We had a night job down where I work (south san diego bay) and I new there was going to be some dead time, so I threw a couple hoopnets in the water. The dock has a big rock base, and I figured it might be holding bugs and there is no way I could get away with freediving at work..so it seemed like a good idea. Anway, me and a friend were eagerly peering over the dock on the first pull in the dark. we could here flapping and wiggling sounds as the hoop cleares the water. And out of the darkness beneath the dock emerges...A NET FULL OF STINGRAYS:cussing:. Anyway, nobody in attendance wanted stingrays, except the Philipino crew of the ship we were working. They said they were going to boil them in coconut milk. So that was the end of that experiment. I now know defenitevley where the lobsters are not. Boiled stingray, anyone?

You were probably drinking the wrong brand of beer.

:slap: F*ckin' stingrays.

Thanks for the post, though. It definitely provided some much needed levity on a Friday morning.

What exactly does hoop netting involve? Is it akin to crabbing with a net where you draw the circular net around the crab in the center when you pull the rope to retrieve it? I always envisioned it as bearing a stronger resemblance to netting for bugs on the flats in FL, but I never quite understood how that would work here . . .

You would have to enlighten us on how lobster netting is done in FL.

But hooping for lobsters here is done exactly like you described for crab.

You were probably drinking the wrong brand of beer.

Probably so. Guess the hoops dont work when the strongest thing in your glass is a tepid diet coke:slap:

You were probably drinking the wrong brand of beer.
:rofl:

Probably so. Guess the hoops dont work when the strongest thing in your glass is a tepid diet coke:slap:

I'd have to concur. I used to hoopnet with my dad when I was a little kid off of San Clemente pier on occassion. We got lots of shorts and rays and the occasional legal, but we only had sodas. We used to put the crosshatched mackerels inside of pantyhose and tie it up to the bottom of the net that way to avoid the rays sucking all the meat off of the mackerel.

I went out with some buddies once in high school though, but they had scored some natty ices and PBR and we averaged 5 legal bugs each. Now imagine if we had some of those good snooty pinky raising beers back then...:noel:

You would have to enlighten us on how lobster netting is done in FL.

But hooping for lobsters here is done exactly like you described for crab.
You go to tidal flats where the bugs walk. Areas with turtle grass are usually the best. Get yourself atop a boat with a low draft and get a long hoop net and head lamp and torch. Maneuver towards the glowing eye balls and pounce the net over the bug. Shove the pole either back or towards you to get the bug scooped into the back of the net and swing it into the boat. PS the net is slightly offset at the end of the pole so that you can bring it down flat on the bottom as you reach for them.

BTW I did not know you guys were allowed to use nets. Every time I see people talking about diving for them they describe having to hand grab them and not even be allowed to use a tickle stick to get them positioned for a grab. I understand the DNR trying to make it sporting but this seems ridiculous to me in Florida. I was actually wondering if they are eventually going to require you guys to tie one of your hands behind your back. Maybe the cold water makes them a little more lethargic and hence the desire to make them harder to catch. I bet a guy with a lobster loop or a "bichero" (hook stick) could really clean up in Cali. Do you guys (in Cali) ever have anyone get caught poaching with these bug snatching tools?

Ahhh, it sounds like the netting in FL is completely different than the hoopnetting that's allowed here. The hoopnets here are two steel rings, one smaller than the other, connected by a net. The whole thing is attached to a rope. The bottom of the net is baited and tossed into the water. You wait however long and then pull the net up, and hopefully there is a legal bug inside. I'm not sure how well your method of netting would work out here because the bugs here are usually in rocky reef areas.

I don't know that our bugs are any less active than yours. I often wonder how you guys get any bugs at all with all those doo-hickies all attached to you. I guess if you're scuba diving then you can spend a lot of time poking into a deep cave.

Maybe the cold water makes them a little more lethargic and hence the desire to make them harder to catch. I bet a guy with a lobster loop or a "bichero" (hook stick) could really clean up in Cali. Do you guys (in Cali) ever have anyone get caught poaching with these bug snatching tools?


