catch your own?

[dekim28]

does anyone here catch their own octopus?preferably in florida

 

[Venom]

I plan on doing that this summer

 

[dekim28]

how do you plan to find them

loking for tips,we usually catch our own fish and crabs,but rarely see octopus(did catch some baby squid once though)plan to go at night in a crab infested inlet(tidepool)got any pointers?

 

[Venom]

they're usuallu inside stuff
soda cans are good, conch shells, pieces of pipe, stuff like that
the easiest thing is just to walk around in a few feet of water and pick up 5 or 10 objects then set them out on the beach a few yards from the water and sit back and wait for a bit, see if anything comes out of them to head back to the water

-V

 

[dekim28]

will definately try that!i hear you can find them "hopping" from pool to pool in search of food if you have a flashlight?or do you think they would see you coming a mile a-way?and have you done this before?

 

[L S]

Did caught one among the tidepool in the late afternoon some years back. What caught my attention was the bobbing of the water from its breathing near where it was hiding. Thankfully it was a windless day, so quite easy to spot.

Good luck with your catch!

 

[dekim28]

thanks!any more tips will be appreciated.should be going next weekend,will let you know how it turns out

 

[tonmo]

what a cool discussion... looking forward to hearing about your experience, dekim!

 

[cthulhu77]

In the realm of the "this is not going to make me popular with this crowd" comments: I do know a very easy way to find octos in a tide pool...this is info from an indonesian fish collector I know, and it does work:
Pour urine into a tidepool. (ok, they just piss in it). for some odd reason, (maybe the change in chemical balance) cephs just rocket out of the hiding spots.
Disgusting? Yes. but it does work.
FYI. kids, don't try this at home!
Greg

 

[dekim28]

very unusual tip,but will try them all!sounds like a one shot deal that i will leave to my b-friend to perform.please keep the ideas coming,doubt i will catch one my first night out,but keeping my hopes up!only live 30mins. from beach so will be able to keep trying i guess.keep your fingers crossed for me

 

[cthulhu77]

sorry about that tip...but it does work... :?
Also, keep your eyes open for large bivalve shells...octos love to hide in empty ones...even if the byssus is still attached.
Good luck! take pics!
Greg
p.s. better take a lot of beer or iced tea.

 

[Pacific Blue]

I have had sucsess talking to shrimp fishermen they usualy catch some small vulgaris in there nets up here in the pacific north west. I would imagine that florida might be the same. They would trade a half sack of beer for a small one. The urine works quite well, that is how the get the GPO for the public aquariums.

Pacific Blue

 

[dekim28]

i had thought about the fishermen,i know they do catch them,but i wondered if they would be viable?i imagine they wouldn't exactly take care of them and thought the rough handling and shock might be too much for them to throw off? how did yours do?and i will try the urine i'll just let my better half do the honors.

 

[Pacific Blue]

I found that the fisherman was very nice and understanding, he has been a great help with providing care for cephs. He realy goes out of his way to ensure the octo is well treated. I keept one GPO for 6 months then let him go from a shrimp boat. Good luck finding one who is as agreeable.

Pacific Blue

 

[dekim28]

that's great!i will try to catch my own first,but if i can't i'll call the guy that delivers shrimp to my dad. i only want one, but just out of curiousity are there any compatible species?they are all too territorial/aggressive to have more than one to a tank right?