Yabbies - Any Good in Winter ?

[Fish_Fingers]

Have never been fishing the freshwater but want to start.
Wondering whether Yabbies are hard to catch at the moment (if they slow over winter) and which dam is most productive at present?
Any help appreciated.

[TinarooTriumph]

Mate where are you from? And how far do you want to travel ;D. Yabbies in winter all depends on water temps and water temps is dependant on location.

TinarooTriumph 8-)

[charexblue]

hi fish fingers,
depends where you are going and what yabbies, red or blue, peeled pumpkin pieces work in winter but you have to leave traps in for quite a few hours.
all the best from peter :)

[Outback_Dreamer]

Hey Fish Fingers
If yabbying throughout western NSW any month with an 'R' in it will get you a feed. Best months are December, January, February and March

[firefish]

Giday Fishfingers,
During the cooler months the yabbies tend to dissapear into the mud and the ones that you do manage to catch are what is known as "hollow". This means that the meat hasen't filled out into their shell and you will find that they are soft to the touch. It's probably best to wait untill the warmer months. Best method is use a small gauge hoop net baited with liver, heart, red meat etc. Check your states regs for number that you are allowed to use. Check every 20min (or every stubby) which ever comes first. Where you are allowed, you may want to try the opera style nets and leave them in over night. Once again check your states regs on these type of nets. If wanting to eat them, best method and the easiest is to boil up a pot of water and add some salt and vineger (Depending on your taste) and drop them in untill they turn red (aprox 3 to 5 min). A little tip before dropping them into the water, devein them by grabbing their middle tail fin between your thumb and forefinger then twist and pull and dada!! no more vein. Give it a go and dont forget to take the kids. Tye a small piece of meat to a length of cotton and have them slowly pull the yabbies in before scooping them up into a small net.
All the best
Schulzy
[smiley=fireman.gif]

[freshdes]

Bit harder to catch in the south of Viccy but the closer you get to the border, the more active they are. However, if you do catch em down south at the moment they make great bait as they are softer and the fish love em like that, eels do to though. Need a little patience, but thats what we do..