I don’t know any kid who doesn’t get a kick out of catching yabbies…and quite a few adults as well….

I have used net traps, and the string with meat tied to the end method, as ways to pull in a feed of yabbies…but I have always preferred the string method. You get a chance to feel the critter on the end of the string and play it a little to catch it…

….trouble is, once the novelty of catching them wears off…the whole thing gets a bit boring, especially when you use a bait trap…it’s the least exciting…

I thought all that could change when I tried a new approach…yabby fishing!

Yep… I mean using a rod and hook rather than a string or net...and it gets interesting when you chase the bigger species like the Murray cray or Western Australian Marron.

The idea came to me while I was fishing the Goulburn river in Nagambie, Victoria some time ago. A few mates and I were after cod and Redfin and were bait fishing using worms…but we couldn’t keep our baits …’cause something was stealing them!

At first I thought it was small fish so I put on a small hook, real small, size 14!

The next bite I got, I hooked up – but it felt strange. When I got it to the surface I was surprised to see it was a big Murray cray…actually hooked in the mouth!

To cut a long story short we hooked about a dozen crays over the next couple of hours…and had a few laughs doing it….

…unhooking a big cray with a bad attitude and large claws takes a little skill…something one of my mates didn’t have (he may never touch type again!)

….anyway the whole adventure was such a laugh that I thought I’d apply a bit of “professionalism” to it and set up gear specifically for yabbies.

I have a garage full of bits and pieces of fishing gear and I put together some rod parts I could use. I also spoke to a Taiwanese friend who had a heap of experience with different types of fishing and he told me about the prawn fishing they do in Taiwan and Singapore…I was blown away! There was a whole industry around “prawning” as they call it.

After this I set up a few rigs and started experimenting with yabbies…and it was a buzz. I used small floats, small hooks and light sinkers.

I took a few old carbon rod sections to make up my rod and tied the line directly to the end.

The floats are important because they really tell you when a yabby is touching the bait…and they add the excitement of seeing the float disappear as a yabby takes the bait…

…”kids stuff “right?

Well, if you get good at it, and can pull in some decent crays then the whole thing goes from “childs play” to “grown ups” stuff!

Not only that but sometimes I actually hooked a fish…mainly roach and small redfin…but I wasn’t complaining.

I spent a bit of time researching the gear used in Taiwan and Singapore for fresh water prawns and shrimp. I adapted my gear to suit my fishing and ended up with a simple rig that worked.

I set up a 2 section carbon rod that is 2.4 metres long and added a fibreglass nibble tip. The carbon is light and stiff so I could feel the yabby.

The nibble tip was sensitive and very flexible so I didn’t pull the hook out of the yabby’s mouth when I struck (yes, I did have to strike to set the hook!)

(Note: You don’t need to go to the trouble of building a yabby rod like I did. One of my mates got a piece of thin wooden dowel he had lying around and cut some wire from a metal coat hanger to use as his nibble tip.)

The hooks are interesting. I started with small hooks, size 14 and even size 16, which are smaller than your little finger nail, but results were mixed.

I noticed that in Singapore they use bigger hooks made from very fine wire and no barb. The bigger hooks are much easier to get out of the yabby’s mouth…so I used some bigger, fine wire, hooks and pushed the barbs down with pliers…and it was easier and faster to unhook the yabbies.

I use a small, almost tiny float, as a bite indicator. I put a couple of split shot on the line so only the top of the float is out of the water…and I set it up so the bait is on the bottom…otherwise the yabbies and crays can’t get to it…

…as for bait, there’s a few you can use…worms, meat, chicken liver…but worms have worked best for me. A small piece worm on the tip of the hook has had good results.

I experimented with “yabby berley”! A few times I have  mixed some of the dirt on the bank where I’m fishing with a small amount of very finely chopped up worm…

I’ve added some water and made it into balls about the size of a golf ball and dropped it right where I was fishing. This has improved results sometimes…but not always.

Yabbies are most active in the warmer weather and it can be a real laugh with your mates, kids or partner even if they don’t have any fishing experience…

…and the best part is that yabbies have a beautiful delicate taste that some people prefer to lobster…and they’re a lot cheaper if you catch them yourself!

…So how have things played out on this yabby gig?

Well, I’ve used my yabby rig quite a few times…and it’s been a real HOOT!

 I used to  always take the gear when I went freshwater fishing and if there were  yabbies about, I’d give it a go.

…then, things changed.

I looked up the Victorian Government Recreational Fishing site and found out you can’t use hooks when going after yabbies…I was crushed!

So it was back to the old method…and not quite as much fun, but yabbies still taste good so I  chase them when I’m after a feed…

…and the technique still works, with the same rig and float,  if you tie on meat and use a hand held net to catch them. Using the float still adds that bit of excitement seeing it go under as the yabbie pulls.

Why not try yabbie fishing with a yabbie rod…

…just remember…no hooks!