Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[canoe man]

hi all I'm looking for some info on tidal fraser crayfish limits
been all over dfo's site and I cant find any info at all
maybe they have a different name 
how many traps is one person allowed ?
do you have to put your name and number on it like when crab and prawn fishing
also looking for recipies too lol

thanks cnm

[Sandman]

hi all I'm looking for some info on tidal fraser crayfish limits
been all over dfo's site and I cant find any info at all
maybe they have a different name 
how many traps is one person allowed ?
do you have to put your name and number on it like when crab and prawn fishing
also looking for recipies too lol

thanks cnm

Crayfish are a fresh water species and while you might find them in the tidal Fraser, I think they would be rare as saltwater is more dense and so would displace the fresh water on the river bottom where the crayfish would live), so I don't think you will find them in the DFO regulations.

[living_blind]

I live on a floating home on the lower Fraser and we see the remains of crayfish on the docks all the time. A variety of creatures prey on them, including otters, herons, and raccoons.

[Sandman]

I live on a floating home on the lower Fraser and we see the remains of crayfish on the docks all the time. A variety of creatures prey on them, including otters, herons, and raccoons.

Yes, I did say you can find them there and all the tributaries are full of them, but they are still a freshwater species, so I do not think you will find them in DFOs regulations.

[canoe man]

I live in the ridge area and yes they are around this part of the fraser
I know they are listed in the freshwater regs
but that does not help my dilemma
what can you do in tidal zone
if they are not listed then what

cnm

[Damien]

You can call the DFO.

PS, There are still LOTS in the lower fraser.  Check the rocks around Deas Island. 

[hrenya]

hehe I had the same problem , I`ve caught a few in Richmond on a rod while was fishing for a white fish , I was surprised to see them at first , so I took a picture , DFO were going on a boat few times a day and checking all shore in Richmond at that time (was about 1.5-2 months ago) . So I asked the guys on a boat about cray fish , they told me the last time they saw one in this area was around 8 years ago , and asked me for a picture , after looking at it they asked to send it to them by email which I did . After few days waiting for the same answer you asked , I went to DFO`s office at Steveston , and ask a guy at reception , he was confused too , but after a few minutes he pointed me to the table(list) of the fish species - at the bottom there is a note , if its not listed here , u can keep 20 a day . Same idea with peamouth chubs and pike minnows

[StillAqua]

hrenya is correct.....they aren't listed in the shellfish regs so you can keep 20/day. They encourage you to let the juveniles and females with eggs go.
They are all over the tidal Fraser, not in the deep channel where the salt water wedge penetrates, but all along the shallow freshwater near the shore where you can toss traps in off the bank. I don't think there is a limit on how many traps you can use. The biggest problem is all the people walking along the banks that like to pull your traps in for a look or to walk off with so we usually only fished a fairly short length of shoreline we could keep an eye on them.

[canoeboy]

Ahah oh gosh.... more shellfish for the freezer 

[Sandman]

I am still not sure if harvesting invertibrates from the Fraser is such a good idea as they are particularly susceptible to contamination from pollutants.  Some of the cleaner tribs might be safer.

[hrenya]

from what I read , crayfish live only in clean water . and as I mentioned above when I asked CO`s on a boat about crayfish , they were surprised and said that haven`t seen one in a few years in this area . My buddy fishes LF for 3-4 years almost every day , and he saw one last year .

[hrenya]

canoeboy , just make sure you are using fresh bait .

[StillAqua]

I am still not sure if harvesting invertibrates from the Fraser is such a good idea as they are particularly susceptible to contamination from pollutants.  Some of the cleaner tribs might be safer.

I wouldn't make a steady diet of them either but if you live nearby, a couple of feeds won't hurt.
But many of the smaller tributary systems are more productive crayfish habitats and offer better trapping. We did really well in the Harrison lake and river one year.

[canoeboy]

Hrenya thanks I'll let canoe man know. He is heading out there right now.

[canoeboy]

Just too report on the crayfish day, it wasn't the haul we were expecting but we did get 15 and a decent amount were huge and in canoeman's opinion "edible" (he is excited to use the duck dynasty cook book) we found that the deeper the pot was the better the haul and the less bullhead we had too pick out.

Thanks all for your information and helping us figure this stuff out.