favourite bait for fresh water traps

[tugger]

what is your favourite bait for shrimp and redclaw traps before a few of us go up to somerset for a go at them ?

[straddiebrad]

mate i was just thinking the same thing also whats the best trap to use what have you got.brad

[tugger]

i was going to try small tins of cat food what do you think ,opera house traps for the crayfish that fold up and clip together they have them at bcf

[straddiebrad]

maybe the cat food is a bit mushy, they might stay out side the pot and pick at the stuff as it floats by, never caught them but it might be good,have to see what other people use.i will pick a few up tomorrow from bcf.brad

[tugger]

i was just going to puncture the can so it slowly feeds out

[sehrguht]

I remember using cooked potatoes about 6 years ago in north pine and getting a 10L bucket full in a night. To cook, blast them in a microwave with some water until they are soft most of the way through and cut them into quarters and put them in some mesh bags tied into the trap.

I was only 13 or so at the time and was pretty stoked.

[tomca]

I have had my best results with small tins of catfood punctured 3-4 times with a screwdriver. The tins last about 3 days. I also use the same in my shrimp traps, or a couple of spoons of tinned dog food. The shrimp are less fussy. Pillies also work but get demolished pretty quickly.

[straddiebrad]

tugger wrote:

i was just going to puncture the can so it slowly feeds out

that should work with a few pots going in if we all try something different we will soon find the best baits.brad

[rayke1938]

Have a look at the PRFMA website and click on fish identification and then on redclaw for the method I use.It also somewhere on this site but wouldnt have a clue where.

Just been talking to Graham Pflaum who is at Fairburn and they are all using dried lucerne for redclaw bait and it is outfishing all other baits by a large percentage. Just wrapping a handfull in a bit of gutterguard to hold it together.

Cheers

Ray

[pondo]

Rockmelon works a treat on the red claw fellas.

[fergie]

believe it or not, i used to get them using pure soap, sunlight brand, has to be pure soap, dont know why, someone told me to use it and it worked, but haven't tryed it in the dam, only in creeks.

[fishing_hardcore]

Yeah I used to catch shrimp with soap.

Failing that, dead fish, bit of ol steak, mince in a stocking.

cheers

[wesfish]

Fruit salad yummy yummy just about any fruit will work like rock melon skins , mango skins , banana , peach , . last time i just used the kids lunch snack fruit salad and just put holes in the lid! it worked! all so do one trap with mullet or fish, this will help get shrimp and the other yabbies that live in somerset

[vonny]

Totally agree with Pondo. Last easter we had about a dozen traps on half with boiled potatoes and half with pock melon. Rockmelon was by far the best. Sunlight soap for the shrimp.

Cheers

[straddiebrad]

do u use these pot like a normal crab pot with floats,and where is the best place to put them,near weed,out deep,in shallow,whats the norm.brad

[tugger]

you can put a float on or tie the rope to the bank but either the pot or float need your last name and address on

mark

[sehrguht]

any sort of structure would be a good start

[rayke1938]

Just to clear up a couple of things.

First extract from DPI website.

"Marking traps and set lines

Anyone who uses a trap or set line for freshwater fishing must have a tag on the trap or set line showing the owner´s surname and address. If the trap is not fixed to something stationary above the water level while being used, it must have a light coloured float attached.

The float must feature the owner´s first name and surname and be at least 15 cm in each of its dimensions. A two or three-litre milk container may be used as a float. A set line must be attached to a stationary object such as a branch, wooden stake or boat."

Only use opera house pots for redclaw and try to purchase ones witha entrance hole of no larger than 70cm in diameter preferable 60cm if you can find them. This will reduce the incidence of catching and drowing other aquatic creatures.

Do not under any circumstances use normal crab pots as you will catch and drown turtles,platypus, etc.

Also please do NOT use soap in freshwater. So called pure soaps still add nasties to water.

Cheers

Ray

[Bommie]

tugger wrote:

you can put a float on or tie the rope to the bank but either the pot or float need your last name and address on

mark

I'm pretty sure both pot and float need your name and address

[Bommie]

try not to use canned dog and cat food either, when we were at somerset last xmas we counted easily over 200 traps in a realitve small area (for the dam) plus all the others around and most were using canned cat and dog food and the slick and crap on the water in this area was really noticeable :X

[straddiebrad]

thanks ray for your post got it worked out now,what baits do u use.brad

[rayke1938]

First choice is freshwater fish frames.

second saltwater fish frames. i get a bucket full from local fish shop for 42 and freeze them and then cut them up on bandsaw and place in packets of 12 in the freexer till i am ready to use.

last choice is tinned/ dried cat food in plastic containers.Graham Pflaum uses combination of fish frames and par boiled potato in containers made out of gutter guard mesh but the potato doesnt seem to make any difference to catch rate.

Cheers

Ray

[straddiebrad]

thanks once again ray very helpfull.brad

[ellicat]

rayke1938 wrote:

Just to clear up a couple of things.

First extract from DPI website.

"Marking traps and set lines

Anyone who ........

Also please do NOT use soap in freshwater. So called pure soaps still add nasties to water.

Cheers

Ray

Does this mean I should stop using it in the kids' mouths ? :pinch:

[rayke1938]

ellicat wrote:[/

Does this mean I should stop using it in the kids' mouths ? :pinch:

[ellicat]

:laugh: That's what the Other Half is for :laugh:

[ellicat]

Back on topic,

I find leftover KFC works a treat.

[vic]

that's the one and remember the bigger the pot entry the bigger the prize. and there is some monsters still out there

[rayke1938]

Vic I have found that if you use 100mil entry pots you start to catch small turtles and also get a lower redclaw catch rate as they can easily escape form the pot i prefer the 60mm entry rings . The large redclaw can still enter the pots ok and you have a much better retention rate when you leave your pots in overnight.

The 100 mm pots are not available anymore as NSW has a max size of 70 for the entry rings.

Cheers

Ray