Winter fishing is for those of us who are CRAY-zy enough to head out in the blistering cold, it’s the season to be brave and bare the freezing temperatures, all in the name of netting some Murray Cray, our favourite crustacean.

Read are our top tips to increase your Murray Cray catch rate.

Bait

Murray Cray have an appetite that rivals that of their freshwater mates with the same initials, Murray Cod. They eat anything and everything and we’ve been hearing reports of them being caught on bait including the likes of capsicum, rabbit, sheeps head, chicken necks, apricots and even potatoes.

What do we find works best? Carp, fresh meat and offal or pierced tins of dog or cat food. Make sure whatever bait you go for you tie it to the middle of the net.

Where to drop your nets

You’ve got your nets baited and ready to go, now its all about placement, to make sure you coax those Murray Cray out and about and get them taking the bait.

You want to drop your nets adjacent to fallen timber and banks in no less then 2 meters of slow-moving water.

Retrieval

When retrieving your net, you should pick up any slack line until your directly above the net, then pull the net off the riverbed with purpose. Nothing worse than watching those Murray Cray escape the net.

Regulations

Murray Cray are extremely slow growing and can take up to 9 year to reach legal length. We need to look after these spiky crays, so please follow the regulations and check out VFA website here, for more information. As a quick reference;

Murray Cray have a slot limit, from the eye socket to the carapace is 10cm with the maximum being 12cm. Be sure to pick up a cray measuring device.

Berried females, carrying eggs under their tales, should be released immediately.

There is daily bag limit of two per licenced fisho and a possession limit of four.

Happy crayfishing!!