Wivenhoe Dam and Somerset Dam. They aren't far from each other but which would be the best to try and catch Red Claw. I've always used sweet potato but is there something that others feel is a better bait. Thanks in advance.
Chucker, do you peel and cook the sweet potato? Do you use yellow or white? We are often at dams that are known to house yabbies but don't carry any suitable bait, but we normally have golden sweet potato. It would be better (and less aromatic) than finding road kill.
-- Edited by Possum3 on Monday 29th of October 2018 10:58:16 AM
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Possum; AKA:- Ali El-Aziz Mohamed Gundawiathan
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I have fished both & found Somerset easily the best. But as Somerset empties into Wivenhoe then there should be lots in there too, but there's lots of water in Wivenhoe too.
But ... and there are lots of buts.
We have always stayed at the old Kirkleigh that now has a name like Somerset Holiday Park and in keeping with that attracts hordes of jet skiers & assorted power boats. Absolute murder during weekends & school holidays. Lots of on site 'luxury cabins' in the best spots too.
A few years back we would expect 50 plus per trap twice a day. Like ****roaches they were. These days perhaps 5 or ten each pull are normal. That's if you can find your traps that become caught in power craft props & dragged off several hundred yards or just cut adrift!!! Gotta get out at dawn to retrieve your catch & beat the robbers too.
But then the water's still too cold to get them out & about. Best in mid summer. They are said to head upstream when there is an inflow of water, so putting your traps towards an inflow, but at about 3 meters is a good idea.
They eat lots of stuff (omnivors?) including ... dog food pellets, rock melons, raw potatoes, old fashioned soap (but much frowned on in waterways), fish frames, avacados, mangoes etc. We use a ****tail of dog food pellets, rock melon & water melon. I have seen good results from tins of cat food with a few small holes .. a bit messy on retrieval though.
We use fishing kayaks so are restricted in how far we can travel from the camp but a small tinnie heading 'upstream' looking for a woody deep inlet might be worthwhile .. but lookout for local robbers. Perhaps tie off your traps below the waterline to a unremarkable stump or similar.
I'll stop rambling on .... hope that you can find something useful in this.
Edit ... PS I have read that some commercial growers use traps that work by injecting running water into the pond via the entrance to the trap and the red claw walk up the stream and fall off the end of the ramp into a holding capture tank.
-- Edited by Cupie on Monday 29th of October 2018 10:11:28 PM
-- Edited by Cupie on Monday 29th of October 2018 10:17:05 PM
-- Edited by Cupie on Monday 29th of October 2018 10:21:42 PM
