# Legal Bait?



## Hunter7 (Mar 14, 2009)

Is it legal to use shrimp as bait in Utah.


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

Nope and the cat fish love it. Just make sure its uncooked cuz it will work way better.


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

You can accomplish the same thing by catching crawdads, taking the tails and hookin em up. I used to catch craws by lantern light on the Jordan and then the fishing would be lights out using their tails to catch cats.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Riverrat77 said:


> You can accomplish the same thing by catching crawdads, taking the tails and hookin em up. I used to catch craws by lantern light on the Jordan and then the fishing would be lights out using their tails to catch cats.


I am confused, what does the catching have to do with a lantern failing or lights out? :wink: That would be pretty fun. At Powell we fish for several hours at night turning on the big flood lights off of the houseboat swim deck. I may have to try the shrimp this year, but then again Larry the Cable Guy said that it does not make any sense to sacrifice bait that is $10/lb for fish that is $1/lb, so he just ate the shrimp. :lol:


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

Check out the regs on Crayfish.
They are different than shrimp, if I remember correct.


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

fatbass said:


> Nor-tah said:
> 
> 
> > *Yep *and the cat fish love it. Just make sure its uncooked cuz it will work way better.
> ...


  Thanks FB. I read it as Illegal :mrgreen:


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Grandpa D said:


> Check out the regs on Crayfish.
> They are different than shrimp, if I remember correct.


Agreed.... I used them where I caught them so it may be different if you take them from Strawberry and use them for cats at Utah Lake or something like that.

Huge... nice one!! :lol:


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

Can only use them in the body of water you catch them in. So you if catch them in utah lake then you cna use them. You cant catch them in the jordan river then go to utah lake and fish with them.For shrimp yes you can use them. Stick them out in the sun for a couple days and get them all stinky and they work great good luck.


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

2009 Proclamation said:


> Use of _*live *_crayfish for bait is legal only on the water where the crayfish is captured. It is unlawful to transport _*live *_crayfish away from the water where they were captured.


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

dubob said:


> 2009 Proclamation said:
> 
> 
> > Use of _*live *_crayfish for bait is legal only on the water where the crayfish is captured. It is unlawful to transport _*live *_crayfish away from the water where they were captured.


So does that mean if you kill a bunch you can take them to another water and use them as bait? If so, I might start collecting some "fresh shrimp" tails to try down at Utah Lake this summer.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

Riverrat77 said:


> quote]
> So does that mean if you kill a bunch you can take them to another water and use them as bait? If so, I might start collecting some "fresh shrimp" tails to try down at Utah Lake this summer.


No I asked that same question to a fish cop and he told me no. You cna use them live in the water you cath them in. but you can't take them dead to another place. inless they have changed that. That was many years ago when I got told that. I dont see a problom with it as long as they are dead. it just like catching minows and fishing with them at a differnt lake. Hope some one can post up the right info.


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## Hunt1Fish2 (Dec 19, 2007)

Please do not transport bait caught in one water to any other water. With the various diseases out there, it's just too risky even if it is still legal in some cases.

Here is a reference from the 2009 fishing guide book.

"Bait and baitfish restrictions: The state’s bait and baitfish restrictions prohibit bait items that have a high probability of spreading aquatic diseases. Please see pages 8–9 for a complete list."


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

Again, the only restriction on crayfish listed deals with live crayfish. Nothing is said about dead crayfish or dead parts of crayfish. The rest of the list on pages 8 and 9 deal with fish and fish parts. Crayfish are not fish; they are a crustacean. I guess an inquiry to the DNR is in order for an official ruling on this one.


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

I sent the following query to the DWR Comment address:

_A discussion on the Utah Wildlife Network Discussion Forum has brought up a question concerning the use of crayfish as bait for fishing I Utah. Several opinions have been discussed but no clear cut answer has become apparent with regard to the legal issues involved. Therefore, I'm hoping to get an official opinion from your office with regard to this question.

The proclamation and administrative rules posted on the DWR web site specifically stated that live crayfish may only be used as bait in the water in which they were caught. It is further stated that live crayfish may not be transported away from the water in which they were caught. However, there is nothing written that restricts the use of dead crayfish as bait anywhere in the proclamation or administrative rules. So the question is this - can dead crayfish or crayfish parts (tails) be used as bait in a body of water other than the body of water in which the crayfish was caught? Put another way, can I catch and kill crayfish taken in Strawberry Reservoir, transport them to Utah Lake, and use them for catfish bait in Utah Lake?

One poster said he asked a Utah Conservation Officer this question several years ago and was told by the CO that this was an illegal practice. I can not verify that this did or did not take place, but I can not find any written statements that would support that statement by the CO. There are some written rules that deal with dead fish and fish parts, but nothing dealing with dead crayfish or crayfish parts. And technically, crayfish are not fish; they are crustaceans.

So what say you?_


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

Here is the reply back from the DWR:

_I'm sorry to not have replied quicker, but I wanted to research this topic.

Bottom line is it is not illegal. Dead crawdads can be used as bait and moved from water to water.

Now, In talking to the fisheries folks, we have some concerns about moving any dead fish or aquatic pieces and parts for any reason and placing them into another water. While there are no genetic pollution issues to deal with, there are several disease issues which concern us. There is nothing specific about crawdads which isn't also a concern with other fish species used for bait(red sided shiners, utah chubs etc.) The fisheries folks will be talking to the disease lab folks and try and determine actual risk or preceived risk and make changes in the future.

For now, there is no regulation prohibiting the use of dead crawfish as bait._


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