Have you ever tried catching lobster at night, off a small boat, in only a few feet of water? Well if you have you know it’s the most fun one can have trying to catch lobster and if you haven’t well just wait until you hear what you’ve been missing. Catching lobster at night is affectionately known as “bullynetting” and this is how it works.
First you can only go after the sunsets, some say the later the better or really anytime after 8:00pm. Depending on the tides, the moon, the weather etc…the lobsters will start walking on the flats and this is the time to catch them up! The next thing you need to know is you need to have a small boat that can navigate in very shallow water anywhere from 1 foot on up. Next, your boat needs to have lights in the front of the boat, preferably submerge at the bow of the boat so you can see the lobsters in the water. If your boat isn’t already rigged like this, some rookie fisherman go out with just a big search light but it makes catching them allot more difficult. Once you’ve got your lights you need the nets. The nets are about 18 by 27 inches and the net mesh is about 2 inches. The pole attached to the net is an average of 11 to 12 feet long. You can purchase these poles during lobster season at any tackle shop. Then you would need gloves, measuring sticks, spot light, flashlights, tickle stick and a bag to put the lobster in and your ready to go! Oh yes, and don’t forget those pesky lobster licenses.
Usually, if you’re in a small boat it’s best to not go out with more than 3 people. Th
e driver and your two catchers. The driver will drive you to the spots and help spot the lobster and the catchers will be spotting, catching and POLLING! Your catchers should be standing at the bow of the boat. Once you get to your flat spot you usually leave the engine in neutral while your catchers poll slowly on each side of the boat looking for the lobster with the driver occasionally putting the boat in gear depending on the current, wind and if a lobster is spotted further from the boat. Spotting the lobster can be tricky sometimes. You first look for “glowing tiny eyes”, since their eyes glow in the dark. If you don’t see that, sometimes you see what looks like the ground moving or mud moving along the bottom, that would be a good indication that there is a lobster or sometimes they make it easy and they look bright red. The clarity of the water is key. If the water is murky, you’ll be having some trouble spotting them. Once a lobster is spotted, the boat gets placed as closed to the lobster as possible and with your pole in hand; the pole goes straight down on top of the lobster with the net encompassing the lobster. Now here is the hard part, normally the lobster will be startled and will shoot up in the net, if he does than you just lift the pole STRAIGHT up and you got yourself a lobster if NOT your in for a little work. If the lobster stays still and hangs on to the grass or mud (which they often do) your other catcher takes his pole and gently taps the lobster to make him go into the net, if that doesn’t work you start shaking the pole violently to spook him up into the net. With any luck at all, in he’ll go…if not, you pull the pole back up and if your lucky he’s still in the same spot and you make another pass, if not you just lost one. You do this until you either catch your limit, which is u
sually 6 per person or more if you have a commercial license or your too sleepy to see any more lobster.
Now there are some “dangers” to this sport. Sometimes your fishing partner will clobber you in the head with their pole since they are cumbersome to use at first if your not use to them, or your driver will drive you into the mangroves because it’s too dark and he didn’t see it coming. You may fall into the water because you didn’t want to lose your lobster that wouldn’t go in the net and the boat drifted away while you were hanging on for dear life onto your pole. Or you can also, fall back into your boat from the bow because you are concentrating so hard on your lobster you didn’t realize you were walking backwards with the pole and onto the deck you go!
All in all, it’s the most fun one can have lobstering. If you end up not catching one, you can have a great time trying and you can see a lot of beautiful things a night. Like tarpon swimming madly under someone’s dock light, sleeping fish, a sea of glowing in the dark jellyfish or you can even save a man from drowning who fell off his boat..…But that’s a story for another day.
