Crayfish Advice.

[Ali Graham]

Hi guys its been a while since my last post.

Ive been looking but cant find what Im specifically looking for.

I recently moved to Lincoln and Doncaster (2 homes being in the military). And im trying to find if anyone knows about harvesting Crayfish around these areas. Iv never dont it before but its something Im interested in getting into.

Im looking for advice and locations if anybody knows?

Any advice would be greatfully recieved.

Thank you.


Ali

 

[Leigh Robinson]

Hi,
I looked into this a while back:

You need a license from the Environment Agency for cray fishing.
You cannot eat the British ones they are protected. You are after the American type.
Chalk stream are where they are most likely to be found. Around your area they may be plenty.
Speak to fishing tackle shops & fishermen. They may know.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Have a look here. http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112145&highlight=Crayfish

 

[lou1661]

have a look here as a start https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/crayfish-tapping-using-the-right-trap

 

[Ali Graham]

Thank you for the replies guys.

Iv looked at the licence application form and it asks which river/canal/still water Im going to catch the crayfish in. How am I ment to know if the water has crayfish in? And how do I find who owns the water?

Thanks Again.

Ali

 

[Mesquite]

Thank you for the replies guys.

Iv looked at the licence application form and it asks which river/canal/still water Im going to catch the crayfish in. How am I ment to know if the water has crayfish in? And how do I find who owns the water?

Thanks Again.

Ali

Take a bit of bacon on the end of a line, throw it in and wait a while then pull it in. If there are crayfish hanging on then they're present

As for who owns the canals over 50% are owned by the Canal & River Trust

 

[nitrambur]

I think the River Bain is pretty much the only one in Lincolnshire to have significant numbers of signal crayfish, that's over Louth way in the wolds, so not really near you at all

 

[Nice65]

Canal crayfish taste a bit muddy to me, I don't really like them. But chalk stream ones are lovely.

Best of luck, it's good fun catching them.

 

[Ali Graham]

Thank you Nitrambur yes your right thats quite a drive. The main rivers im looking at is the Witham and the Thorne?

Nice65 I wish there was lots of nice chalk streams near me because there great for trout fishing aswell but unfortunately there are none near by.

Thanks for all the advice guys. The more info I cant get the better.

 

[Podcast Bob]

I looked into this a while ago and as I understand it the EA want to track/record which waters you hunt for them in and then they want you to keep using the same area on a regular basis to try and reduce the numbers over time.

Even on fishing beats, the fishermen are keen for you to take them as they eat the eggs and young fish and generally decimate the whole riverside.

I found a great little 'pop up' crayfish net on eBay I think it was. (Sorry can't find the link) Just chuck in a old chicken carcass and come back in an hour.

The Red ones are particularly aggressive and will nip at anything. The UK ones are white, pale and very small.