Northwest Fishing Reports

So a buddy and I were fishing a stream 15 yo and under and we saw 3 traps for crawdads. So i decided i'd call wdfw and ask them to see of it was illagel, So an officer was on his way but we told them where it was and we said we were about to leave. The next day the crawdad traps were still there. I've tried the regs but i could'nt find anything about traps in juvenille rivers only. Any helps?

I;m sure if the traps belong to kids than it's okay, if not than it's not okay.

EAmon ___hoffman123 wrote:So a buddy and I were fishing a stream 15 yo and under and we saw 3 traps for crawdads. So i decided i'd call wdfw and ask them to see of it was illagel, So an officer was on his way but we told them where it was and we said we were about to leave. The next day the crawdad traps were still there. I've tried the regs but i could'nt find anything about traps in juvenille rivers only. Any helps?

Why do you need Helps? The crawfish trap being there is hurting you How?

First, crawfish are not a Fish.

Second, crawfish trapping is not restricted to Adults Only. Crawfish trapping is a HUGE Family Sport. Families normally have kids and kids have a blast catching crawfish. I know this as a fact!

Third, I hope you didn't disturb the traps because you assumed they belonged to Adults because that is in fact illegal. If in fact they were traps set by an Adult, that is not illegal where fishing for regular Fish would be.

I'm curious why you are so concerned about the crawfish traps being in the creek. The more crawfish removed from that creek will greatly improve fishing there.

you do not have to have a license for crawdad/crayfishing and you can put your traps anywhere there are crawdads no matter what age i believe, its not illegal anywhere that I have read for any age.. pretty sure you can have as many traps as you want as well. only thing i read somewhere is "you can only harvest 10lbs per day"

don't take my word, this is just what i have found cruising the internet and the internet is NOT always right

i picked up a crawdad trap last night at outdoor emporium..

Hell i wish i could find a stream/lake/pond with 10lbs of crawfish in it, let alone 10lbs a day!

I believe the 10 pounds a day only refers to the natives.

The nonnatives (Signal), you can take all you want.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/st ... rules.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I dont think crawfish were a consideration to a youth only fishery... the fish were.

Thanks. It wasent hurting us, But people were calling WDFW.

So now the big question.... are there any craws in that stream?

Rich McVey wrote:I believe the 10 pounds a day only refers to the natives.

The nonnatives (Signal), you can take all you want.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/st ... rules.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I dont think crawfish were a consideration to a youth only fishery... the fish were.

Just a slight correction, grin. The Signal crawfish are the so called Natives, they were introduced about 100 years ago. The State is referring to the Rusty Crawfish as the non-native crawfish. The Rusty crawfish are new to WA, a little over a decade now yet they have nearly overtaken all of Eastern Washington with lightening speed. The Rustys are the ones that are killing off fish and plant life, that is the reason for such heavy Federal and State regulations on them. Its best to cook them before you leave the trapping area, transporting them live is a no-no.

DOH... My bad.

Thanks for the correction Terry.

Rich McVey wrote:So now the big question.... are there any craws in that stream?

Yes! We saw them all over the creek. Big guns too!

I used to set my pots in the Samamish in the Bothell area and after a couple hours the pot was pretty full. A can of catfood was a great bait. I believe you can have pots in any body of water but like Shrimp and crab the pots need a bouy of some sort with name and address on it.

when i was wading aroung the samish river this year we saw a couple mammoth crawdads in the slower parts

Mammoth sounds like a 2 footer or more. Where are the Behemoth sized ones? Hehehe

lets say big enough that i felt my toes could have been in danger of become bait bouncing along the bottom of the river

Just for the grins and to make sure no one just runs out with the traps.

CRAYFISH (crawfish)
ALL WATERS NATIVE SPECIES 1st Mon. in
May-Oct. 31Min. size 3¼" from tip of rostrum (nose) to tip of tail. Daily limit 10 lbs in shell. All
females with eggs or young attached must be immediately returned to the water
unharmed. No Shellfish/Seaweed license is required. See gear rules on page 135.
NONNATIVE
SPECIES
1st Mon. in
May-Oct. 31Must be kept in a separate container. Must be dead before being removed
from riparian area (immediate vicinity of water body). No daily limit, size, or sex
restrictions. No Shellfish/Seaweed license is required. See gear rules page 135.

GENERAL GEAR RULES:
May be harvested by hand or dipnet. Hand operated instruments may not penetrate the shell.
One star trap, one ring net, or one pot is considered one unit of gear. The maximum number of units of gear that may be fished per person is:
Puget Sound: (Marine Area 4, east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line, and in Marine Areas 5-13).
Shrimp: Two pots per person, and no more than 4 shrimp pots may be onboard or fished by any one boat at a time.
Crab: Two units of crab gear per person, and no limit on the number of units of crab gear per boat.
Coastal Waters: (Marine Areas 1-3 and in Marine Area 4, west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line). Two units of crab and/or shrimp gear per person.
Exception: Columbia River - three units of crab gear per person.
Freshwater: Crawfish: Five units of gear per person.

!In addition other regs apply!

Theres millions of crawdads don't see what the problamo is.

Just a friendly note craw pots have to have an escape device of some type with the same string as a crab pot does in the state of washington. I got stopped before I used a minnow type cone trap with out one by the fish and game. To fix the problem I straightened the end that locks together and tied the string to it there and use it as a hinge. My favorite trap is a shrimp pot they can enter from all sides. I was glad the warden was friendly and let me know and not just handing me a ticket.

Use Cotton string. Re-tie every couple weeks with new and your good.

I cut a 3X5 panel in my cone trap and sew it in with 1/8" cotton, same as I use on my crab pots. I have had the same cord for years on the crab pots with out any problem.