Reply With Quotewhen is was a little kid my my grand father would keep them in a dry bucket withsaw dust. they would still be kicking hard the next day, i couldnt imagine them lasting to much longer than that.
This sounds almost too easy. I think i will give this ago along with the tank idea, compare results, and i will let you know how i go. TY!Originally Posted by chewy01
when is was a little kid my my grand father would keep them in a dry bucket withsaw dust. they would still be kicking hard the next day, i couldnt imagine them lasting to much longer than that.
boat minder- only $40 a day
no need to change water, it is no different to keeping fish in a tank, as long as the setup is right, then they will be fine, buckets of Water, and cool wood shavings and all those things work, but only if you are after a day or two, for longer times, the tank is the go, I always have a bag of about 20 or so in the freezer for "emergencies", that way I can go for a Fish anytime, and I can also have a rod "fishing" while I am gathering bait.
With the fish tank setup is there any need to build a sand base?
don't think it is entirely needed, but mine has gravel sort of stuff on the bottom, I have kept them in the tank with nothing on the bottom before, I just put in the gravel for looks once when I was keeping a Lobster alive for a week and never took it out.
Thanks for the advice Noelm, i will give this a go!
O look the sun is out...hmmm...i am going for a fish cya!
I havne't kept em for long periods but I do know even in short periods that they need to be ket cool and oxygenated........and any dead or damaged ones kill the rest real fast.
If they arent beeing fed there should be no problem with urea, so as long as they are kept the water is kept clean cool and oxygenated it all sounds plausable.
I wonder is isopropyl would be better than the metho, because the isopropyl hasnt got the nasty tasting denaturing agent.
Does the metho seem to firm them up?
It occures to me that it would certainly steralise them so they keep better.
Hmm... yabbies are my bait of choice.... but it isn't always convienent to use them straight away.....all this bears some investigation.
Just as a similar point....I wonder is the alcahol bath would be good for extending the shelf life of prawns......they seem to go off pretty quick.
cheers
Oldboot....I guess that is why i started this thread, to see if there is a way of preserving the yabbies so as to use them at any given time. As you said. it isn't always convienent to use them straight away.....all this bears some investigation.
An investigation is what we need!
LIke i said i was sceptical as fresh is best,but after having witnessed it with my own eyes ill a convert. it may not always outfish fresh but it has a couple times so when in rome.... it surely is an option till thetide gets down low enough to dig some fresh ones
Yes, the Metho trick.
I have done it a few times for fresh water fishing. Pump a few dozen and drop them into a container of metho while alive ( I think they enjoy it )
Just for a few minutes then into sandwich bags, a handfull to each bag then freeze them.
It some how toughens the shell and they stay on the hook a lot better. Not as well as a prawn but better than a freshly dead yabbie.
These and prawns are a back up bait that is used in the fresh if we can't get the usual local bait.
Regards Gordon
Learnt this from an old timer, go to Burrum once a year
As long as they are freshly pumped,
Divvy up what you want for the week, put in a wide flat container with 3/4 sand and change the water each day, each night they dig holes just like they are in a sandbar.
For the rest, freeze in chinese container, about 70 sand, 30 salt water and freeze.
Works great
In a wide container place a layer of paper towel then a layer of single deep yabbies then another paper towel and keep going until you have layered all the yabbies then freeze them. Gives you the option of removing a layer or two as you need them and not having to thaw the whole lot out.
Jack.
I have had success in freezing them in Chinese takeaway containers with seawater. I do my bait prawns the same way when I catch them fresh. Cheers
As far as keeping them alive during a trip, we use two buckets with handles that fit inside each other. We find constant water changes are best so one bucket has heaps of small holes drilled in the bottom. You out the yabbies in this bucket and fill the other with salt water and put the yabby bucket inside the water one. When it comes time for a water change its as simple as lifting the yabby bucket out and letting it drain, and just changing the water in the other bucket.
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