Fresh Bait?

Am i wrong in doing what I do??

When I go fishing I buy the usual bag of frozen mulies and bag of coral prawns and use these as bait until I start catching

something.

When I do, usually Herring, Skippy or undersized Tailor, I start to use these as fresh filleted bait instead. With the Tailor being the best by far.

I then just mush the mulies and prawn and mix it with pollard and use that as burley instead

I'm not one for chucking a lure, sp or spinners around, I much prefer to lob a bait out and bottom bash until I hook a big one ( which never seems to happen LOL ).

Am I going to get done by the fisheries guys if I carry on or is it ok to use undersized tailor as bait?

Keith 


wrassinator's picture

Posts: 554

Date Joined: 26/11/08

Mate I think you will find

Tue, 2009-01-13 18:31

Mate I think you will find technically the DoF Legislation uses terms like"take" and "possession" so if you have undersize fish in either of these definitions regardless of use as bait or eatin you could be pinged. However Ads would know more about this than I....

Not condoning it, or chastising it as i'm sure it occurs a fair bit - and hey who hasn't used a legally undersize fish for bait esp in circumstace when it has been unable to b released due to foul hooking or the like? Hardly think DoF have the resources or inclination to be going hard after people in these circumstances mate - it's just unrealistic *jmo*

 

Sure some others will chime in on this little thread tho.

Cheers,

Ado

Adam Gallash's picture

Posts: 15653

Date Joined: 29/11/05

Yes

Tue, 2009-01-13 18:34

Yes mate, you take any undersize fish and kill it and you will be fined by fisheries as they are in your possession.  I would strongly suggest that you stop doing it before you get yourself in trouble.  If I was an enforcement officer and saw you using undersize fish for bait, unless you had a very good reason I'd fine you, there's size limits for a reason, regardless of what you do with the fish.

Cheers,

Adam

____________________________________________________________________________

Site Admin - Just ask if you need assistance

HuggyB's picture

Posts: 2515

Date Joined: 03/08/08

undersized is undersized

Tue, 2009-01-13 18:35

just cos you are using for bait doesn't make it right. I'm honestly surprised you would incriminate yourself by posting it in a public forum.

 

Thats a habit I would change quick smart if I were you.

____________________________________________________________________________

                    The Terrorist - coming to a fishing spot near you.........

PACEMAKER's picture

Posts: 137

Date Joined: 11/12/07

Yes it is WRONG

Tue, 2009-01-13 18:46

Mate why dont you just hang over the reef and catch a few wrasse. There are plenty of them, no size limit cos theyre a pest and most popular species love to chomp'em. Then head out wide or where ever it is you go and fish for the future. The fisheries are everywhere and one day you will get caught.

My 2 cents

Tez

Get your heart racing get a PACEMAKER

ody's picture

Posts: 581

Date Joined: 30/12/06

Hi Ya, However, and not

Tue, 2009-01-13 19:16


Hi Ya,

However, and not withstanding the illegality of keeping undersize fish, remember that there is no such this as an undersize herring and skinnless cubes of herring make one of the absolute best baits for herring, skippy etc.  If you want to use them as fillets for bigger fish, leave the skinon.

Cheers.


RECFISHWEST member

Posts: 72

Date Joined: 01/01/09

"Not condoning it, or

Tue, 2009-01-13 20:13

"Not condoning it, or chastising it as i'm sure it occurs a fair bit - and hey who hasn't used a legally undersize fish for bait esp in circumstace when it has been unable to b released due to foul hooking or the like?"

The fisheries officers won't accept that as an excuse. Even if dead they must be thrown back to balance the eco system. First year I came to Aus and went crabbing I didn't know there was such thing as a legal limit. The officers came and we had some undersized crabs. The officers told us to throw those back in even through they're dead.

Posts: 39

Date Joined: 05/08/08

  Ooops, No, I just fish

Tue, 2009-01-13 21:27

 

Ooops,

No, I just fish from the shore or rocks and walls when ever I can get out for an hour or two.

