The age-old art of yabbying WANGARATTA
Robbie Alexander
“What the hell is a yabby?” This is a question that I get asked a lot on the yabbying videos on my YouTube channel, usually by people from other countries. The word yabby comes from the word ‘yabba’, which was the name given to small crustaceans by the Aboriginal people, in particular the Wemba Wemba people who were believed to populate areas of the Murrumbidgee River catchment. Although the name ‘yabby’ is most commonly used to described the common yabby, scientifically known as Cherax destructor, the name is often given to many other species, from the small sand yabbies on the east coast to very
A feed of freshly cooked yabbies is a feed fit for a king.
It is common to catch yabbies with parasites on them. The best way to get rid of them is to soak the yabby in salty water for a little while, and they will drop off. large marron in Western Australia. In this article I will be focussing on the common freshwater yabby, otherwise known as the Cherax destructor.
waterway dries up they will often burrow into the mud, digging down deeper and deeper as the drought drags on. They have been found as deep as 5m underground in extreme cases. These crustaceans do not need to live in
CHERAX DESTRUCTOR The common yabby has now been split into a couple of sub-species, sometimes called swamp yabby, broad clawed yabby
A lovely feed of yabby tails. The juicy white flesh really is a delicacy. Yabbies live in a range of water conditions, from fast-flowing clear water streams with a lot of oxygen, to filthy farm dams
water to survive. They just need their gills to be damp. During these tough conditions, their breathing will slow right
the water again….and hopefully into my wellplaced net. CATCHING YABBIES There are a number of ways to catch yabbies. From nets (which I will go into shortly), to rolling over logs in muddy swamps, and hand lines, commonly called the ‘meat and string’ technique. There are also differing rules from state to state around the types of nets, and ways to catch yabbies, so it pays to always keep up to date with the rules in your state. Meat makes excellent yabby bait, particularly bloody meat such as lamb’s fry. Fatty meat such as lamb off-cuts is also very good. I often use venison which works well, and occasionally rabbit. One of my favourite baits is dried dog food. Goodo’s are excellent bait; a bag of Goodo’s lasts a very long time, is cost effective and the yabbies love it. In nets with bait pouches you can just put the dog food in and zip up the pouch, although in nets without bait pouches you
Yabbies held in a foam container. The water you catch the yabbies in is the best water to store them in.
Yabby meat is a delicacy, and the sweetest meat is found in the claws. Big yabbies with big claws are very sought after. 8
OCTOBER 2021
or spanner yabby. To the untrained eye they are all much the same thing. They are small to medium freshwater crustaceans that are fun to catch, and much sought after for their amazing white, juicy meat that can only be described as an absolute delicacy. Spring and summer are the best times to catch yabbies, but it is possible to catch them in winter too. This year (thanks to COVID lockdowns forcing me to think outside the box close to home) I have caught more winter yabbies than ever before. I find in winter that leaving nets in for long periods can result in a few yabbies here and there, as opposed to catching heaps of yabbies in a short timeframe in spring and summer.
A nice pair of winter yabbies caught in Wangaratta during August. with little to no dissolved oxygen in the water. It is in these dirty dams that I tend to catch the most, and the biggest yabbies. One of the greatest traits of yabbies is their ability to survive through drought conditions, including prolonged droughts. When their
down to a bare minimum as they enter a survival mode. By conserving energy in this way, they can survive lengthy periods without eating. Once the rain returns and the waterway fills back up, the yabbies will come back out of their holes and move freely around
will need to buy a stocking to put the dog food in. I have also had great success with tinned tuna. Just poke a few holes in the tin and tie it in the net and it works a treat. On one occasion when I forgot my bait, I found a few squeezy sachets of tartare sauce in my car so
