Hi Everyone,
Have my first real trip to Tinaroo planned for this arvo, and am wondering how i should keep the redclaw that i catch so that i can bring them home.
I frequently go catching cherobin, and usually just discard the head and keep the tails on ice. Is it the same way for redclaw, or do i just leave it whole?
Cheers,
Big Ben
I reckon they wont do so well in the aquarium if you take the heads of Big Ben!
I brought a swag home from Awoonga last trip there, I just kept them alive in a bucket with an aerator, and put them in the Aquarium when I got home (no not to eat, but as pets for the kids). Would seem the easiest way to keep them fresh if your looking to eat them!
How big do they grow?? Are they hard to keep?
Put them in an esky/foam box etc alive. No water but with a ice brick (one of those blue things) or similar. they will last for days if you keep them cool and out of the heat/sun. Also use to put a moistened synthetic mesh or thin foam rubber between layers of crays in the foam box's.
Do not cover them in water as they will pollute it quickly and suffocate or poison themselves with waste.
they will stay alive out of water for a week if kept cool, dark and moist (for eating purposes) discard any dead ones before cooking as they spoil very quickly after death unless you are certain they were alive a couple of hours ago. Only keep them in the box for a couple of days max if you want to put them in a tank or dam.
enjoy
Cheers Murf
I dont know how big they grow in the wild but I have pulled them out of my ponds around 360g and have heard of and seen them up to 450g at other growers farms.Originally Posted by Barraless
they are easy to keep, just dont put them in with fancy fish if you like the fish, they will start dissapearing :eek: . Some of the native fish are fine.
They will not grow real quick in tanks as the food type is a problem. Dams full of detritus, algae, zooplanktons etc work best.
They will be agressive and rip each other appart if no shelter when they moult, but will live in quite high densities.
Make sure you have a heavy lid on tank as they will get out and wander around the house. Great if have been away for a few days :mad:
A single big male Redclaw looks kool for the kids in a small tank in their room
Cheers Murf
Thanks for the replies,
Will be trying them out of the next few days.
btw, i was talking about taking them home to eat, so they don't necessarily have to be alive, buts thanks anyway.
Will try putting them on ice.
Cheers,
Big Ben
Ice will be fine, cook when get home and will last a few or more days if in the fridge
but If you catch more than a feed keeping them alive is an option for a couple more feeds
Have fun
Murf
fantastic I will have to get my fish tank up and running
Hey Big Ben,
Tinaroo Redclaw are great to eat, however it has been awile since I have tried my luck with them. The numbers in Tinaroo now-adays are quite low, as a disease went through them before the year 2000 and since have been in decline. I find that Redclaw Pots are a good live-bait trap, as every time you go to get your pots back you will have a healthy supply of Mouth Almighty. I always used Half Boiled Spud, a few wings of fried chicken and Rockmelon in my pots, and some days I use to get close to 40 claw' a pot. I have had a mate catch one that went over a Kilo... It was a monster, but most are around 500g. Pots set on the ground in 8-10 metres of water with lots of structure around is your best bet... Just use your sounder.
I've never had any success with them in Tanks, and everyone that I know around here has not had any either... Even mates that own a Redclaw Farm out near Kalunga have had zero results. They require alot of maintenance... Best thing to do with em' is in a nice pot full of hot salty water and throw the meat in a Caesar Salad. Mmm!
Theo
Just a quick update,
We were up there from Thursday 18th to Sunday 21st and got a massive haul of redclaw.
I think over the 3 days we pulled in about 140 of them.
We had the pots in about 4-6m of water, using a half boiled spud and some goodo.
Setting the pots near structure was the key for us.
We knocked the head off the batches for the first few days and froze them straight down, then just put the ones from the final day down on ice for the trip back down the mountain, popped them in some boiling water for about 5-7mins when we got back, meat was perfect.
Unfortunately, no barra this trip, but will hopefully be hitting the dam again in the near future.
Cheers for everyone's help,
Big Ben
sounds like you had a good time and got a feed of crays.
Cheers Murf
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