Plenty of things went wrong today. The motor died while it was idling while I tended the first trap, and try as we might, we couldn’t get it started again. We were forced to tend the remaining traps under the power of my electric trolling motor.
Guest lobsterman Greg (B still away) had some bad luck with my mackerel rod when he went to cast and the entire top end of the rod popped loose and flew into the ocean, never to be seen again. And finally, a lot of shorts, but no keepers.
New bait used today — menhaden, or as they’re locally known, pogies. They’re bigger and rounder than herring, and I strung them directly through the eye without using a bait bag. Most lobstermen have what’s called a “bait iron” for this task. It’s basically a long needle that’s used to thread the line through the bait in order to secure it within the trap. Not having a bait iron, I was forced to rely on brute force and my trusty Swiss Army Knife.
I’ve heard from some local lobstermen that they don’t like using the pogies because they’re more bony and have less flesh than herring. We’ll see what happens. Here’s the view as I was towed home (Thanks again, Nate).
the haulress
the long hauler