Emil,


I thought that I might chime in here - particularly because you were good enough to provide a description of FL bug netting in my stead - concerning the whole Cali bugs v Florida bugs issue. I haven't found the bugs here to be any more or less lethargic than the bugs in Florida. Frankly, I think that a guy with a tickle stick/net or snare will clean up just about anywhere. When I started lobstering in Florida - both on scuba and freediving -, I would only use my hands. For that reason, the transition hasn't been too tough. But I can tell you that in both places a tickle stick and net make it worlds easier.

I would say that the primary difference between the two places is real estate. I've always maintained that the bugs' "real estate" was the primary consideration in determining whether or not you even had a shot. I have to admit that I've crawled into some holes - up to my fin tips here - which is something that I'd never done in Florida and is likely a result of the substantially different reef topography. Not ledges, mind you - holes like sewer drains. I've also noticed that the bugs here have a tendency to go up much higher into the water column when spooked.

I also feel like the additional spines on the crayfish in Florida give you a much better hold when you're trying to work down the antennae to the "knuckles" in the FLA. I wish that the bugs had that added "velcro" effect here.

Truth be told, I've lost more than I've won so far here with regard to bugging and I'm looking forward to hitting some of my FL holes when I'm home in December.

I'm not sure that I've done much more than ramble here, but I'd be happy to clarify or to be corrected if anyone thinks that I've erred greatly in my comparison.


Andrew

I don't know that our bugs are any less active than yours. I often wonder how you guys get any bugs at all with all those doo-hickies all attached to you. I guess if you're scuba diving then you can spend a lot of time poking into a deep cave.
I would guess more people freedive for bugs than those who scuba for them in Florida and each is as successful as their techniques and spots allow them to be. Many of the best places are deep undercut ledges or coral or artificial structure such as stacked boulders or bridge footings. Some spots it would be almost impossible or very dangerous to get lobsters without a tickle stick. I don't see how it gives any "unfair" advantage but then again I don't dive or make the rules in Cali. Lobster loops snatchers are some of the best tools for getting bugs but there are times when a good grab is the best or only option. Are you allowed to scuba for bugs in Cali or is it the same as abalone (freedive only)? If so how do the older guys and people with physical limitations feel about being excluded from the recreational harvest of lobsters there?

Andrew the bugs will be here when you visit...maybe I'll take you to my honeyhole and we put a pimp slap on some sea roaches. I have also landed 4 decent cuberas (10-12lbs) while bugging there. I sent a friend during mini season and him and 6 friends hit the motherload (a limit of 12 each and several over 4lbs). He also killed a 9lb dog snapper while looking in the holes for bugs. PS I'm talking Miami not the Keys...let me know when you are coming

Emil, you can scuba or freedive for bugs. The only limitation is that a diver may only get bugs with his hands, which I think is more traditional than anything but it is all we know and is still productive so there's no real incentive to push for the allowance of tools. That is compounded by the fact that the current regulations make using tools poaching so nobody in their right mind would want to legalize poaching, even if said methods are legal somewhere else.

Hey Boyd,
speaking of hoopnetting, Last tuesday night, I went north of Pascadero's where that guy was hoopnetting and worked that reef for about an hour and half until my freediving buddy got cold.I grabbed 3 keepers and my buddy got two keepers. I told him he needs a warmer suit next time we go.. Are you working tonight ?

~Christopher

That is compounded by the fact that the current regulations make using tools poaching so nobody in their right mind would want to legalize poaching, even if said methods are legal somewhere else.
I get it and respect Cali's right to set gear limitations but I would think it more like this.
First using tickle sticks makes it less likely you will penetrate places with overhead restrictions and make bugging safer. Second using a stick usually leads to better grabs and if you are using a net in conjunction a lobster that is usually not injured too bad (maybe a leg or two snap off at most). In the case of a lobster loop you are more likely to extract your bugs intact again lessening the injury you cause them if they experience any at all. If the bugs do not measure then they are returned no worse for the wear. But when you hand grab a short or loose your grip after battle with a biggun' they are pretty banged up and while I am not certain I suppose many may succumb to the rough treatment or be less able to fend off predators. Whatever maybe I am all wet but it seems silly to not allow the use of a simple stick. You guys must have some kind of amazing self control because I can't imagine the enforcement problem LE must have making sure everyone who dives for lobster does so without a stick.
PS it is only poaching there because it is illegal. If any or all of the reasons mentioned outweighed the perceived benefits of the current rules then you should be able to at least suggest a rule change and have it considered. Maybe this could help your lobster population. I guess it all depends on the state of your stock and how the resource is managed there. Either way good to know the rules in Cali and hear you guys get 'em old school with nothin but 'yer mitts. Aaaarghhh:D:smthumbup::smthumbup:

...Some spots it would be almost impossible or very dangerous to get lobsters without a tickle stick. I don't see how it gives any "unfair" advantage but then again I don't dive or make the rules in Cali.

