Here's my 2 tips that worked for me. Use cotton instead of fishing line - easier to tie the bait and also felt better in the fingers when retrieving. 5 feet of cotton is plenty , less to drag in and they will find it - not so sure that the yabbies are actually in the middle of the pond.
Did the same thing with the folks all around Seymour back in 70's early 80's.... Dads were sinking tubes of Carlton all day, us kids running batshit everywhere, back home for more tubes (dads) and a great feed of yabbies!! They really were the best days out. Stinking hot, bull ants everywhere, party back at the folks place and all us kids trying to sneak a tube or two....Ah the memories.. 🤣🤣
Hi Robbie Nice one! Used to do a very similar thing in the UK when we were still allowed to fish for our native white crayfish. We used to thread some worms onto some thick woolen thread and cast this out on a static line. The strands of wool would often get stuck in the crayfish claws making then easier to haul in without them letting go.
G'day Robbie! This takes me back to my childhood in Puckapunyal! This was the only way we knew to catch a feed of yabbies! That and catching Redfin and crays from the Goulburn in the 1960"s, near Seymore!
Awesome mate. The colour of that dam is spot on for yabbies. I usually tie a twig or a loop about 20cm from the bait so I know exactly when to strike with the net.
I too (after reading your your comments) have had an upbringing of catching local freshwater crayfish on a piece of string with meat attached...for me it was mainly Gilgies, Koonaks and of course a good sized Marron or two if I was lucky...depending on what we were hunting, back in the day...such great memories ...thanks Robbie, great to reconnect with an old past time...cheers again from W.A 😁👍
Awesome mate well done I'm sure they cooked up well. My missus hates when I go yabbying.. she tries to call me but I always have a yabby on the other line
Great video mate. My thoughts. Been said already I'm sure. 1, shorter lines and use cotton. 2 tie a tiny twig or some small indicator 30cm up from bait that way you can confidently put net behind the yabby . If it let's go at last second it will often flick back into the net.
What a great early spring session, is this a sign of things to come when it warms up proper. I’m looking forward to it Thanks for sharing Love your work Healthy habits
Reminds me of when I was a kid…. We would ride our bikes down to the butcher and get 5c worth of yabbie meat (which was a good bag of off cuts) then down to the channel’s and spend the day catching yabbies just like this. We would pinch Mums sewing cotton for the string. Great memories. Time to get the nets sorted for the up coming yabbie season.
Thanks Butch. You got ripped off, my butcher use to give us a bag of off cuts for free. LOL These days supermarkets have found a way to monetise the off cuts. LOL
I've been catching my yabbies this way for years, such a good way to get the yabbies and makes it a bit more fun if you've got kids with you. I've found that leaving the lambs fry or lambs heart out of the fridge for a day and letting it get a bit of stink makes it work even better.
My favourite technique for catching yabbie as kid and have taught my kids the same way. Did the yabbies have soft shells? Might want to tell the viewers to check for eggs and throw them back. Love your work.
Thanks so much mate. Definitely a good reminder for me to do that. I always check them and usually mention it, buy need to remember it each time. I didn't actually have any with eggs. I wonder what time if the year they carry eggs?
I used to do a lot of string and bait yabbying with my dad in the day. He used swear by putting the bait in a ladies stocking. Rekkened the stocking caught up the claws and made it a bit tougher for the yabby to let go. Just for consideration.
Robbie this was one of my favourite things to growing up the old meat and string you really brought some memories back for me it's new year's eve and I'm bed sick with covid it's my first time getting the dreaded thing but thanks for the vid mate
Mate, I have not seen one of those nets since I was a kid, doing exactly what you are doing. Once at the beach I managed to get a little baby flounder up Mornington way with that net and the good ol goggles with snorkel from Kmart! Great stuff mate, loved watching the kid in ya do things the old fashioned way and showing that it still works and is more fun than throwing a net out and coming back in the arvo! TY for the smiles and memories. Stay safe, God bless.
Thank you so much for your kind words mate. This really is such a fun way to catch yabbies. I wonder how well your kmart goggles would work in this water? Haha
Fishing like this for yabbies was probably my first experience of freshwater fishing about 45 years ago. I like using aline about 6-8 feet long. It reduces your chance of finding them a little, but it's less chance of them getting spooked and letting go when you pull them up. The big thing for me is trying to stay calm and not ripping it out of their claws lol. With a result like this in September, it looks like it could be a good season ahead!
