Northwest Fishing Reports

Besides live worms, what live baits are allowed in Washington freshwater lakes? You can't use live fish (especially and including gamefish) of any kind for bait, correct? I was trying to find something in the Regs, and could only find this under Statewide Freshwater Rules on page 30:


It is unlawful to possess or use live aquatic
animals as bait, except:

1. Live aquatic animals (other than fish)
collected from the water being fished.

2. Live sand shrimp.

3. Live forage fish in the Columbia River
downstream of the Rocky Point/Tongue
Point line.

I read number one as being... if you catch a crawdad or a frog from the lake you are fishing, you can use it for bait. Is that correct? But you cannot take a crawdad from Pine Lake and use it in Beaver Lake?

I don't want to use live bait. I'm just curious because a report I read got me thinking about it. In Cali I occasionally used live crawdads and I even tried a frog once. It was so sad, it kept trying to get the hook out of it's mouth with it's little froggy hands. Didn't even catch a bass with it either. Killed it for nothing. Funny how things haunt you. Nowadays, I don't even like to use live worms.

Anyway, back to the question. Am I reading and understanding number one correctly?

You are correct! You can fish with say a crawdad from the same waters you caught it from but can not use it in a nearby lake or stream. one reason is to help keep advasive species such as the "red crayfish" that is currently taking over several of our lakes buy being more agressive than the the native ones from entering waters were they are not yet in. same applies to those that may use aquatic bugs/snails/clams, etc. Frogs can be tricky even being used from the same waters as many are protected in some form.

Give it a bamboo shampoo... and then it's not live bait,, but seriously FRESH bait.

The Quadfather wrote:Give it a bamboo shampoo... and then it's not live bait,, but seriously FRESH bait.

Huh?

Actually Chris, when I typed that post I was thinking about that crawdad you brought up in that log that almost made you jump out of your tube and into the water. It was like when Richard Dreyfuss's character in Jaws finds the shark tooth wedged into the hull of the boat, and then the scary, drowned guy's head kinda floats out of the hole in the boat and scares the crap out of him...that's how it was. lol.

panfisher wrote:You are correct! You can fish with say a crawdad from the same waters you caught it from but can not use it in a nearby lake or stream. one reason is to help keep advasive species such as the "red crayfish" that is currently taking over several of our lakes buy being more agressive than the the native ones from entering waters were they are not yet in. same applies to those that may use aquatic bugs/snails/clams, etc. Frogs can be tricky even being used from the same waters as many are protected in some form.

Thanks for clarifying. Anytime I have to read something like three times to try to understand it, it's better to get a second opinion.

hookorcrook wrote:

The Quadfather wrote:Give it a bamboo shampoo... and then it's not live bait,, but seriously FRESH bait.

Huh?

Actually Chris, when I typed that post I was thinking about that crawdad you brought up in that log that almost made you jump out of your tube and into the water. It was like when Richard Dreyfuss's character in Jaws finds the shark tooth wedged into the hull of the boat, and then the scary, drowned guy's head kinda floats out of the hole in the boat and scares the crap out of him...that's how it was. lol.

LOL Suzanne. That is so funny you remember that moment. Yeah, I tend to startle easy.
What I meant by the Bamboo Shampoo was.... any live bait that you find,, crawdad,, gold fish from Petco, etc. Once they have had a wack on the head, and are no longer "Live" they are good to go!

YEP!!!:thumleft: