Lobster tails for bait??

[Swimmer]

Originally Posted by FISHING_FOOL

The guys who win! I guess its the best bait.... Hard to believe. The only reason this came about was because I was hitting the surf this evening and realized many lobsters had washed up on the beach and died. I took the tails :-) I guess this happens once every 10 years or so in certain places and there are no laws governing picking up lobsters on the beach! I figure its worth a shot.

Your not suppose to pick those lobsters up off the beach without a license, same with the clams that wash up. uh oh!

I have been fishing the derby since 1973 more often than not, and every year except one since 1980 and have never heard of lobsters being used by a winner. We have a few winners here. Maybe they can chime in on this statement.

[Fishoholic]

I just spent about an hour and a half looking.. Nothing.. I'd be willing to bet you have to keep the receipts and they must be legal size.. Look on the bright side.. Probably won't have to worry about blues!

and on a side note... I DID find that the bastages did close the commercial spiny dogfish season and the tog regs have changed.

http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatr...s/082010p7.pdf

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by Swimmer

Your not suppose to pick those lobsters up off the beach without a license, same with the clams that wash up. uh oh!

I have been fishing the derby since 1973 more often than not, and every year except one since 1980 and have never heard of lobsters being used by a winner. We have a few winners here. Maybe they can chime in on this statement.

Actually, you can't pick them off the beach at all, with or without a license--at least in Massachusetts. The only legal way of harvesting lobsters in Massachusetts is by potting, or by free diving. Free diving--more properly called free-handing--includes wading and harvesting them by hand--while they're in the water. You can't even legally keep one if you catch it on a hook and line. Pots have to include an escape vent.

And lobsters can't be harvested by any method at night.

Surf clams can be harvested without a license in certain towns--one would have to check the local shellfishing regs. No permit is needed to take a bushel of sea clams a day in Bourne, for example. All surf clams in Massachusetts have to have a minimum 5" shell length to be taken, even where no permit is needed. The state sets the individual species size limits for shellfish, and the towns regulate permitting and seasons.