Imagine that area with yabby pots!!! With the line technique, would a splitshot 40 or so cm from the bait help you know when the yabbie is about to come up? Especially in dirty water. Either way, love your videos, always inspiring!
I don't really get to catch yabbies that often because all the dams have marron and they eat the yabbies but it is really fun catching marron and they taste great but if I do want to catch yabbies I just catch them in small creeks where there are no marron and it makes it more exciting when I do catch one and they look really cool when they live in clear water.
I wonder if putting the bait meat in some onion/veggie bag netting would keep the bait together and also help tangle their legs making them easier to catch?
Hi Robbie, on a different subject, crayfishing. I do a lot of crayfishing here in Vic, always in creeks. But I have family in tumut nsw and they reckon blowering dam is full of crayfish. I was always told they need running water. What are your thoughts on this
Eyye Robbie this dam obviously holds yabbies. Have you tried yabby traps in the same place. IMHO it would be interesting to see how many go in the traps compared to meat and string. Keep up the good work Ol Mate, you still provide great vids.
Thanks so much Pete. I actually have been back with open top lift nets. The dam has risen a foot thanks to a downpour. That video will be out next week. 👍👍
Mate , that just brought back memories of when I was 6,7,8 yr old , catching yabbies on a string with meat . No yabbie traps around back then just old school feel the line for a yabby . Great catch for this early in the season Robbie , hope you enjoy them and thank you for a wonderful vid. PS. Do you reckon you get better size yabbies with this method due to competing for food ?
Thanks so much Luke. I think the size of yabbies is largely determined by how many people use the area. The more pressure a waterway sees the smaller the average size of yabbies tends to be.
Just curious since these are meat eaters and not vegans I wonder how they feed themselves when you do not hand feed them, is it mainly bugs and worms or what ever insects are crawling on the bottom ? Also do you know if the big spike covered crayfish you have caught before, do they prey on this smaller species , or are they located in different habitat ? Thanks for the video
Hi mate, from my understanding yabbies are actually vegetarian, and they eat the meat to get it out if their water. I'm not sure how true this is but it is commonly believed. I don't believe the big spiky crayfish eat yabbies, not that I'm aware of. Crayfish need fresh flowinf water so aren't found in these dirty dams, but we do find small yabbies in fresh flowing water too.
@@robbiefishing after I commented I started doing some searches on the internet and they said that they are cannibalistic and they will eat the smaller ones and any dead carrying in the water whether it's fish or anything else that has died so it doesn't look like they're vegetarians. Although it's very surprising you use grass before and they go after grass LOL maybe they just like a salad every once in awhile;-)
Good day rob Great stuff , I always find these videos addictive.. a question on the distribution of there little guys.. do they naturally occur in these venues by natural migration or are they artificially introduced..🤔 Hope your all well mate and as you warm up we are on course for our first frost lol...thank you. 😎🏴 P.s note the change in my flag.. as a mark of my disgust in our sham government 🎣
Haha thanks Michael. Your government has a few dramas going on. So does ours. LOL They migrate naturally mate. Via birds, floods etc... they even walk across land at night some times.
Here's my 2 tips that worked for me.
Use cotton instead of fishing line - easier to tie the bait and also felt better in the fingers when retrieving.
5 feet of cotton is plenty , less to drag in and they will find it - not so sure that the yabbies are actually in the middle of the pond.
Hey mate thanks for the tips. 👍
Did the same thing with the folks all around Seymour back in 70's early 80's.... Dads were sinking tubes of Carlton all day, us kids running batshit everywhere, back home for more tubes (dads) and a great feed of yabbies!! They really were the best days out. Stinking hot, bull ants everywhere, party back at the folks place and all us kids trying to sneak a tube or two....Ah the memories.. 🤣🤣
Hi Robbie
Nice one!
Used to do a very similar thing in the UK when we were still allowed to fish for our native white crayfish.
We used to thread some worms onto some thick woolen thread and cast this out on a static line. The strands of wool would often get stuck in the crayfish claws making then easier to haul in without them letting go.
Living in Cowra for only 8 months I’m surrounded by dams. Watching all your yabbie videos again as I’m busting to catch and cook some 🤗
Thanks Sharon. That's awesome, I hope you can catch a few and cook 'em up. Fresh fish is beautiful.
G'day Robbie! This takes me back to my childhood in Puckapunyal! This was the only way we knew to catch a feed of yabbies! That and catching Redfin and crays from the Goulburn in the 1960"s, near Seymore!
