Crayfish (signal) in Devon

[NathanFreedive]

Hello I am looking to hand catch signal crayfish, towards the end of the summer in Devon (broken arm) I am currently researching into the types of crayfish legal and illegal, that you can catch. As far as the long arm of the law says ( or soaked into my head) is that white-claw crayfish are illegal to catch. the signal crayfish are illegal to put back.

The main point to this post is to find out any good spots for finding these signal crayfish in Devon and what depths I am likely to find them at. As I do free diving my hands are my tools and as I have seen a lot of legal banter about what you can and cannot use to catch these signal crayfish I am also wondering what goes nicely with them on the fire out in the wild.

 

[TeeDee]

Where in Devon Nathan? Roughly.

 

[NathanFreedive]

Around newton abbot/ Torquay

 

[TeeDee]

Try these threads :-

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33954&highlight=crayfish

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56130&highlight=crayfish

and this one for a Map:-

http://data.nbn.org.uk/gridMap/gridMap.jsp?allDs=1&srchSpKey=NHMSYS0000377494

http://data.nbn.org.uk/imt/?mode=SPECIES&species=NHMSYS0000377494

Happy Hunting !! And hope the arm mends quickly.

 

[NathanFreedive]

Ah I beg your pardon I had looked through a few threads before posting. I dont plan on using traps per say and that is what I gather from that thread you had sent me.

 

[TeeDee]

Ah I beg your pardon I had looked through a few threads before posting. I dont plan on using traps per say and that is what I gather from that thread you had sent me.

No worries. I'd give the EA a ring and just check.

 

[NathanFreedive]

ahh some great links there thank you TeeDee I hope to see you one day.

 

[Lou]

I am having huge success catching signals with raw bacon tied onto the end of a line, but I have also used cheese, sweetcorn and minnows. I have heard of people using bread. I find them under overhanging trees and pontoons at about 2 metres in depth at any time of day. My daughter pulls up the line when she sees the crayfish get their mouths round the bacon and then I scoop them up with a net before they drop off. The trick is to watch from the bank (or from a little way off if you are diving) and pull them up as soon as they get their mouths round the bait. They can be spooked really easily and they are really really fast.
I use this method rather than a trap, as it is fun for the children to fish them out individually. I do not know about the legalities of traps in the UK, I am afraid, but once I catch them I never put them back.

We eat our crayfish straight up plain boiled for ten minutes or with a little marie rose sauce (if you have ketchup and mayo to hand!). Out in the woods, I would try wild garlic/onions or marjoram with them if you can find them.

I have had no experience with crayfish in Devon, but I know that they prefer very clean water if this helps.

 

[NathanFreedive]

I am having huge success catching signals with raw bacon tied onto the end of a line, but I have also used cheese and minnows. I have heard of people using bread. I find them under overhanging trees and pontoons at about 2 metres in depth at any time of day. My daughter pulls up the line when she sees the crayfish get their mouths round the bacon and then I scoop them up with a net before they drop off. The trick is to watch from the bank (or from a little way off if you are diving) and pull them up as soon as they get their mouths round the bait. They can be spooked really easily and they are really really fast.
I use this method rather than a trap, as it is fun for the children to fish them out individually. I do not know about the legalities of traps in the UK, I am afraid, but once I catch them I never put them back.

We eat our crayfish straight up plain boiled for ten minutes or with a little marie rose sauce (if you have ketchup and mayo to hand!). Out in the woods, I would try wild garlic/onions or marjoram with them if you can find them.

I have had no experience with crayfish in Devon, but I know that they prefer very clean water if this helps.

some good tips there thank you! bacon is never in short supply in my house so I will give that a go, also thanks for the diving tips. I will keep my eye out, they do seem to have similar behaviour to crabs. in that way.