Thing is I don't even take any fish I catch to eat, I catch and release everything except for the first fish which I cut into strips for bait and when that is gone the next fish is bait.

Mmmm, Guess I won't be doing that again then.

Apologies guys

Keith

The

West

Australian

Turtle

Society 

Matt T's picture

Posts: 875

Date Joined: 19/11/07

Keith

Wed, 2009-01-14 08:11

Good on you for asking mate, however it is up to each person that decides to throw a hook in the water to find out the rules and regs BEFORE they catch a fish. Otherwise we will have nothing left to enjoy.

Have a look at your local tackle store, they will have sticker from fisheries with the size and bag limits that will help you out. And as Ody said, herring are abundant and make great fresh bait with no size limit.

herk's picture

Posts: 70

Date Joined: 25/10/08

Size limits

Wed, 2009-01-14 12:47

A couple of mates went crabbing down in mandurah the other week and forgot their gage. So they used the sticker that was stuck on the side of the their boat. Apparently the size for crabs on the sticker is wrong as the boys find my mates for undersize crabs even though they showed them that the measured the crabs on the sticker. They were only a micky hair under (but hey under is under) so the fisheries fined them anyway.

 

Adam have you heard of this before or has anyone ever checked to see if the gage is the same as the fishing legal size stickers?

Posts: 184

Date Joined: 09/08/08

crab gauges

Wed, 2009-01-14 15:53

I got a few of those free crab gauges from fisheries a couple of years ago.  When conpared to an aluminium one that I had bought, the plastic freebies were about 5mm bigger.  The aluminium one was dead on as I measured it with a vernier.

Maybe it was just my five freebies that were wrong.Wink

ody's picture

Posts: 581

Date Joined: 30/12/06

Hi Ya, Got to be real

Wed, 2009-01-14 17:16


Hi Ya,

Got to be real careful of the plastic stickers as they are known to shrink.  That's why fisheries as a caveat on them that says they are a guide only.

Cheers.


RECFISHWEST member

flangies's picture

Posts: 2550

Date Joined: 11/05/08

I had always used undersized

Wed, 2009-01-14 12:54

I had always used undersized tailor as live baits until this season, 30cm is pretty big for a livie, but i normally used yellowtail anyway. 

Here in tasmania :) we use salmon as live bait hahahahaha

_________________________________________________________ 

You couln't wipe that grin fom my face even with a hammer.

Colin Hay's picture

Posts: 10407

Date Joined: 23/10/07

Rack off you Taswegian

Wed, 2009-01-14 14:42

What size salmon are we talking about James? And when do you get back?
(Colin 1 - Co-founding member of the prestigious Colin Club)

____________________________________________________________________________

Moderator. Proud member of the Fishwrecked "Old Farts". Make sure your subscribed to Fishwrecked Reeltime http://fishwrecked-reeltime.com/

flangies's picture

Posts: 2550

Date Joined: 11/05/08

The legal size is 20cm here

Wed, 2009-01-14 15:50

The legal size is 20cm here haha so its pretty easy to get a sized one, thye are usually between 25-45cm and up to 1.5kg jumbos are 2kg they dnt get the giant ones we get in perth. fortunately they are in abundance and year round here so you just rock up any day and hook up quite easily, i have been landing about 10 a night at the jetty and using 1 as live and throwing rest back.

 I get back friday night ready for fishing saturday :)

_________________________________________________________ 

You couln't wipe that grin fom my face even with a hammer.

Adam Gallash's picture

Posts: 15653

Date Joined: 29/11/05

Not sure herk

Wed, 2009-01-14 17:01

Not sure re-bluie size on the sticker and the gauge, been a long time since I've caught a blue manner.  The department has just printed an extra 20,000 stickers so there should be some updated ones about soon.

____________________________________________________________________________

Site Admin - Just ask if you need assistance