Awesome mate. The colour of that dam is spot on for yabbies. I usually tie a twig or a loop about 20cm from the bait so I know exactly when to strike with the net.
Thanks Glen, and what an awesome idea. Fly fisherman use a Strike indicator,, I call call tgis a yabby indicator. Haha
I too (after reading your your comments) have had an upbringing of catching local freshwater crayfish on a piece of string with meat attached...for me it was mainly Gilgies, Koonaks and of course a good sized Marron or two if I was lucky...depending on what we were hunting, back in the day...such great memories ...thanks Robbie, great to reconnect with an old past time...cheers again from W.A 😁👍
How I learned to catch them in Wakerie in the Murray tributaries. Late 70s, early 80s.
Awesome mate well done I'm sure they cooked up well. My missus hates when I go yabbying.. she tries to call me but I always have a yabby on the other line
Hahahaha Thanks mate. They sure did cook uo amazing.
Comedy like that should be comended!! Nice one Joel 🤣👍
Great video mate.
My thoughts. Been said already I'm sure.
1, shorter lines and use cotton.
2 tie a tiny twig or some small indicator 30cm up from bait that way you can confidently put net behind the yabby . If it let's go at last second it will often flick back into the net.
What a great early spring session, is this a sign of things to come when it warms up proper. I’m looking forward to it
Thanks for sharing
Love your work
Healthy habits
Reminds me of when I was a kid…. We would ride our bikes down to the butcher and get 5c worth of yabbie meat (which was a good bag of off cuts) then down to the channel’s and spend the day catching yabbies just like this. We would pinch Mums sewing cotton for the string. Great memories.
Time to get the nets sorted for the up coming yabbie season.
Thanks Butch. You got ripped off, my butcher use to give us a bag of off cuts for free. LOL
These days supermarkets have found a way to monetise the off cuts. LOL
@@robbiefishing when I had my shop I would give the kids it for free.
Yabby meat to catch yabbies?
Some nice ones mate. I recon the old meat and string method the most productive if you don't mind putting in the extra work. 👍
Hey Robbie , after watching your vids I’m now inspired to go get some yabbies & even some crays. Thanks mate 🎣 😊
Thanks John. Good luck mate.
Not a surprise it was a good Yabbying day, we never really had a winter this year.
I've been catching my yabbies this way for years, such a good way to get the yabbies and makes it a bit more fun if you've got kids with you. I've found that leaving the lambs fry or lambs heart out of the fridge for a day and letting it get a bit of stink makes it work even better.
Hi mate, thanks for the great tip. Theu certainly do love the meat when it is putrid. Haha
wonderful to see. The best way to yabbie it’s more exciting great size yabbies excellent video
Thank you so much Peter. This sure is a lot of fun.
Looking forward to all the new yabby videos this season.
My favourite technique for catching yabbie as kid and have taught my kids the same way. Did the yabbies have soft shells? Might want to tell the viewers to check for eggs and throw them back. Love your work.
Thanks so much mate. Definitely a good reminder for me to do that. I always check them and usually mention it, buy need to remember it each time. I didn't actually have any with eggs. I wonder what time if the year they carry eggs?
I used to do a lot of string and bait yabbying with my dad in the day. He used swear by putting the bait in a ladies stocking. Rekkened the stocking caught up the claws and made it a bit tougher for the yabby to let go. Just for consideration.
Thanks Peter. I remember people saying that when I was a kit. I must try it.
Robbie this was one of my favourite things to growing up the old meat and string you really brought some memories back for me it's new year's eve and I'm bed sick with covid it's my first time getting the dreaded thing but thanks for the vid mate
Thanks so much Dave. I hope you make a speedy recovery mate. I too have avoided it. Everyone around me has had it, but I have dodged it.
@@robbiefishing thanks Robbie good on you!
Mate, I have not seen one of those nets since I was a kid, doing exactly what you are doing. Once at the beach I managed to get a little baby flounder up Mornington way with that net and the good ol goggles with snorkel from Kmart!
Great stuff mate, loved watching the kid in ya do things the old fashioned way and showing that it still works and is more fun than throwing a net out and coming back in the arvo!
TY for the smiles and memories.
Stay safe,
God bless.
Thank you so much for your kind words mate. This really is such a fun way to catch yabbies. I wonder how well your kmart goggles would work in this water? Haha
The little yabbies are so cute and about the size of my baby blue yabbies ❤
Fishing like this for yabbies was probably my first experience of freshwater fishing about 45 years ago. I like using aline about 6-8 feet long. It reduces your chance of finding them a little, but it's less chance of them getting spooked and letting go when you pull them up.
