Catching Lobster
Bugs have expendable parts:
All the parts in gray will break off.
Note: If the bug looks small leave it alone. (I've
seen people dig a bug out of a hole. In the process, they
break of most of its legs and both antennae. They measure
it. Find out it's short and then have to release it. What
chance is there that the bug will survive??? Answer: very
little to none.)
Step 1:
Set your goodie bag and light down or hand it to your
buddy
Direct approach
- cock your arm
- rush the lobster
- aim to grab the carapace (if you miss, hopefully
you'll grab the horns instead)
- quickly extend your arm hand wide open
- grip the bug firmly
- shake the bug a few times to confuse it
- pull it out of the hole, keeping it more or less
pinned to the bottom
- with your free hand, fold the tail under, and hold it
folded under
Indirect approach
- cock your arm
- approach the bug slowly
- use your free hand to distract the bug
- aim to grab the carapace (if you miss, hopefully
you'll grab the horns instead)
- quickly extend your arm hand wide open
- grip the bug firmly
- shake the bug a few times to confuse it
- pull it out of the hole, keeping it more or less
pinned to the bottom
- with your free hand, fold the tail under, and hold it
folded under
Double teaming
- Many times a lobster will choose a hole or crevice
that has more than one exit.
- look for this other exit (the back door)
- put your buddy at the exit
- you go back to the front door
- try for a grab
- if you miss, just keep scaring the bug. It will
backup right into your buddy's hand.
Note: There have been many cases where a buddy
team is diving together. Your buddy goes on way around a
rock, you take the other way. Both of you are looking for
bugs. You both spot a bug. You go for the grab. And one of
you says after the dive, "Man, I had this bug and suddenly
he turned into super bug and pulled away! I lost him." You
or your buddy will be laughing pretty hard at this moment
because you have the bug in your goodie bag.
Bagging your bug:
- measure your bug with the lobster gauge
- if you've already bagged one or more bugs during the
dive, shake your goodie bag so all the bugs fall down to
the bottom of the bag. (Bugs line up with their tails
facing the mouth of the bag waiting to jet out when you
open the bag.)
- have your buddy grab the material of the bag just
above the already bagged bugs (now it's safe to open the
bag)
- open the bag
- put the lobster in the bag tail-first (if you don't
the bug will spread all of its legs and grab on to the
bag)
- close the bag around your hand
- release the bug
- keep the bag closed and pull you hand out of the
bag
- lock the bag closed
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