CrayFish

[Green Dweller Beloved]

Evening,

I saw an episode of Ray Mears once where he'd caught half a dozen or so crayfish and was cooking them on sticks around a fire.
I know that the british Crayfish are protected, but apparently you can non-british one's which inhabit our rivers.
Have any of you caught Crayfish large enough to eat?
How do you catch them?
How would you know where to look?
How do you know what a bristish one and waht isn't.
Cheers Guys

 

[ady05]

hi there

first you need to apply for a licence to trap the crayfish (consent to use fishing insruments other than rod and line) without this it is illegal you then need to have the correct traps you can contact the environment agency who are willing to help and supply a good info pack . ive been trapping signals for a while now and they have to be my favourite shellfish hope this helps
www.environment-agency.gov.uk





ady

 

[Green Dweller Beloved]

ive been trapping signals

OK, do you know how much it will cost to get a license approx?
And what is a Signal? Is this the nbon-british crayfish i've heard of?

Cheers

 

[bushtank]

Evening,

I saw an episode of Ray Mears once where he'd caught half a dozen or so crayfish and was cooking them on sticks around a fire.
I know that the british Crayfish are protected, but apparently you can non-british one's which inhabit our rivers.
Have any of you caught Crayfish large enough to eat?
How do you catch them?
How would you know where to look?
How do you know what a bristish one and waht isn't.
Cheers Guys

"caught them" i get at least 250 plus every year from down south location secret

 

[ady05]

thats correct they are the non native species that are killing ours it does not cost you anything for the licence just fill out an fr2 form and send it in along with how many traps you wish to use and they will send you tags to place on each trap

he isnt lying either ive seen the catch

 

[Ogri the trog]

OK, do you know how much it will cost to get a license approx?
And what is a Signal? Is this the nbon-british crayfish i've heard of?

Cheers

Don't know about the license fee, but the intruder is the American Red Signal Crayfish. Bigger and more aggresive than the native ones, it also harbours a disease which doesn't affect it but is deadly to the native inhabitants.

HTH

Ogri the trog

 

[billycan]

You can only find crayfish in areas of hard water, i.e chalk streams as crayfish need the calcium to manufacture their shells.
I have caught ones as big as my hand, i would put some photos up but i dont know how.
It is easy to distinguish the Americans from the English, as usual the Americans are much bigger and more aggressive, always waving their massive pincers at you. The under side of their claws is a bright orangey and some have white/ bluey streaks.
See this link for a photo...

Crayfish

I have had the most success at night with a lamp and net, simply scooping them up with a net, but you have to be fairly quick. A lot of people use traps made specificaly for crayfish, i made one but they weren't interested in a rabbit leg!??

They tend to hibernate during the winter in the river banks when the water is colder but are more active in the warmer months and also the water levels are lower which makes it easier to see and reach them.

Hope this helps...

 

[Green Dweller Beloved]

"caught them" i get at least 250 plus every year from down south location secret

Fair to say you'd like to keep your location secret, but maybe you could share your catching method with us and maybe tips on finding a good location??
Thanks

 

[ady05]

these are the traps i use http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LOBSTER-Prawn...ryZ11729QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem use a nice oily fish bait in them the environment agency gave me info on local rivers that had problems with signals

 

[Green Dweller Beloved]

Cheers Guys

 

[stevec]

there is an episode of HFW's cook on the wild side where he and a bloke catch amerian crayfish by dangling an old chicken carcas in the water, but in these days of chicken flu that might not be so well recieved by the general public!

sc

 

[Don Redondo]

quickest way to eradicate an invasive species is to make it a gourmet food item

 

[bushtank]

The crayfish is a gourmet food but there are so many that we will probably not eradicte them just reduce the numbers at the moment there are about 10 tons a year harvested from local rivers and canals down south and that is a under estimate

 

[Nautilus21]

Try crab lines (you know the seaside type ones) and a net - cheap - even cheaper just tie a small weight and bit of bacon onto some string - works like a charm - My brother and I regularly catch 20 ish in as many minutes by having four lines out - Better than any 'Snack and Share' Combo anywhere..

Def agree Winter is not the best time - Summer Autumn give the best chance but they can be caught all through the year..

Always fish in the shadiest darkest spots you can - then sit in the sun for 2-3minutes before retrieving them - exactly like crabbing

You cannot mistake the American for British - they have huge red undersides to their claws - if they dont then put them back - to be honest you are unlikely to catch any British unless you know where they are - and you are also unlikely to catch the two along side each other but if you are in any doubt just stick em back and wait for the next ones!


Boiling water 3-5minutes - until they turn bright red - twisting and pulling out the middle of the three tail 'segments' will pull out all the guts as well! - then crack open the rest of the tail .. Pepper and Lemon or just some homemade thousand islan style dressing awesome- Claws can aslso be broken open and eaten - but a significant amount of effort for not a lot of return (obvioulsy the bigger ones are more worthwhile)

Any questions then let me know!

 

[Wavey Davey]

This has interested me for some time and I've been thinking about applying for a trapping licence but this is much simpler. I'm really going to try this out when it gets a bit warmer.

 

[Matt Weir]

there is an episode of HFW's cook on the wild side where he and a bloke catch amerian crayfish by dangling an old chicken carcas in the water, but in these days of chicken flu that might not be so well recieved by the general public!

sc

For years my Mum & Dad have took the kids to New Brighton and fish for crabs using this method so if the crayfish are as greedy as crabs then it should work a treat.

Matt.

 

[John Dixon]

is there no where in the north west area they inhabit???

 

[Matt Weir]

I'd have thought it would be too cold up here for them John?

Matt.

 

[Nautilus21]

Wavey Davey

There are lots of places in Suffolk Norfolk and Essex that are good and I can certianly point you towards a good river or two - but some things are secret but PM me with where abouts you normally go/live and I'll dig around my little book of knowledge !!

BTW to everyone else Bacon is an awesome bait not to be underestimated - cheap - always available (acceptable when its found in the fridge not like stinky fish heads oops) and all stays around for a while..

As an added tip - although I am really starting to give away trade secrets - keep any 'washing powder bags' for those of you who dont know (chaps) I am told that you put your 'tablets' in them before the go in the wash???- even though the doctor told me to swallow them?? - anyway enough confusion - basically they are a bit like a big teabag with a drawstring... -put your weight and bait in these and the little crayfish get a bit more tangled when they are trying to get at the bait and tend to 'drop off less'..

I also think that fishing this way you dont need a licence as these seem to be entirely for 'trap' fishing..but would be happy to be told otherwise

 

[elrond]

John

Loch Ken in Galloway is absolutely over-run with them. please come up here, bring yer mates and take as many as you want. They are doing real harm to the salmonid fish stocks ( although the Perch are thriving on them )

Last summer we filled a 50 gallon drum in under 4 hours, with the little b8ggers. They are a good bit smaller than their cousins down south, so getting the meat out is a wee bit more time consuming.......but they are tasty all the same.

I don't beleive a licence is required to trrap them in Scotland, but that might be worth checking out.

best area is the West end of the loch. oily fish like mackeral/herring do well, although I hav personally caught them on a worm, being fished for perch