Fishing Forum

Hey does anyone know if it is legal to use dead crayfish as bait? I have read all i can in the proclamation and it is pretty foggy. If anyone knows the answer that would be great.
Thanks!
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They are real uptight about MOVING live crayfish from a lake - at all. But I think some lakes/waters you can even use LIVE crawdads. But then - only on the waters you caught them.

Check out the "allowed baits" section. I could try to find the quote later if you can't find it. I like having the PDF version so I can search it.

Yes, you can use dead crayfish as bait.

You may even use LIVE craws if they're from the same water. Just don't leave with any still alive and you'll stay out of trouble.
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[quote Tyice]Hey does anyone know if it is legal to use dead crayfish as bait? I have read all i can in the proclamation and it is pretty foggy. If anyone knows the answer that would be great.
Thanks![/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]It’s not foggy at all. By definition from the Proclamation: [/#800000][/font][/#800000][/font]
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Quote:Bait means a digestible substance, including worms, cheese, salmon eggs, marshmallows or manufactured baits including human-made items that are chemically treated with food stuffs, chemical fish attractants or feeding stimulants.

[/font][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Dead crayfish are a digestible substance.[/#800000][/font][/#800000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]And further reading of the Proclamation will show you that:[/#800000][/font][/#800000][/font]
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Quote:You may only use live crayfish for bait if you are on the water where the crayfish were captured.

[/font][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]There are some restrictions regarding crayfish use within the State. For instance: [/#800000][/font][/#800000][/font]
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Quote:To help prevent the spread of disease, dead fish and crayfish may not be moved between waters.

[/font][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]And: [/#800000][/font][/#800000][/font][font "Arial"]

Quote:It is unlawful to transport live crayfish away from the water where they were captured.

[/font][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]And finally, there are several bodies of water that have the following restriction: [/#800000][/font][/#800000][/font]
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Quote:Unlawful to use whole fish for bait.

[/font][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Crayfish – dead or alive – cannot be used on these waters.[/#800000][/font][/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Crayfish – dead or alive – cannot be used on these waters.[/#800000][/font]
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Could crayfish parts such as the tail be used on those water that you cannot use a whole fish?
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[quote fish_fear_me2]Could crayfish parts such as the tail be used on those water that you cannot use a whole fish?[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Oops; I originally read "Unlawful to use whole fish for bait." as "Unlawful to use whole fish or bait." Now that I see it as it is written, I would think my first interpretation is incorrect. Since in almost every other case in the Proclamation the reference is to "… fish and crayfish…" I would be inclined to think that because crayfish is left out of the restriction "Unlawful to use whole fish for bait" that the restriction does not apply to crayfish. This might be something that the DWR might like to weigh in on and clarify for us.[/#800000][/font][/#800000][/font]
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But if it does also apply to crayfish, then the answer to your question would be:
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Quote:Unlawful to use whole fish for bait. Cut baitfish must not be larger than one inch in any dimension, with no more than one piece per hook.

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[quote dubob][quote fish_fear_me2]Could crayfish parts such as the tail be used on those water that you cannot use a whole fish?[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Oops; I originally read "Unlawful to use whole [#0000BF]fish [/#0000BF]for bait." as "Unlawful to use whole fish or bait." Now that I see it as it is written, I would think my first interpretation is incorrect. Since in almost every other case in the Proclamation the reference is to "… fish and crayfish…" I would be inclined to think that because crayfish is left out of the restriction "Unlawful to use whole fish for bait" that the restriction does not apply to crayfish. This might be something that the DWR might like to weigh in on and clarify for us.[/#800000][/font][/#800000][/font]
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But if it does also apply to crayfish, then the answer to your question would be:
[/#800000][/font]

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Quote:Unlawful to use whole fish for bait. Cut baitfish must not be larger than one inch in any dimension, with no more than one piece per hook.

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So - where do we take this - crawdads, cray"fish" whatever you want to call them are [url "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freshwater"]freshwater[/url] [url "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crustacean"]crustaceans[/url], not "fish". I thin the restrictions you're pointing to pertain to Pineview, Newton - and are pretty targeted on Musky fishing. The 1" limit.
But I get to wonder. What about other baits that aren't "fish" - like the common chicken liver, beef bits (found a beef heart - bag of it just left on the shore. . . .). Is there a restriction on the size of "cut bait" - meaning "meat" or just if it's "fish"?

I'd rather challenge one into a lure or jig that a hunk of meat on a stick (stick meaning treble hook. . . ).