The legal use of live crawdads as bait..

I have fished with live crawdads as bait for in almost all Southern California Lakes, although not for several years now (I don't fish for bass anymore with bait). Does anyone who really knows the law, know if it's legal to net crawdads at a local stream, then take them miles away to a lake to be used as live bait? Is this a new law? I didn't see any rules against this in the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Inland Fisheries rules and regulations booklet. I know you can't do this with minnows and other baitfish. Also, do any bait shops even still sell live crawdads?

There are regulations preventing the importation of live crayfish, but nothing that says you can't use native crayfish except for parts of the Pit River.

Importation of any live crayfish into California requires a permit issued by the Department. Live importation of exotic species of crayfish also requires authorization of the California Fish and Game Commission. ... Section 671 of Title 14, CCR, prohibits the importation or release alive in California of any species of crayfish of the family Cambaridae, except Procambarus clarkii and Orconectes virilis.” - Regulations governing take, sale or transport of crayfish for commercial purposes [Last viewed 22 January 2009]

Crayfish shall not be used for bait in the Pit River and all tributaries between Pit 3 Dam (Lake Britton) and the Fall River-Cassel Road Bridge at Fall River Mills, California (includes Hat Creek and Fall River and their tributaries).

So no buying live crayfish off the internet for bait, but I see no reason not to catch your own. Do you have a cite for someone saying you can't do it?

Oh I've got a guy saying that you cannot use live crawdads for bait in Lake Perris (or any Calif. lake) unless you actually catch them in the lake that you plan to fish them in. If that's true, how come bait & tackle shops in southern Calif, especially the San Diego area sell live 'dads? The stores and the bait collectors have to have commercial permits issued from the California Fish and Wildlife Department to take and sell live crawdads. If it was against the law to use crawdads bought in several tackle shops at any lake, the CDFW would not allow them to be sold. If this is a law, it should be somewhere in the CDFW Inland Fisheries rules and regulations booklet. I can't find it, maybe I'm going blind. I guess there is a possibility that the State is worried about crawdads from another location bringing in Quagga or Zebra Mussels into a State Recreation Area lake..

I'd say it was on him to prove it. The thing that makes regulations different from B*>¿•*%[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] is they're written down for all to see.

Well he worked at the Lake Perris Marina for a short time a couple years ago and he said that the park rangers told him this... Park rangers are not State Fish and Wildlife Wardens..

Ok, I found it. It's peculiar to Lake Perris as far as I can see. Here's the Page from the State Parks and Recreation Agency.

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Bait:
Worms, crickets, crayfish (bait shop purchased crayfish only)
Live or dead fresh water fish- only Threadfin Shad from Lake Perris or Longjaw Mudsuckers
Dead ocean fish, lures, and processed foods such as Salmon eggs, cheese baits etc.

Why would "bait shop purchased crayfish only" be ok. It did not specify Lake Perris Marina store, which doesn't sell crawdads anyway. The crawdads that are sold in bait shops are just some that where trapped by some guy at a "secret spot" trying to make a little extra money. (I almost got into doing that when I was in my 20s.) These crawdads that were trapped are not anything special or free of disease or parasites, although I don't think they carry anything that will affect the fish in a lake, although I am no fisheries biologist.

Hey Komori,

The liquor store bait shop on Perris and Ramona Expressway sells crawdads and says they are fine to use at Lake Perris. I have not checked with park rangers, but I did drop a few fishing for bass last year while fishing from a rented boat.