What's for lunch?
- Thread starter tmcnally
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mike_s
Contributor
so, after you've caught a monster like that and put him in your bag, how do you keep him from pinching you then? (just be really careful or what?)
As big as he was, it's almost a shame to eat him but donate him to an aquarium or something.
Are they "tough" eating that big?
As big as he was, it's almost a shame to eat him but donate him to an aquarium or something.
Are they "tough" eating that big?
mike_s:
Funny u should ask...that was the only dive EVER that I did not have a mesh bag with me. I had to swim about 50 ft. with it to my buddy who was filling his bag with mussels. Thankfully he made room for it! As I recall he did not get bit on the way up though. :14:
mike_s:
Agreed. If I'd had a saltwater tank I coulda kept him there too. There was a sense of remorse from a few people diving that day, but my thought is if it wandered into a lobster trap the fisherman woulda kept it...so why not me?
mike_s:
When the lobsters get tough...the tough get more butter!
He was a little tough...I think that comes from how long they have to be cooked when they're that big. This lobster was so big that I had to actually dismember him to cook him...so each piece cooked for less time. Had I not done that I'll bet it would have been like rubber. As it was it was basically like regular lobster meat.
scubarealtor
Guest
where did you catch him?
TrojanCatMan
Contributor
tmcnally:
As fisherman we have a responsibility to the enviroment. If you think it might be to large to take it probably is (IMO). Take the photo and return it to the water... Preferably by swimming it down to the spot you found him (not always possible dont put yourself at risk). You have to be the judge of the ethics on his size, I am not going to comment on your catch. The other thing to remember is large lobsters dont fit into traps. Their only human preditor is the diver. Larger lobsters can have more babies... more babies mean more lobster that are small and better eating!
Congrats on the large lobster, you should be proud to catch an animal so large.
TrojanCatMan:
As far as I know NJ doesn't have a maximum size limit like some other states...so that's not an issue. The boat was full and there was a captain and a first mate there too. No one said "hey that's too big!"
And you're assuming that it was a female as far as the babies go.
I'm sure there are plenty of big ones down there.And how can large lobsters not fit in traps?...I knew a guy from New England who has a permanent thumb injury from when a 35lb. lobster got a hold of him when he was young and used to work on a lobster boat. Just wondering.
TrojanCatMan
Contributor
tmcnally:As far as I know NJ doesn't have a maximum size limit like some other states...so that's not an issue. The boat was full and there was a captain and a first mate there too. No one said "hey that's too big!"
And you're assuming that it was a female as far as the babies go.
And how can large lobsters not fit in traps?...I knew a guy from New England who has a permanent thumb injury from when a 35lb. lobster got a hold of him when he was young and used to work on a lobster boat. Just wondering.
The Max size in CA is complete moral and enforced on a diver to diver basis. So it really depends on who your with. I have little idea of what you all see in Lobster in NJ, hence the way I worded things not to insult you.
As for lobster traps. Everytrap I have ever seen has a maximum size for the creature it can capture. Traps I have seen are basd on the principle of a whole that funnels so its big enough to easily enter for the bate and near impossible to leave. So traps allow small animals to leave and prevent large ones from entering. This is all based on what I have seen and read about, and I doubt I have covered everything known/used. The man you know that caught a 35lb lobster... I would be very interested to find out about the nature of the trap (I'm not doubting you I am just genuinely fascinated; tone is hard thing to convey in text).
I am about to pick up this book. I dont know if you have seen it but I am sure its a fascinating read.
http://www.secretlifeoflobsters.com
Happy Hunting!
All I know for sure was that he was def. on a commercial boat...he grew up near the New England coast...I have no idea what they were using for traps though, but that big one wasn't irregular as far as I recall. Well, other than the fact that it broke his thumb joint where thumb meets hand.
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