Catching Crawfish??

[Fisherman_max]

haha, i wish i was there. both to help and to laugh. but i must admit rafts can be hard to get out of, especially if you are afraid to stand in them. so are they craw traps or "testing equiptment"?

[michaelunbewust]

anybody know for sure on the overnight thing. i have left mine out overnight. and, have seen the mardon guys leave thiers out, but, i dont want to face the ol' lady with a citation i should have known about. i will have to dig into the regs when i get home, unless someone can confirm. on the bad taste gpc, i normally make kabobs out of them (the bigger pieces), then bbq them with lemon,onions, bell peppers, then, dip the whole stick in melted butter. ive had only one bad batch, which was REAL bad.

[fishnislife]

anybody know for sure on the overnight thing. i have left mine out overnight. and, have seen the mardon guys leave thiers out, but, i dont want to face the ol' lady with a citation i should have known about. i will have to dig into the regs when i get home, unless someone can confirm. on the bad taste gpc, i normally make kabobs out of them (the bigger pieces), then bbq them with lemon,onions, bell peppers, then, dip the whole stick in melted butter. ive had only one bad batch, which was REAL bad.

I've never seen anything saying you can't leave your pots overnight.
This is the best way to soak'em and pull up full pots.



fishnislife

[lskiles]

The regs are specific for crab and shrimp but the general rules apply for craws.

[quote="the regs"]GENERAL GEAR RULES:
Every shellfish pot, ring net, or star trap left unattended in Washington waters must have its own buoy line and a separate buoy that is permanently and legibly marked with the operator’s fi rst name, last name, and permanent address (telephone number is voluntary).
It is illegal to pull unattended shellfish gear with a buoy that does not have your name on it, and only one name and address may appear on each buoy. Any angler may assist the person whose name is on the buoy while he or she is pulling the pot.
No fisher may set, fish, or pull shellfish gear from a vessel from one hour after official sunset to one hour before official sunrise.
Buoys must be constructed of durable material (no bleach, antifreeze, detergent bottles, paint cans, etc.) and must be visible on the surface at
all times except during extreme tidal conditions. Personal fl ags and staff, if attached to buoys, can be of any color. Buoy lines must be weighted suffi ciently to prevent them from fl oating on the surface.
All crab, shrimp, and crawfi sh pots must be equipped with a biodegradable device (rot/escape cord) and shall include one or more of the following:
(1) securing the pot lid hook or tie down strap with a single loop of cord]

[Gisteppo]

I agree that overnight soaks are the most effective...................................

Dungie crabbing in the Oregon bays is 24 hrs, and we do our best work between 11p and 4a

E

[A9]

Night soaks for dungies in the sound are usually very productive. Often times a late afternoon soak works well for me, especially with the summer/fall late afternoon incoming high tides that seem to be good crabbing tides...

[gpc]

Crabbing at night produces well at the Des Moines pier as well, plus you can squid and crab.

[trucknmusic]

The way I interpretted the rules were as it is illegal to do anything w/ the pots at night (set, pull, etc.) but it IS legal to leave them out overnight... just can't retrieve them till daylight. Probably to be safer and help regulate.

[VooDuuChild]

It's legal to leave them out, just don't touch them till the morning; no worries. Talked to commercial guys here in washington and they said it's the only way to get big catches are overnight soaks. I won't be able to hit the opening weekend for dads dang it; but once I'm back from the Caribbean, I'm doin some overnight soaks, gonna set the pots in the eve, do some fishing (makin sure everyone leaves the lake) then I'm back before the suns up and checkin them in the morning. I got six pots, two buddies and lots of fishin to do!!!! Also, get yourself a five gallon bucket with lid, drill tons of holes in it and use it for your catch to live in while you fish out the rest of the day, just sink it down with a bit of weight and bouy it up like a pot. Washington state has some of the best daddin in the country size wise. That, and they're in most every creek and lake that has a sandy or rocky bottoms especially. Some actually get in the one foot range in some rivers and creeks.........maybe we'll have to start a lunker dad thread when the season opens....maybe eight inches and up..???

[Dave]

Unfortunately, leaving pots out in the Sound overnight also produces theft. I've been ripped off twice in area 8-1. I don't leave them unattended anymore when out on the Sound.

[Anonymous]

For those who don't know, the season opens for Crawfish the first Monday in May. Minimum size is 3 1/4" and the daily limit is 10lbs. in the shell. Remember too, that only two pots can be used at one time without a permit.
Get those pots ready. Season is just around the corner.




fishnislife

[bman03]

Just wondering if any one has caught any craws on the east side(king co.)or if the water needs
to warm up first.?.

[A9]

Just wondering if any one has caught any craws on the east side(king co.)or if the water needs
to warm up first.?.

I'll be dropping some pots this weekend. I'll let you know how I do...

[Aaron]

Just thought I would update this thread wtih the same info I posted on the other crawfish thread:

FYI - I was looking over the new regs and they have upped the crawfish pot limit from 2 per person to 5 per person. Also, they clarified the time of day limits:

2007:
No fisher may set, fish, or pull shellfish gear from a vessel from one hour after official sunset to one hour before official sunrise.

2008:
No fisher may set, fish, or pull shellfish gear from a vessel, in Catch Record Card Areas 1-13, from one hour after official sunset to one hour before official sunrise. All shellfish gear must be removed from the water on closed days.

This means you can now place/retrieve crawfish pots whenever you want without getting in trouble.

[TroutCowboy]

When we were kids growing up in MT we would spend summers on Canyon Ferry Lake (near Helena) and catch craws at night. they were very similar in size & color to fishinislife's picture. we'd walk in the shallows with flashlights near docks and kicking over rocks and catch them by hand. that was always an adventure!

anyway, i haven't done that since i was a kid and don't know if that technique would work over here. we'd always compete to fill the biggest bucket but would let them all go as we were not ballsy enough to eat them. would be a fun thing to do with my kids, if anyone has had success with that here let me know so i can pass along the tradition! ;-)

[Drewp]

I'll be dropping some pots this weekend. I'll let you know how I do...

How'd you do?

[bman03]

Well left my pot out for afew days,(it has an anti-escape feature.) and caught a couple of pounds of craws, will ad some pictures
when I figure out how to use the wifes camera.

[A9]

I'll be dropping some pots this weekend. I'll let you know how I do...

How'd you do?

Slow. Only pulled a few outta Lake WA. I believe it was the colder water temps and the crawdads weren't fully active. I think this better weather will help the catching. Went out innertubing in Lake WA and the water seemed REAL warm for this early in the year

[fishingmachine]

Yeah i soaked a pot for a couple hours in beaver and did not pull out any i think i was in the wrong area

[A9]

Yeah i soaked a pot for a couple hours in beaver and did not pull out any i think i was in the wrong area

Beaver has a pretty mucky bottom. Stick your pots over in Pine. Many more craws in that lake then in Beaver....