Anyone dive to collect freshwater Crayfish in the UK?

[SurfnSpear]

Yep...no licences required to 'keep' crayfish in most areas (as the little terrors have spread so far)...

BUT....you will need a licence to 'trap' them (but that is issued very quickly in about 1-2 weeks with no problem from the environment agency)

I have had to get a bigger freezer today as they keep so well frozen!rofl

 

[glowworm]

Hey brett if you want to trade some of those lovely crayfish i'm sure i have some bass and mullet fillets left.Maybe next time you come down i'll shoot a couple for you. rofl rofl

 

[SurfnSpear]

....why I outta!.....:ko rofl
(not a bad trade though!)

Rowan, tried Tilly Whim again on Sat morn...nothing for him either! He saw some mullet and his mate saw 3 bass but never got near....oh well...next week maybe.

 

[glowworm]

We will have to go again soon,a night dive is top off my list at the moment,maybe rowan will be up for it aswell.Make a day of it if the tides are right and get a morning dive in and then a night dive.Try for some sole and lobsters.

 

[HUN73R]

Hey all, if you want some good traps here in Australia we use "opera house traps"http://www.crayfishworld.com/imageaaatooru04/New%20Folder%20(2)/012Opera3.jpg with great success, fish baits seem to work best!
Someone mentioned purging them in fresh water. Try adding about 5gs of salt per Litre , works a treat. Also if you put them in the fridge or an ice slurry just before you boil them. The cold puts them to sleep, more humane, and stops them from dropping legs and nippers when they hit the boiling water.

 

[SurfnSpear]

Hey all, if you want some good traps here in Australia we use "opera house traps"http://www.crayfishworld.com/imageaaatooru04/New%20Folder%20(2)/012Opera3.jpg with great success, fish baits seem to work best!
Someone mentioned purging them in fresh water. Try adding about 5gs of salt per Litre , works a treat. Also if you put them in the fridge or an ice slurry just before you boil them. The cold puts them to sleep, more humane, and stops them from dropping legs and nippers when they hit the boiling water.

Good tips. Thanks

 

[Oldsarge]

No, no! You don't drop them in boiling water, you put them in cold water and turn up the heat. That way there's no struggling, no indication of pain and no guilt. They just quietly go to crawdaddy heaven leaving their mortal husks behind for your enjoyment. Add a cup of white wine to the pot and the scrumptious bugs can even go happily!

 

[glowworm]

As i have informed Surfnspear who is lucky enough to be able to catch them locally i paid £7 for a portion of crayfish as a starter this week.Goodness they taste good and i must have more

 

[SurfnSpear]

DISASTER!!! Some barge crunched my trap.....repairs are ongoing though and hopefully soon I will be able to trade Glowworm for a bass seeing as though I have started missing them lately!:hmm

 

[Almostafish]

I used to catch a similar crayfish in the Algarve by tying a dead fish in the wire part of a chip pan and then tying that onto a long pole....just leave the pole in the water untill you feel the crayfish and then just lift up and shake into a bag! Our best night was about 130. Its best done on in a drunken haze!

 

[glowworm]

Hey Surfnspear i think we should invest in a lobster pot aswell.I checked a string of pots at tilly and every single pot had a lobster in it.Either a pot or we put a rope around rowans leg and let him go rofl rofl rofl Hope the pots not too badly damaged and your back in business soon i have some great recipes in mind for those tasty crayfish.

 

[Oldsarge]

The traditional North American small boy method is to tie a chunk of liver to a piece of thread and toss it out into mudbug territory. When you start to feel one pulling on the liver, you gently pull back. The crawfish is a stubborn lil' devil and won't let go if you don't jerk it out of his claws. Keep pulling slowly and you can get him clear up into the shallows where you can grab him with the other hand . . . across the back, unless you really like getting pinched! Most sportin', don'tcherknow.

 

[SurfnSpear]

Glowworm, these 3 and at least 60 others are on ice ready for transfer to your freezer...

 

[glowworm]

hhhhhhhhhhhm they do look tasty can't wait to start cooking with them .Now all i need is some tasty plaice fillets.

 

[Mr. X]

Just got back from our first cray fishing trip to local stream -- entirely inspired by this thread. Fantastic -- probably our most successful day "fishing" . About 1/3-1/2 a bucket full in about 2 hours tops, a beautiful, sunny, UK October day. In about 1 foot of water -- wellie depth! (Tip: wear wellies or waders). We got tipped off about crays by a family friend after talking about this thread.

We used 2 childrens nets 1 small round one and a bigger square one. Both worked well. I found the small one handy to get is gaps between rocks & the big one as backstop when they try to swim backwards downstream ... so cool. We saw the first bug immediately and it came towards our sardine baited nets (cheap tin of sardines). The bugs never went fully into a net, they would often go partly in -- then you just scoop quickly. A second net is handy behind -- as they swim backwards if spooked. Many we got by scooping rather than using bait. Lift rocks, look under the banks. Some big ones were burrowing under brick walls. They hide if spooked but will sometimes come out if prodded -- backwards & quickly. Some are feisty - one broke a small stick!

Great fun. The bugs are now in the freezer -- we have a big Sunday dinner tonight -- but hopefully we'll have a crawdaddy supper later this week!! YumYum. Will try to post some images later.

[Yes, they are at infestation levels. Yes they are all over the place. Yes they are burrowing into banks and under walls. Eat, guilt free. ]

 

[Oldsarge]

You go, X-y! Counter-predation rocks! Munch dem bugs!

 

[SurfnSpear]

Just like that film 'Starship Troopers'.....except with garlic butter.

 

[Mr. X]

Just found this, waddya know!

:hmm Interesting link. While our crays were all red, I think at least one of our larger ones might be one of those other non-native specifies, the decorative Australian redclaw crawfish: its claws had large bright blue-green patches, very distinctive and I think it had bright red tips like in the picture (I will double check when we cook them). It says they are incapable of breeding in the UK but nature is funny like that -- or perhaps they cross breed... or perhaps it was a pet (seems unlikely given the all the other cray around).

 

[Tim1]

Unfortunately, I didn't take advantage of the cray 'harvest' when I lived in the Midlands (UK). Now I live in Wales and I've tried a few spots in the Wye without success. Does anyone know whether signal crays are in the Wye? If so, are any stretches worth trying. I live near Monmouth. Thanks.

 

[Yeatus Fajitus]

Here's the links to a couple of shots of our (Mr.X and me) catch for your viewing pleasure.

http://gallery.deeperblue.net/showphoto.php/photo/3724/size/big

http://gallery.deeperblue.net/showphoto.php/photo/3725/size/big

BTW that was in no way the limit of our catch - the photo of the craw in the bucket reflects the first five minutes work - too busy after that to take many photos.