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Lobstering Tips

  • Bring a throw buoy with you with at least 15’ of rope that is attached to a heavy weight. This is so that as you approach your GPS destination hole, you can visually see it, mark it, and swing back around and find it again easily.
  • Bring a very small reef/rock anchor with you with about 20’ of rope attached. It is much easier for your divers to harvest the lobster when they are not fighting the current. I always have a diver go down and place the anchor somewhere in the hole or ledge and then we tie it up to the back cleat on the boat. This allows them to go up and down the anchor line and save their strength. It also allows for the people topside to have good view of what’s happening down in the water because they are right over the hole.
  • Go to a local tackle/dive shop and buy deep nets. Deep nets hold the lobster better. The cheap nets you can buy at Kmart or Wal-Mart don’t get the job done, they are too shallow. There is a place on Cudjoe Key, which is west of Big Pine; called Cudjoe Sales that caters to commercial fishermen. They also sell these nets.
  • Bring a spear gun with you! You usually only get one chance to shoot a grouper in these holes. Find your hole but don’t run over the top of it! This will scare them off! Your best bet is to drop off a diver about 10 yards up current of the hole and let him swim with the current and dive down and get ready to shoot. You have to sneak up on them because they are smarter than you.
  • If you are not sure of the law concerning the harvesting of lobster, you can download the PDF file by clicking here for recreational and here for commercial.

GOOD LUCK!