Fishing Victoria Forum

Anyone know how long you can freeze pipis for? (Found a bag in the freezer from last year)

Bait or food?

frozenpod wrote:Bait or food?

Going out to chase some Whiting tomorrow

They will be ok might be a bit soft though. Squid candels if you can catch some are also very good.

Fresh is best Matt.
Just pick some up from the local fish store...

I’d probably go with a fresh bag as well :thumbsup:

Just bought some ‘fresh’ pipis & baby squid from Anaconda (20% off all bait at the moment) What can you do with the old stuff...smash them up for burley?

Mattblack wrote:Just bought some ‘fresh’ pipis & baby squid from Anaconda (20% off all bait at the moment) What can you do with the old stuff...smash them up for burley?

Take out of freezer, put in sun for the day, refreeze, take out of freezer with your other bait you'll use for the day and go fishing.

Haven't used 'fresh' Pippies in years, and if I did they spent an hour or so on the baitboard in the sun deliberately

Yep the extra smell can help if there is minimal current.

I am puzzled by the different rules applying to pipis in NSW and Vic. In NSW the daily limit is 50, for bait only, and they cannot be taken further than 50 metres from the high tide mark, ie, they cannot be removed from the beach.
The "bait only" rule is ostensibly to protect people from the risk of illness from eating pipis containing infectious bacteria but, as I understand it, commercial harvesting (40kg limit per day) is still permissible on designated beaches. I don't understand how commercially harvested pipis can't hurt you but recreationally collected pipis might kill you.
Whatever, the recreational bag and movement limits have helped contain the decimation of pipi populations on some popular beaches. Commercial harvesting has had some drastic results but is still prohibited on many beaches. Looking at my home beach, I am pleasantly surprised about how quickly populations are recovering after almost being wiped out by commercial fishers.