Fishing Nets, Bait Nets, Bait Traps, Cast Nets, Crab Pots & more!

Pots & traps

When crabbing in this area, we don’t take notice of the standard rule that you don’t catch a crab in a month without an R in it.  (That is, you don’t usually catch crabs in winter).  We generally catch crabs all year around, but obviously some months are more productive than others.  Crabs can be particularly good and crabby after a rain event.  This is simply because the fresh water flushes them out of their burrows and into the saltwater streams, therefore making them more accessible for people trying to catch them.  You only must cast your mind back not that far to remember when there was only wire crab pots and no such thing as a soft mesh crab pot.  Now there are several choices of crab pots, not to mention sizes and styles.  The one determining factor which makes a “good” crab pot in to a “great” crab pot is FRESH BAIT!  Crabs do not like rotten bait.

Bait/Prawns & Nets

When gathering live bait in the river, the preferred method is cast netting either from your boat or from the boat ramps or pontoons.  The most common bait is banana prawn/ mullet/herring.  During the winter months herring are prolific in the river.  Whilst during the other months there is mullet and depending on water clarity and time of year, banana prawns can be found all throughout the river. These are obviously the ideal and best bait for threadfin salmon and barramundi (the two most sought-after species in the Fitzroy River). 

Cast nets come in a range of different styles:

• bottom pocket
• top pocket
• draw string
• top and bottom pocket
• cotton
• mono
• multi mono
• drag net (not recommended in the river due to crocodiles)

Sizes of cast net range from 6 foot to 12 foot and size of mesh is 1 inch or ¾ inch.