Hi ... 

I have just got home from a few days camping on Somerset Dam in SE Qld. fishing from the kayak for Red Claw.

There are thousands there for the taking   ... no bag limit as they are an introduced  species in SEQ.

We got more than 100 a night in 15 traps. Average length at least 120mm.

If you want a quiet Summer week day stopover and plentiful redclaw, you can't go past Lake Somerset Holiday park at Kirkleagh just south of Kilkoy.

ps.. Lots of power boats on the weekends. 

We called them Yabbies when we were kids in NSW Sheba. The ones in the sand we called Pippies

Hope there are still some left by the time we get up that way Cupie, we love them

G'day Cupie and thanks for the post........now, can you tell me what type of net and bait method you used from the kayak? I have a perception yak that I would like to take away in the next few weeks and do just what you have done.

If you can toss in your favourite recipe that would be a bonus........for everyone

cheers

ozi2

Here in SA pippies are these

and in the dams and creeks here we get yabbies.caught in a opera house net

Ozi2  ..

We use Opera House nets ($6 at Kmart) with around 6m of rope.  Best catches are in 4m of water.

Bait is cheap dog pellets and any melon .. water melon with rind & about 1" of red flesh.

Best catches overnight.

Carefully tip catch into a V-large woven plastic bag held between legs!

Process catch by twisting off head - using rigger gloves (lots of spikes)

Remove vein by holding centre fin at tail with long nose pliers .. twist to break it and carefully pull it away from body.  Vein comes with it.

Either blanch in salty water - place in bucket with a couple of handfulls of salt - cover with boiling water for 2 minutes - replace with cold water ... rinse thoroughly.  When cool the shell can be removed. 

or .. just rinse well & freeze in shell.

ps .. Red claw (Cherax quadricarinatus) is an introduced species in southern Qld & as such has no bag limits or size restrictions.  They are native to far north Qld.  Different from the local 'yabbies'.

Sorry forgot the recipie ...  Any recipie that you use for prawns is OK.

I like them in the shells .. split in two lengthways .. on the barbie with butter, chilli garlic & salt ...  barely a minute flesh side down .. turn over sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese and cook for same time on shell side.  Pick out flesh with a fork.

-- Edited by Cupie on Monday 28th of March 2011 08:50:25 AM

-- Edited by Cupie on Monday 28th of March 2011 08:52:45 AM

They were yabbies to me too. We used to catch them in the gully near our place when I was a kid.

And pippies came out of the sand.

They are certainly beauties Cupie.

-- Edited by Beth54 on Monday 28th of March 2011 08:52:46 AM

ozi2 wrote:

---

G'day Cupie and thanks for the post........now, can you tell me what type of net and bait method you used from the kayak? I have a perception yak that I would like to take away in the next few weeks and do just what you have done.

If you can toss in your favourite recipe that would be a bonus........for everyone

cheers

ozi2

---

 Using a "opera pot" as in Dave's picture we caught 400 over a couple of days. Dry dog biscuits and/or melons seemed to be the best up there.

At Longreach there is a sign on the river saying it is ilegal to put back into the river,much the same as carp.

These are yabbies

I have it on good authority that these are Lamington red claw. As in, Lamington national Park, not the cake.

They were caught on a private property in the Kyogle NSW area.

These went back into the creek.

Beth54 wrote:

---

They were yabbies to me too. We used to catch them in the gully near our place when I was a kid.

And pippies came out of the sand.

The red claw are different to yabbies.

 

Sorry about my messy posts. I was trying to edit, and messed them up entirely!

HI Cupie and thanks for all the information you posted. We are looking forward with anticipation of a few good feeds & a nice quiet week of camping in S E Qld.

Cheers,Ozi2

Ma wrote:

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The ones in the sand we called Pippies

Up here Pippies are Molluscs, same as SA. The first 2 pics are Yabbies, [Qld] and the second 2 Yabbie Pumps.










Cheers,
Sheba.

Just lifted this off the NSW fisheries site regarding Opera House Net for anyone that want's to use them in NSW inland waters

Closures The use of yabby / opera house traps are banned in public waters east of the Newell Highway and in three stretches of river west of the Newell Highway: the Edward River upstream of Stevens Weir, the Murray River upstream of the Echuca/Moama Rd Bridge and the Murrumbidgee River upstream of Darlington Point Rd Bridge. (See closure map below.) All yabby traps are required to have a bycatch reduction device fitted to all entrance funnels. The intent of the general yabby trap closure and the bycatch reduction device is to prevent the death of platypus and minimise capture of air-breathing animals such as turtles and water rats. Other closed waters exist throughout the state and you should contact your local fisheries office.

Good advice Wombat 280 ..  States have different regulations & are easily checked on the net .. ...

For Qld ... Opera House nets OK for fresh water ... 4 per person .. must be taged with name & address .. both trap & float if used. 

Other regs specify mesh & trap sizes.