The Lobster Pot!

whisper · 01 October 2012, 17:39

After winning an ebay auction we are now the proud owner of a lobster pot!

It was won by me and delivered by the owner's daughter to PeteM's work near Poole, Pete then drove it to Hightower's house near Fareham while we were out fishing

I did forget to tell Mrs Hightower it would be arriving

So it's now back here in Sunny Swindon waiting for its first outing this weekend on AJ's stag night

Does anyone have any tips for us?

martini · 01 October 2012, 18:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by whisper

Does anyone have any tips for us?

Yes, put a decent size buff on it, not a black plastic 5l can like most of the fishernobbers round your way use!

Random fact of the day: "fishernobbers" in predictive text comes out as fisher inbred

Sent from my portable speaking device using Rib.net

Ally S · 01 October 2012, 18:08

Make sure you have decent floating rope - c double the depth of water you are fishing in. For lobster you want to be in near rocks / kelp and prob best to go right in close to the rocks so not in the way of commercial guys. For crab you go for sandy bottom. We use mackerel for bait, but any fish will do you fine - couple of cuts thru it then stick it in the draw string / bait bag and leave it for 24-48 hours. I would drop the pots at low tide in calm conditions so you can see whats below you and then just make sure you have enough rope on it.
Good luck - nothing more fun than catching your own lobsters.

Dhf · 01 October 2012, 19:22

I would suggest lead weighted rope to avoid prop snag especially at slack water, and Gurnard bait is a Losters favourite pot nibble.
Happy potting

Ribtecer · 01 October 2012, 19:33

Great idea/thread, please keep us posted as to how you get on with it.

Toby

telcowilliam · 01 October 2012, 19:47

mackeral tends to attract crab more than lobster, best baits are dabs or gurnard for lobster

willk · 01 October 2012, 19:50

This is fascinating. Over here, pots are set by "owners" in stretches that they have controlled for generations. Set your's at your own risk!

m chappelow · 01 October 2012, 19:53

If it has wood slats on the bottom it may need a bit extra weight if its dried out or might need a good soaking for a few days , it's not a bad idea to give it a shake when you put it down gets all the air bubbles that may form on the netting .

Fasten the rope to the narrow end that way when you drop it in it will penetrate thick kelp and get to the sea bed than sit on top of the weed also helps with recovery ,

If its top entry only ,, may be better if its left down overnight ,

Put a weight on the rope about 2 metres or so down from the bouy,, stops getting it caught in others props if it gets run over ,

Make sure you leave plenty of slack on the rope to allow for the tide rise its set at low water also if wave swell build up stops the bouy from walking the pot ,
and if you think it's getting robbed by someone else before you pull it ,,I have a trick for that but it's not for here . Lol

Each area has different rules & bylaws up here on the North east coast of Yorkshire we need a permit & tags on gear with regulated escape gaps on pots even if your not commercial & its for your own private use & consumption ,you need the permit if you're using pots ,nets diving or just raking crabs ,lobsters ,whelks out at low tide by hand .

Poly · 01 October 2012, 19:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by willk

This is fascinating. Over here, pots are set by "owners" in stretches that they have controlled for generations. Set your's at your own risk!

Kind of like drug dealers with a patch...

willk · 01 October 2012, 20:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poly

Kind of like drug dealers with a patch...

Exactly. But it acted as a kind of control too - families fish their stretch so have an incentive to return berried females, undersized nippers etc. Not sure how it would work in a free for all. BTW, taking crustaceans while on SCUBA is totally banned here...

Bigmuz7 · 01 October 2012, 20:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poly

Kind of like drug dealers with a patch...

Yes it is

I find oily mackeral works best for crab or lobster .. I'll set in any depth right up to spring tide dead low level, cos thats where the fellas are

... I've fished on rock coasts and sandy bottoms. If its steep shelving rock and tangle you need to get the pot close to the shore, so close infact you need to be alert on the motor, especially if you get big swells like we do

. If its a sandy bottom, look for tangle with a patch in it .. your fish likes to hide, so .. if you see a patch drop your pot right into it

.. Oh and if your coast is rocky take a big knife for pot recovery, incase it catches a conger, which up our way will fill the pot, and remove your finger when you try and relieve the chap of his new home

Also .. set in the morning and leave for 24hrs only .. your man seems to prefer going in at night, but they can find there way out of that type of pot if you leave them for too long

Boatnomad · 01 October 2012, 20:34

With a top entrance like that,the closer to dawn you haul it more chance you will have,if the Sun gets to the pot they will get out of that entrance quicker than you could believe.Best of luck.

Chris · 01 October 2012, 20:37

I was once told by one of our Icelandic members that they used dead squirel in their lobster pots. the riper the better...

I have never tested this theory however.

I would stick to keeping it close inshore and away from where the commercial guys drop their pots BTW, they don't really like newbies dropping pots on their turf.

willk · 01 October 2012, 20:40

They don't have squirrels in Iceland. Do they import them 'specially?

Chris · 01 October 2012, 20:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by willk

They don't have squirrels in Iceland. Do they import them 'specially?

ISP-Icelandic State Park Red Squirrel-12282011 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The man from google he say YES

Boatnomad · 01 October 2012, 20:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by willk

They don't have squirrels in Iceland. Do they import them 'specially?

PeterM · 01 October 2012, 20:45

Why use floating line ? It the biggest pain in the backside for any boats ....if you miss the mark you still hit the endless bloody floating rope 15 yards off to the side !

I'm assuming you see the old 1L plastic milk bottle covered in weed that is near invisible anyway !!!

Chris · 01 October 2012, 20:46

Hmm Actually it might have been Denmark not Iceland

Look just stick a fecking squirrel in the pot and tell us if it works will you

ncp · 01 October 2012, 20:46

Lot's of people use a can of cat food with holes punched in it to let out the scent....mainly for hoop netting though because the sea lion tend to want to some in and steal your bait. So, zip ties and cat food in a can prevents that! (probably not applicable to you because the whatever bait you use will be deep in the trap)

Must be nice being able to just drop a trap. Here, when going for lobster, you need a very expensive commercial permit to trap (of which there are limited numbers and don't come up for sale very often). We have to grab lobster by hand...no sticks, spears, nooses, etc.!!!

PeterM · 01 October 2012, 20:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by ncp

(probably not applicable to you because the whatever bait you use will be deep in the trap)

And not many sealions in the Solent ? Are there ?