Keys fisherman invents Lobster Slapper measuring device

LEGAL LOBSTER? SLAP IT TO SEE.

When not being worn in the water, Lobster Slappers wrap easily around fishing rods, boat poles and cooler handles and everywhere else.

Remember slap bracelets, those rigid strips of thin metal covered with colorful fabric that curled into a circle around a kid’s wrist when slapped against the forearm?

Ray Healy, a Miami-Dade firefighter and frequent Florida Keys fisherman, knew them well, but hadn’t expected them to inspire his new invention, the Lobster Slapper Gauge.

“With 9-year-old twins? You better believe I was familiar with slap bracelets. They were all over our house,” Healy said of his kids’ fashion accessory that would become his patent-pending Lobster Slapper, which retails for $8.99 at World Wide Sportsman in Islamorada, Florida Keys tackle shops, gift shops and five Bass Pro Shops throughout Florida. They’re also available online at lobsterslapper.com.

“Over the years I have used — and lost — all types of lobster equipment,” said Healy, who has spent his life “bugging” for spiny lobster in the Florida Keys. “I wanted a product I could have on me at all times, that wouldn’t get tangled in my lobster net or tickle stick and that wouldn’t bleed rust all over my boat deck. I was ready for something new.”

After a few years of prototypes and adaptations, enter the Lobster Slapper. 

Approximately 11 inches long when straightened, it resembles an adult-sized slap bracelet, but with a 3-inch notch cut in one side. To be legal, a spiny lobster’s carapace, or body, must exceed 3 inches, so if the lobster’s carapace fits entirely inside the Lobster Slapper notch, it’s undersized and illegal.

The Lobster Slapper wraps comfortably around the wrist until you’re ready to straighten it out and measure a spiny lobster.

Healy wears the Lobster Slapper around his wrist while diving for lobster, but then wraps them around fishing rods, the poles of his boat’s T-top, dive bag and cooler handles and a host of other places to secure them between trips.

 “You’re supposed to measure the lobsters while still in the water, so I wanted something that was easy to access underwater and easy to store and find on the boat,” he said.

The Lobster Slapper Gauge is made of stainless steel encased in 100% silicone.

It comes in a variety of different colors and patterns — from purple mermaid scales to blue camo and a dive flag design. Additional colors and designs are in the works.

A 3-inch notch in the Lobster Slapper tells divers whether their spiny lobster is of legal size. The lobster’s carapace, or body, must extend beyond the notch.
The Lobster Slapper comes in a variety of colors and designs with more in production.

Mandy Miles drops stuff, breaks things and falls down more than any adult should. An award-winning writer, reporter and columnist, she's been stringing words together in Key West since 1998. "Local news is crucial," she says. "It informs and connects a community. It prompts conversation. It gets people involved, holds people accountable. The Keys Weekly takes its responsibility seriously. Our owners are raising families in Key West & Marathon. Our writers live in the communities we cover - Key West, Marathon & the Upper Keys. We respect our readers. We question our leaders. We believe in the Florida Keys community. And we like to have a good time." Mandy's married to a saintly — and handy — fishing captain, and can't imagine living anywhere else.