Cray Questions
Submitted by Hicko on Mon, 2018-01-08 12:12
Hey all,
I'm very green to the crayfishing game and just wanted to clarify a few things about the season.
I understand that the whites have been and gone and they are out deep now. Do they come back at all or do they stay out deep?
From here on is dropping my posts close to some reef the best way to go about it?
Thanks in advance.
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clayd
Posts: 126
Date Joined: 07/12/15
The whites are believed to
The whites are believed to be a one way run, from inshore nursery to offshore breeding grounds. You'll find them on hard (reef) ground at the moment.
Hicko
Posts: 89
Date Joined: 09/02/08
Interesting, thanks for that!
Interesting, thanks for that!
scotto
Posts: 2470
Date Joined: 21/04/08
whites
the whites actually do runs throughout most of the year, however there is a mad "Christmas rush" around the December/November run (which is probably the most productive run BTW), where every fooker and their dogs smash them in time for crays for Christmas.
there will be another run Jan/feb, and every few months generally, its just I think most people only want them for Christmas.
weve caught (by diving) good numbers in metro even as late as may, mind you, that was a few years ago now, when we were younger and a lot keener.
tiimmbo
Posts: 695
Date Joined: 16/08/09
we have picked up decent
we have picked up decent numbers diving for them through to june for the last few years. Always struggle to get a bag for the forst few weeks of jan though. Gets a bit cold when you get out of the water as the weather cools down but still good fun.
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
The "whites" only run once
But there are regular moults throughout the season, when catches are good. look for the next one after the full moon in February, or March, although there will be crays to be caught the whole time. traditionally, things went very quiet in the shallows in january after the whites had gone, but the densities are so great nowadays that the catch is more consistent between peaks. Look for very rugged ground now, the bigger the flare on your sounder , the better the crays. ( and the better the chance of snagging your pots)
PJim
Posts: 200
Date Joined: 26/04/11
Ranmar, is there any
Ranmar, is there any particular depths to be looking at
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
I believe you can reduce the
I believe you can reduce the chance of rooe tangling with reef by attaching a small white float to your rope about three metres above the pot. That holds the rope vertical and lessens the chance of drfting ropes wrapping themselves around the adjacent reef.
In the past i have used a shark clip to attach the float to the main line. That way it can be easily removed as the pot comes to the surface.
Fish! HARD!
Sea goat
Posts: 961
Date Joined: 26/03/17
have been catching a few
have been catching a few lately, not great numbers, but will sometimes pick up 3-4.....some days nothing, which I put down to my lack of experience more than anything!
just to clariy, so at the moment you recoomened dropping the pots on the actual reef? or at the edge of the drop off?
Sea goat
Posts: 961
Date Joined: 26/03/17
oh one other thing, as a
oh one other thing, as a fellow novice, learned the other day it pays to wear gloves! pulled a pot and just on the rope near the attatchment to the pot was a lovely little blue ringy looking octopus very close to my fingers....
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
In amongst the Reef, now.
As others have mentioned, the use of a bobber float 3 metres above the pot can help with keeping the rope from snagging, which can reduce your catch overall. As to the depth you should be fishing down there for reds, I'll leave that to others to suggest, as it is a bit different up here. But regardless of what depth you are fishing, just go for the longest flare = best ground.