Northwest Fishing Reports

Just looked over the 2010 regs. We now have to kill all the non-native crayfish we have B4 we leave the lake? What a pain. This just makes me want to throw the non native ones back, or just ignore this rule altogether.

I just checked a couple of vendors selling live crayfish from the south, no site has any restriction on shipping to this state, so that's okay, we just can't catch and keep our own.

DEE LEE CIOUS

It's not a big deal, just throw them in a cooler full of ice and salt. They'll be dead, preserved and seasoned for the pot at the same time. Worst case, just kill the non-natives and toss them back in or use them for bait at the lake you pulled them out of.

Can you used the NON natives for bait? I dont see an issue with it except I like them alive when I toss them in the pot of water. Ive never reached my daily limit anyway.

I can see this new rule getting a lot of people in trouble. Because I am a transplant to this state, I tried to find out what crays were native and numerous enough to imitate.

The only "native" craw is the Signal Craw, but except for the claws not having bumps on them, they can look like most any other craw as far as I can tell.

Fresh Water Bait Rules
It is unlawful to possess or use live aquatic animals as bait, except:
1. Live aquatic animals (other than fish) collected from the water being fished.
2. Live sand shrimp.
3. Live forage fish in the Columbia River downstream of the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line.

Like I mentioned, you can use the crayfish you catch for bait as long as it is in the lake from where they were caught.

AA, Quad attached a link to a great article that helps identify native crayfish on another thread, here it is:
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/ans/identify/ht ... ington.pdf

[love] Nothing like an old crawfish boil!!!I have no problem with this new rule, sounds like shore lunch to me!![woot]

Thanks G-Man. I didnt see that.

G-Man wrote:Fresh Water Bait Rules
It is unlawful to possess or use live aquatic animals as bait, except:
1. Live aquatic animals (other than fish) collected from the water being fished.
2. Live sand shrimp.
3. Live forage fish in the Columbia River downstream of the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line.

Like I mentioned, you can use the crayfish you catch for bait as long as it is in the lake from where they were caught.

AA, Quad attached a link to a great article that helps identify native crayfish on another thread, here it is:
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/ans/identify/ht ... ington.pdf

I found that article previously on the INTERNET. The one thing that other sources seem to agree with is that part about how smooth the claw is.

I don't want to get into picking the article apart, mostly because I don't know who is the "better source", but again, the smooth claw thing is pretty agreeable to all of the sources I researched.

It is amazing how few people know there is a size limit or a season on them. I hope to go out this year and get a 5 gallon bucket full this year and have a huge crawdad, crab and fish boil and bake.

Has anyone ever caught a non-native species in Western washington?

Crawfish is my favorite being from the south there are many ways to cook them after they have been boiled. Never took the time to see where to catch them or how big they have to be around here. Down home whatever you catch in the pot goes in your pot.:bounce: The size difference is huge compared to down there there kinda small here. They all taste the same boiled with corn and some potatoes.

fish_4_all wrote:It is amazing how few people know there is a size limit or a season on them. I hope to go out this year and get a 5 gallon bucket full this year and have a huge crawdad, crab and fish boil and bake.

Has anyone ever caught a non-native species in Western washington?

Pine lake is full of Non-native craws.

Are the non native ones good or maybe better to eat, taste wise? To be honest I never ever read the rules on crayfishing. I just did it whenever and used the same type of cage for years. Ive never used a float for them either.
One thing I reccomend is to use a med bristle brush to clean them before you boil them.