Building Lobster Traps

Data:2013/7/11 20:45:48

Building Traps

Many Maine lobstermen spend the slower winter months building their own traps in their “shop”. Buildings that have long been quiet during the summer come to life, their owners now spending much more time on the land. The wood smoke that curls from their chimneys is a sure sign that trap work is underway. Since Lobstering is in many cases a family enterprise, you may often find fathers and sons, wives, daughters, and good friends working together to build the traps from both wood and wire. Although the general design of traps is similar, each lobsterman has their own preferred specifications and nuances.  These small alterations vary from the angle and size of the twine of the kitchen heads, to the size of the funnel hoops, to the size of the trap, and are always the subject of much discussion and prediction. Throughout the winter work the lobstermen await the eternal light of spring when their traps will be launched and their labors’ fruit realized.