does anyone here catch their own octopus?preferably in florida

I plan on doing that this summer

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?

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

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?

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!

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

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

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

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

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. :)

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 :boat:

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.

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 :boat:

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?

Here in NC, a lot of Vulgaris are caught in Sea Bass Pots (like crab pots). Our aquarium got several that way. Unfortunately these guys are a little larger since the small ones usually squeeze right back out.

I remember watching the Jacques Cousteau Octopus, Octopus film, and them showing mediterranean fisherman catching octos (and then dispatching them!! :( ) in jars that they had tied to ropes... being as it was a good den the octo would move in and then they'd just reel it up. I've heard this same technique described elsewhere, and I would attempt this if I were to try to catch my own octo, but I don't have a tank (even tho where I live is prime bimac country)

I have never tried catching an octo before(there is a nearly constant supply of octos here :thumbsup:). But good luck anyway, do inform us if you catch one!

sorry about not responding to all these great ideas ,my modem tore up and i had to have it fixed, but thanks so much and i can/will try them all. i could probably just buy one but i think it'll be more interesting this way!

no dice on an octo this weekend , just some anenomes,conchs,bleenies,etc.for our reef tank.i guess we'll try again this coming weekend.

My dive group has a novel way of collecting octopus when they go on gathering trips. They grab zillions of seashells from the bottom and stuff them in a bag. Back at the boat, they simply spread the shells out on the deck of the boat and let the sun do it's job. within minutes, baby octopuses will emerge, searching for life-giving water.

The octopuses you usually catch in North Carolina to Florida include O. Briareus, O. Vulgaris and O mercatoris, with Briareuses being by far the most common. It's actually pretty hard to get your paws on a vulgaris.

Rocking, Jimbo

Wow! How exciting to catch your own!!! Shame I am flying to the Keys! If I was driving, I may be tempted to try to bring one back!!! My son and I are going to try the shell thing anyway!!!

Carol

I just found out something exciting yesterday at the aquarium where I work. Some one I know there told me about a trip to Cape Lookout, NC last summer. They went snorkeling at the southern end of Cape Lookout on the sound side in a bay area called "The Hook". They picked up shells in about 4 feet of water and saw 3 octopus that day. All three were hiding in large whelk shells. He said one even interacted with them, poking his head out and changing colors before it crawled out and swam away. I went down to the Cape last month and the water is crystal clear and the bottom is nothing but shells. Needless to say, my girlfriend and I have made plans to go snorkeling there this Sunday. Wish us luck and I'll let you know how it goes. John

wishing you luck and letting you know i'm jealous. i haven't had any luck yet and i can't say we have anywhere like that here, but i know they're out there! please let me know how it goes!

the weather looks like it should be great Sunday so I'll keep my "tentacles" crossed. My girlfriend keeps insisting that the one Bimaculoides we have is enough and we don't need to bring any more new species home. But what if I happen to bring home a pretty whelk shell and then when we get homesomething with 8 arms crawls out of it...whoops honey, how'd that get in there :twisted:

no luck with the octos but I'll give it another try in a few weeks. I did catch plenty of food for Roxy though, there were tons of hermits out there.

it's such a let down isn't it? you have it in the back of your mind you might not be successful, but you're still almost sure you will be then... :( my kids want me to just buy one already they're tired of waiting...

I know, I kept thinking that the next broken shell I'd pick up would have one...but there's always next time.