John Strunk holds up his lobster catch. He recommends getting your gear checked and taking a practice dive in advance of the July 30-31 miniseason. Photo by Steve Waters/The Coastal Star
By Steve Waters
Just about everyone who dives for lobsters looks forward to Florida’s two-day lobster miniseason.
The annual event, which this year is July 30-31, is the first opportunity for recreational divers to catch lobsters since the regular season closed on April 1. The commercial season also closed that day, so there should be an abundance of lobsters hanging around coral reefs, rock piles and ledges.
In addition, because they haven’t been harassed for nearly four months, the bugs — as they are known because of their insect-like appearance — should be less wary.
Best of all for divers in Palm Beach County, the daily bag limit is 12 lobsters, which is twice the limit during the regular season, which opens Aug. 6. The miniseason limit in Biscayne National Park and the Florida Keys is six bugs per person per day (myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/lobster/).
Many divers only dive during miniseason, so their skills and their neglected dive equipment could be rusty. But even if you dive often, having a local dive shop check out your gear now will save you some headaches.
If you want your air tanks inspected and filled, don’t wait until a few days before miniseason because dive shops won’t have time to do it. The same goes for having your regulator and buoyancy compensator checked and repaired, if necessary.
Why have your dive gear inspected at all? Because a dried-out rubber O-ring that allows air to leak from your tank or your regulator can end your miniseason in a hurry. So can a tear or a rusted spring in your buoyancy compensator. Even something as simple as a broken fin strap can keep you from catching lobsters.
That’s why it’s also a smart idea to dive before miniseason. Not only can you scout for lobsters, you can get reacquainted with being underwater and make sure all of your gear is working properly.
When opening day arrives, many divers are in a rush to get to the bottom and start hunting. If they’d slow down, they’d catch plenty of lobsters and be much safer.
Divers who swim around too quickly end up spooking their quarry. Others, caught up in the thrill of the hunt, run their boats too close to other divers. And some have no idea what they’re doing, but they want a lobster dinner.
“There are a lot of people out there who have no business being out there,” Dave Brisbane said. “One time I was diving in 20 feet of water and a guy jumps in off another boat and almost hits me.”
Brisbane, of Boca Raton, dives during the miniseason with Frank Schmidt of Lighthouse Point. Unlike those who haven’t been diving since last year’s miniseason — “the ones who take their gear out of the garage and blow the dust off,” Schmidt said — they put in their time scouting before the miniseason and they take their time when the season arrives.
“One of Frank’s favorite lines is that guys beat up the lobsters,” Brisbane said. “You can tickle them out nice and easy. Don’t be aggressive.”
There are basically two methods for catching lobsters. Brisbane uses a tickle stick, which is a metal rod with a bend at the tip, and a net. Brisbane taps on a lobster’s tail with his tickle stick to get it to come out from its hiding place, then puts the net behind the lobster. Then he taps the lobster on its head so it scoots backward into the net and rakes the tickle stick across the back of the net so the lobster can’t get out.
Divers also use a lobster snare, which is a shaft with a length of wire or nylon inside that has a loop that protrudes from the end of the shaft. Divers open the loop and slip it over the tail of a lobster and then pull it tight.
A trick that works well with a snare is to extend your hand and wave at the crustacean. While the lobster looks at that hand, you use the other hand to put the loop around its tail. Because the bug is distracted by your hand, it doesn’t notice the snare.
Just take your time doing that and you’ll have the key ingredients for several delicious dinners.
Outdoors writer Steve Waters can be reached at steve33324@aol.com.
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