Posted by Ross-O on January 09, 2005 at 00:23:13:
In Reply to: It's those hooked spikes next to them that you have to watch. (-) posted by seahunt on January 08, 2005 at 18:32:55:
As a new SoCal diver, I encountered my first big lobster at Leo Carillo on one of the SandEater dives. Having never seen one before, I wanted to get a closer look at it. It was hiding under a rock with a "back door" and it was far enough in that I couldn't get to it from the front. As I went around the rock, I noticed that its curled tail was sticking out behind the rock. A very logical way of grabbing it seemed to be to stick my index finger inside the curled tail and clamp down on the tail with my thumb on the outside. It was then that I got a very intense and personal lesson about those spines on the underside of the lobster tail!
As recounted the tale back on the beach, all of the other seasoned divers let out a collective "oooooh!" when I got to the part about figuring it was a good idea to stick my finger under the tail.
Cheers,
Ross-O