crayfish (again)

[gorton]

Just a quick line on some of the lines that have come out on this thread since my last post

 

Hi Jigotai

 

Last fished Dobbs weirpool at start of last season and had to give up after about an hour because the crayfish were all over any bait that you put in the water. Have not had a look round there yet this season but did have nose a couple of weeks before the start of the season and saw lots of very good chub in the pool certainly up to 5lbs. Dont forget an 8lb+ fish was caught there a few seasons ago and was the current UK record for a short period. They are certainly some very good fish in there its just a matter of getting the method right, in my opinion it might be worth waiting for the winter and then trying small deadbaits (sprats etc). I am going to fish Fieldes Weir early next week so I will let you know my estimate of the crayfish population there after my visit.

 

Can I reassure everybody that when I said about putting a size 2 up their rear ends I would only ever do that on the stretch that I fish where they are resident, transporting them to other waters as bait would be sheer stupidity.

 

As for the native species forget it they have been wiped out, I used to catch them 30 years ago when I "laid on" for bream on the Lea with big bits of bread flake and we used to curse when we caught them, I would love to see one now but the last one I saw on the Lea was nearly twenty years ago.

 

As for eating them I promise you they are absolutely delicious, I have had them with pasta, chinese noodles in a curry etc and they are better than any scampi or prawn, just give them a good flush through first with some freshwater thats if you have not got a "hosepipe ban" oops there we go another dilemma of the wonderful times we live in, bon appetit!

[Newt]

This Article by gaffer speaks of a Berkley Power Bait boilie that he found to be cray proof. Might be worth a try if you fish waters where they are a major problem.

[Russell Fitzpatrick]

here he is the cheeky little bugger!

 

[Ken L]

out of interest, what's there average size on those waters where they're established ?

[Jigotai]

out of interest, what's there average size on those waters where they're established ?

 

Hi Ken,

where I have fished and been plagued by crays they have all been big ones like that one in Russel Fitzpatrics photo. In fact I can't ever remember catching a small one. This brings me to wonder whether when they get big, are there any predetors that will eat them, if not maybe trapping them will be a benefit.

 

Thanks for the reply Gorton, I will give Dobbs Weir a try but will probably leave it till the winter.

 

Andy

[Russell Fitzpatrick]

the pic of my one is from the lea,it was a pretty big bugger,i too rarely see small ones,i have had mates who say they have caught pike that have thrown them up but i have yet to see it,and i catch quite a few pike.

i think teh chub are more than capable of having a g at them as is a decent sized perch,even carp

Edited June 29, 2006 by Russell Fitzpatrick

[Peter M]

Hi Ken,

where I have fished and been plagued by crays they have all been big ones like that one in Russel Fitzpatrics photo. In fact I can't ever remember catching a small one. This brings me to wonder whether when they get big, are there any predetors that will eat them, if not maybe trapping them will be a benefit.

 

Thanks for the reply Gorton, I will give Dobbs Weir a try but will probably leave it till the winter.

 

Andy

i don't fish dobbs weir any more in the summer, however i somtimes try float fishing so the bait is kept moving and find this means the crays are more likely to leave my bait alone

[sam-cox]

i notice old boys on the river bank, often seem to blame a crap day on the presence of crayfish, when i personally think it is there fishing that is at fault,

 

its the same with sea anglers and gill neters.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anderoo]

I had my first experience of these little tykes yesterday, fishing below a weirpool for carp. As soon as the bait (2 air-dried, rock hard boilies) hit the deck they were all over it. The baits were hard enough to leave them out for an hour or so at a time, but how a fish would have found/eaten the bait is beyond me! Still, it does happen, so I guess it's a matter of faith.

 

Another problem is hooklinks. I was using a soft braid (12lb merlin) and at the end of the session it was stripped away and in tatters. I reckon they could do nasty damage to mono and fluorocarbon too. I've got some quicksilver knocking about somewhere, so I think I'll give that a go if I'm legering again.

 

As an experiment I dropped some luncheon meat right in the margin, and one scuttled over straight away. They really are everywhere. Time to get the float gear out I reckon.

[gorton]

Hi Ken

 

When I caught over 400 last season the average size was between 5-6 inches, with a few 2-3 inches long these are the ones I would be tempted to use as bait. The ones above six inches of which there are plenty ( the 10 inch plussers put the fear of god up you, aggressive is not in it) need to be taught to swim in boiling water that tends to quieten them down a bit.