Snorkelling for crays?

Hey guys never tried catching crays but was wondering if you could snorkel for them in shallow water under 5m? Went for a dip in one of the bays at garden island the other day and the crackling sound underwater was almost deafening! A guy I know said to dangle a dead wrasse or fish In front of the ledges and holes to draw them out then nab them? Not sure how much truth there is to his story but wanted to know what you guys think, I'd be happy just to get one!

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Posts: 917

Date Joined: 04/12/09

Watch out for the wobby's

Thu, 2011-12-08 12:22

Watch out for the wobby's beau haha.

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Forever learning with fishing

beau's picture

Posts: 4104

Date Joined: 24/01/10

Haha funny you say that coz

Thu, 2011-12-08 12:29

Haha funny you say that coz the guy I'm talking about went to grab a cray and a huge wobby grabbed his hand and his mate had to grab it by the tail to get it off haha

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Spicey's picture

Posts: 215

Date Joined: 17/01/11

Can be done

Thu, 2011-12-08 12:23

Sure you can snorkle or "freedive" for crays. Just need to be handy with the loop and be good at holding your breath. It pays to wear a weight belt to get you on the bottom when trying to loop them and use a torch. It's not that easy but definatley possible with a little practice. As far as baiting them out of as hole that might be a slow process you are better off just hunting around for them.

Good luck Beau !

Posts: 809

Date Joined: 01/05/09

you sure can

Thu, 2011-12-08 12:31

everytim i go for crays its in 1-15ish m water and i only snorkle, most days at rotto we get our 12 in around 1-3 hours. my mate on saturday went snorkeling and got a 3.7kg cray and a few other jumbos, he goes about 2-3 times a week and bags out everytime in under a couple of hours.

southcity104's picture

Posts: 1659

Date Joined: 27/01/09

behind GI gets hit pretty hard in the shallows

Thu, 2011-12-08 12:46

A little deeper and you'll do well

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"Its a life style job"

Posts: 53

Date Joined: 19/08/11

 If you see a rock underwater

Thu, 2011-12-08 17:56

 If you see a rock underwater there's a decent chance there will be crays under it. They aint called 'cockroaches of the sea' for nothing.

I know a little ledge north of the river metro that's in about 5ft of water and less than 25m off the sand which realiably produces 2- 6 crays every time I hit it. 

Get yourself a torch and find the dark caves and cracks underneath the rock, thats where they will be hiding.

Dizzy's picture

Posts: 753

Date Joined: 21/02/11

Although it's been a little

Thu, 2011-12-08 18:19

Although it's been a little while I'm a mad keen freediver - all started as a 6yr old in the 70's diving with my old man while he was getting MONSTER crays freediving at Steep Point.

Lately I've been thinking about looking for a few crays myself in 10-15m+

 

Then I started thinking it might be safer to be on the bottom with tanks rather than floating around looking like shark bait !   

smash's picture

Posts: 434

Date Joined: 01/12/10

another trick

Fri, 2011-12-09 00:08

get a dead occy, tie it to the end of a broom stick and shove it under the ledge.

Or another, Im told by a somewhat less than ethical acquantance-a squirty bottle of bleach with a tube, one puff under the ledge...

beau's picture

Posts: 4104

Date Joined: 24/01/10

Thanks for all the tips guys,

Fri, 2011-12-09 09:13

Thanks for all the tips guys, should I be trying sooner rather than later or will they always be in shallow as I have heard they "walk"

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Brody's picture

Posts: 1021

Date Joined: 06/02/07

Now will be your best bet

Fri, 2011-12-09 09:18

Now will be your best bet Beau, for sure.

beau's picture

Posts: 4104

Date Joined: 24/01/10

Cheers brody I might get out

Fri, 2011-12-09 11:53

Cheers brody I might get out on the weekend then

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