Crayfish locations!?

[mickwood]

Hi folks,

I've searched quite a few bits about crayfish, in relation to trapping them, and although there's a lot of discussion about licences etc I would appreciate any tips on where I could find some? I'm from Derbyshire (Chesterfield way) so would like to find somewhere local where they're a problem and I could set a trap for them.

Thanks in advance

Mick

 

[shaggystu]

eyup mick, welcome to the forum.

a friend of mine lives in woolley moor, he traps somewhere very local to him, i'll ask him where exactly he goes and let you know.

stuart

 

[alpha_centaur]

While we're on the subject does anybody know of anywhere in ayrshire / scotland with signal crayfish.

 

[johnnytheboy]

Loch Ken is crawling with them, even the fisherman are bringing them in hanging off there baits, its illegal to trap them, however i have heard the most effective way was lowering a drop net under the boat with a bit of mackrel in it, wait until the crayfish pile on the mackrel then up with the net, i seen a picture of the bottom of one of those 203 litre drums full of crayfish, i'm pretty sure it was at night and they were using a torch to see when the little critters invaded the net.

We just made a trap out of chicken wire filled it with mackerel and tied it to a rope with a juice bottle as a float to find it again, we caught a few, we used trout instead of mackerel and caught nothing. I never knew it was illegal at the time

 

[Diligence]

You can make yourself a quick trap out of a 2 liter soda bottle. cut off the top, at the shoulder. Invert it, tape or sew it together. bait with meat....sink it...and you will catch crayfish. The funnels works just like a lobster trap. This soda bottle method is from my 12 year old nephew who bet me he could catch more crawfish with his method, than with my trap made out of willows and cordage....he won.

 

[Diligence]

Okay - took me a while to find this, but here is a post I made on another site showing my willow shoot, woven crayfish trap that I made a couple of years ago.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=414675

if you can't see that, I'll try to just post a link to the photos: (First photos posted...bear with me)

http://photoshare.shaw.ca/messages/viewthumb/36703_sDvmxm1153882403GRukuc/parm/page/1/15/

Cheers,
D

 

[spiritofold]

When i was a kid, and laws did'nt matter we caught crayfish using a hazel rod about 6' long. All you had to do was look for tin cans and bottles on the bottom of the brooks and poke the hazel into the hole of the can or bottle and pull the whole thing onto the bank. Empty the can out and normally a crayfish would come out as well. Used to get loads doing that.

Kept me fed when i skived off school

 

[Toddy]

The issue that causes problems with the ad hoc crayfish traps is that they also trap the now very rare native species, as well as the signal ones that I don't think anybody minds anyone taking, especially for the pot.


It strikes me that this most recent thread on the topic would be a good place to put all the relevant advice that we can find.

Does anyone know the actual guidelines for the sizes of appropriately legal traps ?

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Bernie Garland]

When i was at Loch Ken a few months ago the were traping them of the bridge,they reckon the lochs riddled with them.

Bernie

 

[Toddy]

I heard that too and that the anglers were concerned as they were decimating the stocks of young fish and eggs.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7564004.stm

the second link gives the details about the law as well as the research that's being done.

www.marlab.ac.uk/Uploads/Documents/FW-SignalCrayfish.pdf

cheers,
Toddy

 

[mickwood]

Shaggystu, that's awesome!! Thanks matey - I'll be waiting...can't wait to get started!!
I'm keen to get into any 'foraging' skills/areas around chesterfield so any advice/hints/tips etc you may have would be very welcome.

As far as I understand it, traps with an entrance greater than 9.5cm need an 'otter guard' in order to stop anything other than the crayfish from entering - particularly otters I assume!
In terms of catching 'other crayfish' the Signal Crayfish decimate the indigenous white claw crayfish either by eating them or more likely through a crayfish plague which affects white clawed crayfish but not signals. That's the main reason for the legislation as using a trap in an infected watercourse and then later in a none infected watercourse will spread the problem - this is the main reason for me asking, I'd rather go to a known signal crayfish area and seeing as the traps are only about £5 I'll use one trap per watercourse and disinfect after use!
There is a licencing procedure but as I understand it, it's about 'keeping' crayfish (to stop any chance of introducing signals into other watercourses through escaping crayfish!) so as I'm not gonna be keeping them...I figure I won't get one, well...that and the fact that it's SOOOOO much bureacracy!! lol!

