of the eggs at this time of the year. She nipped my finger, but it wasn't a proble wearing 5 mm gloves...

Funny stories to tell as we grow old

 

[decapoddiver]

Back before the max size limit I had a very large lobster in my catch bag which was attached to my weightbelt. I was working on getting a bug out of a hole right on the bottom. I lay flat on my belly against the sand and proceeded to work with my tickle stick. After about 2 minutes I was crushed by a great white shark who was attempting to remove my right leg! Well, actually it just felt like that. It was the big bug whose pincher claw was able to open wide enough to get my drysuit enclosed thigh into. Since it was still in the bag, I couldn't see where the claws were and good gravy it hurt!
My not so quiet scream carried far enough to alert my buddy who took one look at the problem and shook his head in a "no friggin' way!" type motion. By inflating my suit a bit and going inverted I was able to loosen it's grip enough to pull it off. I carried my bag in my hand for the rest of the dive

I had two large bruises on my thigh for a week.

 

[krustykrab]

Back before the max size limit I had a very large lobster in my catch bag which was attached to my weightbelt. I was working on getting a bug out of a hole right on the bottom. I lay flat on my belly against the sand and proceeded to work with my tickle stick. After about 2 minutes I was crushed by a great white shark who was attempting to remove my right leg! Well, actually it just felt like that. It was the big bug whose pincher claw was able to open wide enough to get my drysuit enclosed thigh into. Since it was still in the bag, I couldn't see where the claws were and good gravy it hurt!
My not so quiet scream carried far enough to alert my buddy who took one look at the problem and shook his head in a "no friggin' way!" type motion. By inflating my suit a bit and going inverted I was able to loosen it's grip enough to pull it off. I carried my bag in my hand for the rest of the dive

I had two large bruises on my thigh for a week.

I've had a very similar experience with a large lobster grabbing drysuit AND inner thigh... very close to parts that I would NOT want to be pinched by a very large lobster claw! That got my attention real fast!

I also have a scar on my left middle finger from a good size lobster grabbing on and not letting go and thinking it was funny if he grated his claw together while holding onto me, all the while I'm screaming through my reg and trying to get away from this guy... he tasted good though... even eaten with a bandaged finger! (before the max size limit...)

Not really assault by fish, but I broke my hand a few years back after getting tossed into the rocks on Cape Ann during a particularly nasty surf exit...

 

[scubastew]

Just had my thumb pinched this past Sunday by a 5 1/8 inch (carapace) bug this weekend. Later in the dive I was considering taking my glove off to take a look and see if my thumb was still in one peice. Since it did "smart" pretty good. Still a bit sore today and a small blood blister under the nail. BUt not too much worse for wear. The "bark was worse than the bite"; so to speak. It was worth it! However it would have been more worth it, if it was a 4 1/8 inch carapace!!

Also had the thigh pinched, like decapod, more shocking than anything (though my wasnt a quite a big boy)

 

[Chebby]

I was bitten by a fish once while feeding sting rays at Sting Ray City dive site on Cayman Islands. Had little tooth marks all over my index finger.

When you see one, just be patient and use your stick to coax him out. If it doesn't look like your stick will work, just give it a minute. The lobster might forget that you're there and move. If he retreats deep into the hole, try knocking on the roof of the hole (on the outside). My buddy likes to stir the sand up in the hole to smoke him out, but I'm not sure this works. I saw a website last week that said you can catch a little one and put it into the big bug's hole to stir things up, but I haven't tried it yet. Patience, patience, patience... .

ClassAction,

whatever works for you, of course, but my problem with this is that while you are giving it "Patience, patience, patience..." your buddy will finish looking around in 30 seconds and start getting bored really fast waiting for you. My rule is, no matter how big the lobster is, if I can't get it in 30 seconds, I move on. First, it's just not fair to your buddy because you are wasting his time. Second, looking around more will pay off. And third, you gotta respect a lobsta that can stand his ground for so long.

 

[radinator]

There is a webpage out there (maybe a google search for "mad puffer fish") where someone was bitten by a puffer fish, and it bit his pinkie finger off. The photos were gruesome, and the finger could not be re-attached.

The funny/sad thing about it was that the fish was in a hole, and the guy was wiggling his fingers to try to lure it out.

 

[kelpmermaid]

No lobster incidents, but as I put my hands around a giant kelp plant to do a count of the stipes, something on the other side (maybe a kelp bass?) chomped down on my knuckle and started to pull. No damage was done, but it scared me. One of my buddies was bitten in the face by a sheephead -- it was probably lunging for food in the water column in front of the buddy, but missed.

My BF was also "thumped" in the head by a garibaldi. He heard the warning -- a clicking noise -- started looking around, thinking, "What the..." and then was thumped on the head. He didn't know what hit him, but saw the angry fish coming in for round two when he turned around. He must have gotten too close to the nest which he never even saw.

 

[Cecil]

This

leads to

this.