Catching crays in WA

From mid-October to Christmas is one of the busiest times at West Australian boat ramps along the coast.

The arrival of summer certainly plays its part but it’s the pursuit of crayfish (or the Western Rock Lobster) that drives this increased traffic.

Crayfish is one of the great delicacies of the ocean, and the Christmas lunch of choice for many WA families, and they can be found close to the shore right along the coast.

A boat, a few cray pots, bait and a licence, which is easily obtained from Fisheries WA, is all you need to put this delicacy on the table.

Well, at least it is that easy in theory. And it is this relatively easy process that lures so many boaties out of bed at sunrise each morning in pursuit of this delicious crustacean.

For me, the crayfish season is akin to the AFL — every new season is keenly anticipated and full of hope and promise.

And, similar to the AFL, some years the high expectation is based on solid foundations and on others it is just on a wing and a prayer.

With predictions the this season is going to be a cracker, our high hopes at least have some sound reasoning behind them.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SEASONS
Early in the season, at places such as popular Rottnest Island (about 18 miles off the coast of Perth), the only setback is that most crays that can end up in your pots are females with tar spot or in berry, which means they need to be handled carefully and put straight back into the water.

Crayfish mate in late winter and early spring, and the females take four to eight weeks to lay their eggs so it is not unusual to catch them in this state early in the season. Females go through three stages when breeding — setose (fine hair on their underbelly claws used to release the berry), tar spot and berry — and you need to be able to identify all three as they must be returned to the water during these times.

Traditionally the cray season steps up a gear from November to June 30, and is open all-year around south of the North West Cape. A blanket ban applies to night fishing.

Fisheries WA say the extended all-year season is a sign of a healthy fishery which is great news for everyone. But in reality, those of us who use pots to catch them are really no better off. In the early part of the year the crays remain deep in their ledges and caves and are hard to entice out. You need to be continually moving pots and looking for holes in the reef to drop them in. It’s probably the one time of the year when a plastic pot is better than the wood-slatted pot that is the choice of most (more on the pots later).

DIVING OR POTS?
The group who benefits from the extended season are the divers, and with all the hype about increasing shark numbers along the WA coast they deserve to catch their bag limit each time they dive, just for having the courage to get in the water.

Divers also must have a crayfishing licence and are restricted in the type of equipment they can use to catch the crustacean with a loop (a commercially built, spring-loaded lasso that can catch them without harming them) the most common device used.

The other important piece of equipment, apart from you SCUBA gear, is a spring-loaded catch bag attached to the weight belt to carry the catch.

The best time to be on the water for those using pots is from late November through to Christmas. This is when the ‘whites’ are migrating to deeper water.

New pot rope requirements apply when fishing with a combined pot line and float rig length greater than 20 metres in length. A maximum of two floats may be attached to your pot.

A crayfish is referred to as a white just after it has malted. The new shell, which can be very soft early in the process, remains a whitish-pink colour until it fully hardens and goes back to its more natural deep red.

When the whites are walking, you want to place your pots in the sand a few metres away from the reef, and make sure there is plenty of bait.

Get it right and you can be bringing home your bag limit each day, though you also need to remember that it is only legal to have a maximum of 24 crays per licence in your possession; this includes at home.

The best time to catch the reds is March to April, and you need to place the pots on lumps on the reef in calm weather, or in the weed if the swell is up.

A FEW HANDY HINTS
My brother-in-law, who was a professional cray fisherman for more than 30 years, has a few crucial rules you must follow to ensure success.

He said the most important was to ensure your pot is heavy enough so it doesn’t move. If it rocks around in the surge, the crays won’t go near it and with the strong winds and big swells we experience off the WA coast, the water can get pretty rough.

While the wood-slatted pots with a steel base are the best in this instance, plastic pots can still be successful. Many people use plastic pots because they are lighter, smaller and easier to handle.

But if you’re going to use a plastic pot he suggests you nail two planks of wood (like skis and just longer than the pot) to the bottom to give it extra stability and put plenty of additional weight in the bottom. Also, if possible, leave them out in the sun for a few months before using them to bleach them and remove the petroleum from the plastic.

With wooden pots, there is plenty of debate about whether jarrah, pine or a combination of both is best. My brother-in-law, who has made a good living out of the industry, says he found the pots with a jarrah frame and lighter pine slats to be the best.

No matter which type of pot you use, make sure it is in good condition, ensuring the escape gaps are the right size and there is no chance of a cray getting out once it has been lured in.

He also says it is important to keep them clean. He takes a stiff brush out with him to clean off any weed growing on the pot and to brush off all the sand. Clean ropes are equally important; they are also a lot easier to pull up without slime all over them.

WHAT ABOUT THE BAIT?
The other really important part to being a successful cray fisherman is bait. The first aspect of baiting is fairly easy, put in as much as will fit in the bait basket.

But just what bait is the best?

Again, I defer to my brother-in-law who almost exclusively uses blue mackerel, but says tuna heads are also good. Both fish are oily, which helps attract crays to the pot.

He is not so keen on using what he calls fresh bait (fish frames and heads of freshly caught fish). His reason is that this type of bait attracts a lot of unwanted "visitors" to the pots, such as wobbegong sharks, small fish, and octopus - a predator of crayfish.

He says that while other fish are in the pots feeding on the bait, the crays will not go in there, waiting until everything else has lost interest before moving in.

Fish are less likely to be attracted to older bait, leaving it to the crays. The only time he recommends using fresh fish frames is if you are only going to pull the pots every two or three days.

But when the whites are running, if you are in the right spot, you need to be out there every day to take full advantage of a run that normally only lasts a couple of weeks at best.

If you follow these few simple rules, those few weeks should be long enough to ensure you and your family enjoy a magnificent feed of crayfish for Christmas lunch.

But please remember there are size limits for crayfish (these vary from region to region so ensure you are aware of the restrictions that apply to the zone you are fishing). In the Perth metropolitan region, the carapace must be at least 76mm.

The individual bag limit is eight crays per licence per day. One boat is allowed to pull a maximum of  six pots (providing there are three licence holders on board) and limited to a maximum of 24 crays a day. Remember to tail clip your keepers after carefully measuring them.

If everyone abides by these rules we will have good stocks of crayfish for generations to come and WA boaties will be able to continue to enjoy catching their own Christmas lunch.

Fisheries WA produces a detailed pamphlet that provides you with all the information you need to know before heading out into the water.

KEY CRAY REGS
>> Recreational rock lobster fishing south of North West Cape is now open all year.
>> Lobster fishing is a major recreational activity in Western Australia and fishers must have a licence to fish for any species of rock lobster.
>> Fishers are now permitted to take female setose rock lobsters.
>> Fishers are reminded that two new rules were introduced last season. The first allowed rock lobster tails (with the shell on) to be kept at a licensed fisher’s principal place of residence, but rock lobsters may only be transported whole.
>> In addition, rock lobster pot specifications were simplified.
For more information go to: http://www.fish.wa.gov.au

Photo Credit: Fisheries WA.