 

[In Wood]

Is there a map showing where they can be found that anyone knows of?
Anywhere in Lancashire that they can be found?

 

[tenderfoot]

Sorry to put a dampener on this one but.... despite some tv shows presenting trapping signal crayfish as a worthy activity in a bushcraft style with a bit of green cred.:-The Department of the Environment beg to differ, Big time! See their web site which has lots of articles relating to this. I dont have the web address but keywords like crayfish , trap etc got me loads including a summary of the legislation. Basically its illegal in the uk like most fun things! They reckon in addition to the viral contamination thing mentioned earlier on this thread that if you catch and keep/eat the larger signal crayfish it increases rather than decreases the population as the big ones feed on multiple little ones so partly self controlling the population.You can apply for a licence to trap but as noted there are regs for the traps which vary from waterway to waterway. All licenced traps have a code attached.Officials/water baliffs can remove and prosecute people who use an unlicenced engine as the trap would be deemed in law.However who would notice a trap woven from natural product i wonder? Come to think of it who would notice a plastic pop bottle in the average uk waterway these days?

 

[mickwood]

Now...I don't know much about species control but that sounds like scare tactics to stop people trapping to me?

If there would be more signals because the larger ones are being eaten then surely the ones left will grow to eat the smaller ones? eg. if 1 original crayfish eats 2 crayfish, but you eat it so those 2 it would have eaten survive. Then those 2 surviving crayfish would then eat 2 more crayfish each? so by removing the 1 original crayfish, 4 have been eaten instead of 2??

Well....it makes sense in my head! lol!

 

[Bernie Garland]

Hi Mick
I used to catch them buy the bucket load when i was used to do a bit of naughty trouting,not to far away from you i dont think,the A6 between Bakewell and Matlock a place called Nether Hadden head towards Bakewell and just outside Nether Hadden on your right hand side is a wall behind the wall is a trout stream,you'll find some there,but don't forget to get permission.

Bernie

 

[Apac]

anyone know of any good spots near hull?

 

[mickwood]

Cheers Bernie!

A little far but I guess it's possible to head out that way. Maybe go do a bit of walking around that way, drop the trap and pick up on the way back? Do you think they'd be in that same river at various points? It joins the Derwent down Rowsley way I think?

Hopefully Stu will get back to me as Wooley moor is literally round the corner from me!

 

[Bernie Garland]

Cheers Bernie!

A little far but I guess it's possible to head out that way. Maybe go do a bit of walking around that way, drop the trap and pick up on the way back? Do you think they'd be in that same river at various points? It joins the Derwent down Rowsley way I think?

Hopefully Stu will get back to me as Wooley moor is literally round the corner from me!

It must have been over ten years ago,the last time i was there and there was hundreds then,i wouldent be surprised if there in the derwent now, get a few traps and give it a whirl,let us now your findings.

Bernie

 

[shaggystu]

eyup again mick, had a word with my mate and apparently he's been trapping in one of the brooks in woolley moor itself, either dalebrook (the one that runs down through milltown) or the other brook, who's name i can't spot on a map at the moment (the one that crosses badger lane/ashover new road and runs along the field below the nursery). either way i'm sure that means that there's crayfish in the ogston. now i wouldn't suggest for one second that you should be trapping in the ogston itself because that would obviously be illegal, but there's a lot of brooks feed into the oggy so i would've thought that pretty much anywhere around woolley/ashover would be good.

if you fancy a wander round oggy one day, test the water so to speak, i'd be up for joining you. i often camp in that area, it's pretty much just round the corner from me too, so if you fancied making a night of it at some point i'd be up for that. set some traps, make camp, fresh crayfish for breakfast next morning, sounds spot on to me.

stuart

 

[mickwood]

Cheers Stu!!

That's brilliant, thanks. Has your mate ever had any hassle over that way?

I'll hang fire on the overnight camp for the minute though matey, girlfriends 36 weeks pregnant and wouldn't appreciate me heading off at the minute! but if ya fancied a walk one day, take the trap and see what we see I'd be up for that! I'm just about to have some leave from work so I'd be available for a midweek day if it's a bit quieter?

Just google earthed it...not too familiar with the area but think I've spotted the brooks your talking about - can you walk right around Ogston?

Thanks

Mick