Recreational Lobstering
Make Your House The Local Lobster Pound
By: Phil Howarth
Have you ever looked at the lobsters in the fish market and wondered how to catch your own? It’s actually not that hard, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun; all you need is a license, some pots, and a boat!
My wife Jan and I have been catching lobsters in Cape Cod Bay for the last few years. We haul our traps out in the early evening after work, when sun is setting in a truly magnificent fashion over the horizon behind us.
For lobstering, you just need a boat suitable to navigate the area where you are setting your pots; this can be a small powerboat or even a kayak if you intend to set in Nauset Harbor or parts of Pleasant Bay. A larger boat is suggested for open waters, of course. You need to obtain a license from the state, and you will choose the color pattern for your buoys during this process.
Next you will need lobster traps, which you can buy right from The Goose. Full trap kits including the line, buoy, and bait bag are $120 (get $200 off if you buy a full set of 10). A pair of rubber gloves is a good idea, as is a bucket to hold the lobsters you catch. For bait, you can use old fish racks and skins (you may be able to get these at your local fish market). The best are oily fish like Mackerel, Bluefish, Tuna or Salmon.
To set your pots, look for water with rocks, weeds, or other places that lobsters can hide. Try for a depth of 30-40 feet, where possible. Don’t forget to mark each pot location on your fish finder if you are in open water, as there might be a lot of other pots in the area and it can be hard to find if you haven’t marked it. Leave your traps out for 4 - 5 days, and wait for the fun to begin!
One of the great things about lobstering is the element of surprise. You never know what you have until you pull the pot into the boat; it could be empty, full of crabs, or you could have several monster lobsters! We have caught everything from dogfish to hermit crabs and even flounder in our pots. You are allowed to keep any lobsters that don’t have eggs, have a hard shell, and are over the legal size limit (it is a good idea to keep a gauge in your boat to make sure). You may keep up to 15 eligible lobsters per day. If you catch a lobster laden with eggs, be very gentle as they will often be aggressive, and will require careful handling to get them safely back into the water. With all lobsters, you will need to put rubber bands on the claws to keep your fingers safe.
To keep the lobsters you have caught cool and damp, place them in a burlap or cotton sack over ice inside a cooler. This will keep them for up to a day, but the sooner you can cook them, the better. Our current favorite way to prepare them is to steam them, split them, and then finish them on the grill with a brush of butter and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