I'm not sure if your "unfair" designation was directed at me. If so, then I wanted to clarify that I don't see the use of those devices as unfair to lobsters. If anything, having only used my hands I thought it'd be cumbersome for the diver. I dive in shallow water and the Pacific is usually not very placid so having ticklers, snares, nets in addition to lights, bags and gauges...etc and I've got a lot of stuff to snag onto a reef.

My thoughts on those bugs in the deep ledges are that if I can't get to them, then there's always next time. It's actually better than we don't have the tools to reach those very hard to get bugs. I know scuba guys have 20' long air hoses that allow them to just crawl way the heck back into those crevices.

Maybe your season is very short and it's in your interest to get as many as soon as you can. Our season is about 5 months long and I sick of lobster pretty quickly.

I'm not sure if your "unfair" designation was directed at me. If so, then I wanted to clarify that I don't see the use of those devices as unfair to lobsters. If anything, having only used my hands I thought it'd be cumbersome for the diver. I dive in shallow water and the Pacific is usually not very placid so having ticklers, snares, nets in addition to lights, bags and gauges...etc and I've got a lot of stuff to snag onto a reef.

Nate brings up another excellent point. We're usually in less than 20 feet, and I'm usually in 10 fsw or less, and sometimes we're right up against the reefs occasionally getting tossed around onto the reef itself. I know I've been picked up by waves and thrown on top of the reef a few times and/or pushed/sucked into a cave in the reef by the surge. Hell, I've been sucked into caves twice already this season.

I already have one hand tied up with my light and I use the free hand alot of the time to grip the reef between waves so that the surge doesn't knock me in farther or pull me out or to crawl along the reefs looking for the bugs and or cracks that they may be hiding in. Compound that with the amount of feather boa and bull kelp that is usually growing in buggy spots and I don't think I'd feel comfortable either tying up my free hand with a net/tickle stick/lobster looper or attaching that piece of gear to myself in some way or another as the incidence of snagging onto some kelp or some reef goes way up the more you have hanging off of you.

Now I get the picture. In Florida we lack the entanglement risk of kelp and worry more about getting stuck in the reef. Some dive deep for bugs (biiig ones) many times much deeper than is practical for freediving. There is also good bugging in the shallows and grass flats for bully netting if that's how you want to get yours.

Our season runs from first week of August though the end of March and we have a sport season the third Wed/Thursday of every July right before the commercial guys get to put in traps. Bag limits are 12/person /day in Florida except in Monroe County and Biscayne National Park where your limit is 6/person/day during the sport mini season. During the regular season we are allowed 6/person/day statewide.

I have had one or two occasion where I have been tired of eating lobster but it passes after a good nights sleep.:ezpi_wink1: Truth is I probably pull less than many others and between a dedicated lobster hunt and my other choices I rather spearfish so I am glad to land an occasional one while the spearing is slow or the opportunity presents itself. Thanks for giving us a glimpse of what you go through to get a few in your neck of the "woods". Sorry if I sounded snippy to anyone as it was not my intention. Dive safe and Happy Hunting!!

On both coast's you will always have the entanglement risk. One thing I noticed was that the limit is higher and the bugs can be a little smaller on the gauge then in California. On a biological issue, lobsters grow a little faster in warm water then here in California. Your mentioning of using a lobster stick makes sense about doing less damage to the bugs. Not sure why the rules are set up here the way they are. I have used one in Florida, and know I could clean up here with one of those.
On the law enforcement side, you will pretty much guaranteed to get a ticket here if you get caught with anything in your hands other then a light coming out of the water.

some people in florida prefer to use their hands however, a good pair of gloves is a must.