MLA Junior Harvester: Colby Ray

Colby Ray, 15, of Saco, is an enterprising young man. He lobsters around Camp Ellis and Biddeford Pool during the summer, then sells much of his catch from his garage to local customers. He began lobstering a few years ago, in the seventh grade, when he and his father Dan Ray and a friend set five recreational traps each, hand-hauling the traps from a small boat.

Colby Ray, Saco, and the one he threw back.

“My dad is from Milbridge. He worked in the L. Ray Packing plant there when he was growing up. He wanted to try lobstering,” Colby explained. By the next summer, Colby had nearly 70 traps and was fishing with a student license. He and his father shared a 25-foot lobster boat until this past summer, when they purchased a 33-foot boat and Colby moved up to 150 traps.

“I like to be on the water,” he said. “It’s a lot more fun than working in a store during the summer. Every day is different and you see different wildlife in the traps.”

Like other young lobstermen, Colby is learning how to lobster by … lobstering. “We test bait to see what’s best to use, pogies or herring and pig hide. I tried stringing the bait or putting it in a bag and a bag definitely works the best,” he said.

The seafloor in his area ranges from rocky to sandy bottom and Colby is getting to know most of it. “There’s lots of variety around here. Some spots get hot, others slow down. We had to move the traps a lot last summer,” he said.

During the summer Colby and his sternman, Miguel, generally fish in the morning. Then Colby puts on his other hat. Catchin’ Claws is both the name of his boat and of his small lobster market at home. He has a tank in the garage to keep his lobsters in and a large floater trap out by the islands to store his catch at sea. “I can fill it right up with 45 or 50 lobsters and let them sit until I get a big order. They keep fresh in the ocean,” he said. “I get big orders usually around the Fourth of July. My biggest was for 90 pounds.”

During the school year, Colby hangs out with his friends and works on his 1986 GMC. He also has another business: creating European mounts of moose, bear and other animals’ skulls for hunters. “I simmer the heads, then pressure wash them and whiten them super bright. I like to go hunting myself,” he said.

And what does the future hold for this resourceful young lobsterman?

“Lobstering will be throughout my life I think, but maybe on the side. I’m going to the Vocational Center in Biddeford be a welder or an electrician,” he said.