The big thing for me is trying to stay calm and not ripping it out of their claws lol.
With a result like this in September, it looks like it could be a good season ahead!
Thanks mate. Haha I'm a bit the same. Not so much staying calm, but staying patient. LOL I just want to get it in. Haha
Robbie. Have you got a list of great places to go get yabbies
Hu Daniel, i do mate, but it is a personal list.
I really can’t wait to catch yabbies and cook them it will h first time eating a yabby
Thanks champ. They are the absolutely best food in the world. Haha
@@robbiefishing hahaha I have heard that Lmao.
@@nathansoutbackfishing One thing about yabbies, you know they are fresh, caught and cooked, does not get any fresher.👍
@@cudgee7144 haha true
Great vid mate I went out yesterday and the day before and got 81 over the 2 days they went our dam
Thanks mate, and well done on your yabbies.
Great work Robbie.
Thanks Deb. 👍
Yabbies galore Robbie 👍👍
Good stuff Robbie cheers from Tassie
Imagine that area with yabby pots!!! With the line technique, would a splitshot 40 or so cm from the bait help you know when the yabbie is about to come up? Especially in dirty water. Either way, love your videos, always inspiring!
Thanks mate. What a great idea with the split shot.
Well done Robbie I’m going to be sending you a letter soon
Nice to see some early yabbies Robbie. Great video. Have you put some net's back in that spot to see how many you can catch?
Thabks mate, I sure have.
I don't really get to catch yabbies that often because all the dams have marron and they eat the yabbies but it is really fun catching marron and they taste great but if I do want to catch yabbies I just catch them in small creeks where there are no marron and it makes it more exciting when I do catch one and they look really cool when they live in clear water.
Thats a good problem to have mate. Haha I would love to catch Marron some day.
I wonder if putting the bait meat in some onion/veggie bag netting would keep the bait together and also help tangle their legs making them easier to catch?
Hey Alex, I think it would mate. Ladies stockings are meant to work well for this reason. I believe it is best to take her leg out first though. LOL 🤣
Great yabbying, Robbie some how l was under the impression that yabbying was only the months ending in r
Thanks Neil. This was Septemner which ends in R. Thay makes sense to me, bit I do still get a fee in winter sometimes. Not nearly as many though.
You finally did it my way! see how much better it is!!!? 😂😂😂😂🎉
Haha I have several videos like this on my channel. I absolutely love it.
It really is great. If you can do it one time at Albert Park, we used to get absolute monsters in there!
Hi Robbie, on a different subject, crayfishing. I do a lot of crayfishing here in Vic, always in creeks. But I have family in tumut nsw and they reckon blowering dam is full of crayfish. I was always told they need running water. What are your thoughts on this
Hi mate, I believe they need running water but I could be wrong. Maybe where the arms flow in could be worth a try in season.
Robbie, great video. Mate i use my fishing rod with bait on the end, works a treat. You can flick them out rather than using a net
Hi Geogg, thanks so much for the great tip mate. I must try that some day.
Eyye Robbie this dam obviously holds yabbies. Have you tried yabby traps in the same place. IMHO it would be interesting to see how many go in the traps compared to meat and string. Keep up the good work Ol Mate, you still provide great vids.
Thanks so much Pete. I actually have been back with open top lift nets. The dam has risen a foot thanks to a downpour. That video will be out next week. 👍👍
Nice work Robbie, why not accumulate a few for fishing and keep em at home ?
Hey mate, I prefer smaller ones than this for fishing and have spots that I can go and catch them when I need them
13 great yabbies, just a question, will you show how you cook them or a recipe? great vid.
Thanks Kev. No cooking footage this time mate. I have in the past, and I will again but not this time sorry mate.
How good the old meat 🥩 & string early yabbies with Robbie good on ya mate!
Thabks so much Blaine. This was soooo much fun.
great video mate. How you gonna cook em up??
Thanks Ed. I just cooked them the plain way mate, boiled in water with some lemon and a bit of salt and vinegar. The simplest and the best I reckon..
Big dam you only scratch it need to be back with your nets lol nice video again well done cheers 👍
Thanks so much mate.
Happy days👍🏿
Very old school Robbie, but just goes to show that the method still works!
