According to Wikipedia, the wooden lath lobster trap (or lobster “pot” as it is sometimes called) that I remember in my youth was “invented” in Massachusetts. I saw a date of 1808 for a lobster trap in Swampscott, Massachusetts and 1810 for a wood trap in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
When I was in college in Maine many of us scoured the beaches or flea markets for the wooden lath trap. Turned upside down, so the flat bottom was facing up, these made excellent coffee tables with a sheet of 1/4” plate glass over the flat surface. Or, no glass at all if you couldn’t afford it.
In 2014, when traveling in Nova Scotia, I was happy to see that they were still in use. I saw dozens of lobster boats, all of which were using the wooden lath trap.
For those of you who can’t picture in your mind what the wooden lobster trap looks like, I went back into my library of photos and pulled out five images from our 2014 trip to Nova Scotia.
From what I have read on the Internet, the wire traps came into prominence in New England about 35 years ago. My wife and I spend a lot of time traveling the coast of Maine, and I do miss the classic wood traps, but understand there are advantages to the wire traps. Supposedly they have a better chance of landing upright on the ocean bottom and don’t bounce around as much on the bottom. Also, I am guessing the maintenance is far less. Traditionally, lobstermen spent some of their winter making or repairing the oak wood traps.
Anyway, I think I am at the point where I can let go of the nostalgia. I am finding the wire traps to be attractive in their own right. This has been helped by the multiple colors that are used in the plastic coating. Even rope is coming in several colors. All of this can make for a colorful composition.
Below are several photos taken near Popham Beach, Phippsburg, Maine last month on an overcast and slightly foggy day.
