Love lobster or crayfish? If you get a chance to catch your lobsters or crays, you should do it! Vicky Stark shows us how!
When fishing over and around bommies and patches of shallow reef, do you ever get a gut feeling that some lobsters or crays must be lurking under you? We get that feeling a lot, and when weather conditions permit, we put our masks on and check for ourselves. You never know, you may bring home some bonus crays for dinner!
Lobster Catch and Clean
Today we’ll be joining Vicky Stark and her friends on one of their lobster hunts in Florida. Vicky is another Angling Angel from the fishing paradise up north called Florida.
Vicky and friends take us through the full course on lobster hunting, showing us what gear you need, how to handle and measure them, and how to get the most tail meat out of each cray when cleaning them.
Equipment
- Snorkel and mask
- Net
- Gloves
- Stick or prodder (Optional)
Where to find them?
Vicky and friends search for them in the shallow grass flats in Florida, where the crays love to hide and wait in ambush for small baitfish.
The shallow grass flats are awesome for lobster hunting as you can float and search large areas without the need for too much effort. You’d dive only if you see one or a sign of one.
Here in tropical Vanuatu and Australian waters, crays usually hide under bommies and crevasses under reef patches. It takes a bit more effort in these locations as you need to dive and check under each potential hiding spot, which takes some energy out of you. But any lonely bommie or reef patch is worth a check!
Lobster or Cray Tails
After catching your crays or lobsters, we highly recommend that you chuck them in your esky full of ice immediately. Crayfish and lobsters caught in tropical locations are susceptible to cold temperatures. And icing them will render them insensible and will ‘off’ them humanely.
Step 1 – Using a sharp filleting knife, insert the knife under the main thorax shell, and separate the tail by cutting around the tail.
Step 2 – After completely separating the tail from the thorax, firmly grasp the tail and pull with strong and even pressure until the tail comes completely off. Hopefully, with the extra meat!
Last Cast
Lobsters or crayfish on your mind? Bring your mask and snorkel the next time you go fishing, and you may get a chance to take some home!
Vicky Stark is another Angling Angel worth subscribing to on YouTube. She’s a very experienced angler and hunter. She generously shares a lot of her knowledge and experiences through her channel.
Make sure to follow her on Instagram and Facebook as well to keep up to date with her adventures!