Thanks Frank. Simple and effective. Perfect for motorbike adventures. I can see a few motorbike yabbying videos coming up. Haha
I have the exact same butterfly net, I use it to catch my chooks when I sell them 🤣
Hahahaha
Hey robbie I would love to see you catch yabbies like some us counterparts do with some bacon fat and a fishing rod.
Hey Steve that sounds like a lot of fun mate.
Awesome! Good to see they're starting to move. I'll have to suss out the back waters here soon 😁 nice vid! 🙂
Thanks mate. I can't wait to get out and do more yabbying.
@@robbiefishingI bet, I can't either!
I use socks to put the bait in
Good one mate enjoyed that one 👍👍👍👍
Thanks so much Cam. 👍
This so funny did this yesterday got heaps on a lot of footage I’m leaving to go to Adelaide tomorrow going fishing for salmon and carp
Thanks mate, and awesome. I hope you have a ripper holiday. 👍
@@robbiefishing yeah will do Robbie I’m looking forward to it so much
Doing better than me, I’ve only got a couple moving round my spots so far
Thanks Geoff. It won't be long mate. It's quite mild tonight. I reckon another week or two and it will be game on. 🦞🦞
Hey You … Awesome video 😂
Mate , that just brought back memories of when I was 6,7,8 yr old , catching yabbies on a string with meat . No yabbie traps around back then just old school feel the line for a yabby .
Great catch for this early in the season Robbie , hope you enjoy them and thank you for a wonderful vid.
PS. Do you reckon you get better size yabbies with this method due to competing for food ?
Thanks so much Luke. I think the size of yabbies is largely determined by how many people use the area. The more pressure a waterway sees the smaller the average size of yabbies tends to be.
Nice feed of yabbies, you need to throw out a few traps. Anyway, enjoy 😉
Remember though opera house traps are illegal and you don't want to kill any turtles
Just curious since these are meat eaters and not vegans I wonder how they feed themselves when you do not hand feed them, is it mainly bugs and worms or what ever insects are crawling on the bottom ? Also do you know if the big spike covered crayfish you have caught before, do they prey on this smaller species , or are they located in different habitat ? Thanks for the video
Hi mate, from my understanding yabbies are actually vegetarian, and they eat the meat to get it out if their water. I'm not sure how true this is but it is commonly believed.
I don't believe the big spiky crayfish eat yabbies, not that I'm aware of. Crayfish need fresh flowinf water so aren't found in these dirty dams, but we do find small yabbies in fresh flowing water too.
@@robbiefishing after I commented I started doing some searches on the internet and they said that they are cannibalistic and they will eat the smaller ones and any dead carrying in the water whether it's fish or anything else that has died so it doesn't look like they're vegetarians. Although it's very surprising you use grass before and they go after grass LOL maybe they just like a salad every once in awhile;-)
Love these vids 🔥
Thanks so much Jack. 👍
Yabbie dabbie doooo !
Bet they taste good
Thanks mate they were magnificent.
nice watching :)
Thanks mate.
Yabby dabby doooo!
You should have titled this "Yabbying with my shadow"
Hahahaha it's amazing how dirty water enhances shadows. LOL
@@robbiefishing it was a cool effect mate
You have a nice feed there, Robbie 👍🏼. It’s been a while since I’ve had any myself.
Thanks Wayne, me too mate. Hopefully with some warmer weather they will start coming in thick and fast. Haha
'Where's the meat?' That's what she said! ;oP
LOL
Good day rob
Great stuff , I always find these videos addictive.. a question on the distribution of there little guys.. do they naturally occur in these venues by natural migration or are they artificially introduced..🤔
Hope your all well mate and as you warm up we are on course for our first frost lol...thank you.
😎🏴
P.s note the change in my flag.. as a mark of my disgust in our sham government 🎣
Haha thanks Michael. Your government has a few dramas going on. So does ours. LOL
They migrate naturally mate. Via birds, floods etc... they even walk across land at night some times.
@@robbiefishing remarkable creatures, I believe eels also have the ability to travel across land ..?
@@robbiefishing Wet rainy nights they go walkabout, especially in summer.
We went the other day using meat and string and got 200 eater yabbies in an hour
WOW that is epic well done mate. You must have been super busy reeling them in during that hour.
Sometimes I just think about milo
LOL What?
The pond looks like it’s filled with milo
Hell good day
Species name?
Cherax Destructor.
BEEF KIDNEY WHOOP WHOOOP AUGUST SEP BEST month if ya wondering every month with R IN IT July arg sep oct nov dec
Yoo roight??