Equipment

Traps: One of the first stages in getting our game in order was to track down the needed equipment without breaking the bank. Enter craigslist.org. I was able to find 5 traps from a “retiring” non commercial lobsterman in Freeport, Maine back in the late fall. They were a little rough, but the price was right, and so I scooped them up. Earlier this spring, I was able to pick up an additional 5 traps for R, also via craigslist.org, from a commercial lobsterman out of Boothbay Harbor looking to upgrade all of his 3 foot traps to 4 footers (Sidenote: because we’re hand-hauling, we needed to buy the shorter, less productive? but lighter weight 3 foot traps). Most all of them needed a little work, and with a good amount of cursing and sweating, they were made legal over the course of two afternoons.

Other stuff we tracked down:

• Neutrally buoyant line: picked up remnant “hanks” from our friendly local commercial fishing store. Needs to be sinking or neutrally buoy and to protect marine mammals against entanglement.
• Weak Links: buoys attached to the line, or warp, via a weak link with a 600 lb breaking strength, again to protect marine mammals against entanglement.
• Hog Rings: See the Terms of Art page for more on this subject.
• Trap Runners: In several instances,  needed to replace the runners that run the length of the traps. This was actually a big pain in the a$$. The runners protect the lobster’s claws somehow, although I don’t understand exactly how. Is it so when you pick up the trap and set it down on the deck of the boat, if the lobsters claws are poking through the wire cage, the runner creates some space so the weight of the trap doesn’t crush them? If anyone knows, please post in the comments section below.