• Welcome to the DeeperBlue.com Forums, the largest online community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing. To gain full access to the DeeperBlue.com Forums you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:

    • Join over 44,280+ fellow diving enthusiasts from around the world on this forum
    • Participate in and browse from over 516,210+ posts.
    • Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
    • Post your own photos or view from 7,441+ user submitted images.
    • All this and much more...

    You can gain access to all this absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!

Anyone dive to collect freshwater Crayfish in the UK?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
1 shot said:
Using rigs that took hours of preparation and hundreds of pounds to build (a stick with 4' of 5lb line, a No. 4 hook and a 2oz lead)
Dont know if your allowed this there but these 2 types of crayfish traps are very sucessfull around my part of the world.
Rig 1 ( Normally used from the side ) - Use your pole setup and still have your net handy but instead of a hook, attach a mesh bag to the end of your line, a large hole shading net works best, almost like a pool net, your bag doesnt need to be bigger than say 10x10cm. Fill the bag with bait and squash it a bit so your creating like a chum, we use sardines. Lower the bag and there you go, the crays that get on get stuck in the holes, you simply lift em out.
Rig 2 ( Used from boats ) - Take a bicycle rim without the spokes and line it with rope net, to make a basket effect if you lift it, holes the size of the trap shown on the page should work fine and add a rope or float line tied to 3 or 4 places on the rim so it hangs straight when you lift it, if using more than one tie a float to each line as marker. Attach your bait bag to the centre and lower it down check on it every so often and remove the catch stuck to the net.
 
Never in the UK but here in Western Washington my kids and I go for a crawfish grab in the local rivers. Cold, yes, but are they gooood. 7mm wetsuit, gloves, mask, snorkel, and fins. The current makes it fun too. Great way to cool off in the summer.
 
Anyone near Winchester want to go crayfishing? They must be out there, I just need a buddy. :)
 
Using traps is cheap. ;) Whats the fun in that?


I dive and catch them, I flip rocks when im under water and grab them in lake washington, its good fun
 
Last edited:
Boo hoo I can't get a licence to trap crayfish in my area, river Test or the Itchen the main reason is there are no signal crayfish there, the nearest is the Kennet and Avon and Basingstoke canal :head
 
YakDiver said:
Boo hoo I can't get a licence to trap crayfish in my area, river Test or the Itchen the main reason is there are no signal crayfish there, the nearest is the Kennet and Avon and Basingstoke canal :head
There are some in the Avon streams (the Avon that joins the sea at Christchurch). Also the River Dun (probably the tributary of the River Kennet rather than the Test?). Running water seems like it might yield better tasting food than the largely stagnant canals (although years ago I knew somebody who used to eat large perch from the canals).

Somebody also told me their local pond in Surrey has them (he claimed to know the person who released them, unwanted aquarium pets:naughty).
 
Last edited:
The environment agency have a very nice information pack all about the crayfish and it is free, when I spoke to a guy call Hed Leman he is the top man, he told me the river Test and Itchen has no signal crayfish at all and he's been there 12 years, but the Kennet and Avon and Basingstoke canal are teaming with them.
What they want is people that will trap them 24/7 and a good 8-9 months of the year just to keep on top of them and you have to fill out a catch report and send it in to be updated.
All I was going to do it for was a bit of fun/sport on a has and when bases and I'm not prepared to travel every day up the Basingstoke canal for a free dinner, I think it would be nice if it was on your door step and it would be great for the kids to get involved as well.
PS if you get caught without a licence it is up to £2500 fine
 
Very interesting article, but I wish the crays would move farther south as I live between the Test and the Itchen, but saying that if I took my bike up with say 10 traps drop them off and go for a ride along the canal, come back pick them up again nice day out.
 
Trapping in Wales

I recently approached the Environment Agency and was advised that licences for ad hoc trapping of signal crays were not being issued in Wales.

There are two reasons for this.

Firstly, containment of the relatively isolated distribution between Hay and Buith on the Wye and Afon Bachawy (an associated tributary) and secondly, as adult signal crays are cannibalistic the juveniles would loose their main predator and the population would therefore explode.

The only licenced trapping is being conduced by the Wye and Usk Foundation.

Hope this helps Welsh spearos and trappers.
 
Last edited:
The fishing store in Devizes now stock 2 kinds of cray trap. One the collapsible bait-trap type (see earlier in thread) but the other was something new to me: like 2 small, heavy wire waste-paper baskets, with an entrance in one end; the trap is opened by separating the 2 baskets. Looked pretty hefty but the c. £6 price seems very reasonable.

Apparently the canal boaters on the Kennet & Avon canal buy them & leave them over the side overnight. One guy reputedly caught 50 in a night (although the number seems feasible, I would think it would fill such a trap to the brim). I dare say the anglers want to see them removed, as they pay to stock the canal.

If they really want to get rid of them, perhaps they should have crayfishing competitions, with a Lousianna Crawdaddy cook off!:D
 
This is some terrible reading! I'm going to have to pack up the 5 mil and book a military hop to Olde Blightye. Anyone know a comfy field I can bunk down in? I'll even provide the Crawdad Boil mix.
 
Re: Trapping in Wales

...secondly, as adult signal crays are cannibalistic the juveniles would loose their main predator and the population would therefore explode...
:confused:That's odd: if that is true in Wales, you'd think it would be equally true in Berks. wouldn't you. What about "cray plague"?(Non-native specifies are always described as carrying some specifies specific plague e.g. grey squirrels carry "squirrel plague", Chinese mitten crabs carry "crab plague")? I wonder if that is just propaganda or whether they it is just assumed that any non-native is likely to bring a few contagious diseases (or perhaps it's true:D).
 
This is some terrible reading! I'm going to have to pack up the 5 mil and book a military hop to Olde Blightye. Anyone know a comfy field I can bunk down in? I'll even provide the Crawdad Boil mix.

Sarge, if you're up for an "over the border mission" there is a place with us to hang up your slippers, warm your toes along with a rack for your trusty weapon whilst the craws boil away
 
I've only spent part of a day in Wales but came away with the impression that it's a good thing it's nailed down because otherwise it would just float away to Heaven or turn into some sort of Brigadoon. I'm booked through the middle of July but will give some serious consideration to your kind offer. I have another friend in Somerset I can go bother, as well, so it could be a good combination visit, pigeon shooting and crawdad boiling. Throw in some good lager and what can we lose?
 
I thought cray fish were pretected in england????

I live in bonmouth and would love to eat them.
 
Maybe the Natives are but not the invasive Signal species; you might need to get a trapping license from local water authority.
 
Yes, smaller native species are protected & the ubiquitous American Signal Cray is apparently destructive, plague carrying (but tasty) vermin. ;) [OldSarge - check your PM].
 
Last edited:
DeeperBlue.com - The Worlds Largest Community Dedicated To Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing

ABOUT US

ISSN 1469-865X | Copyright © 1996 - 2024 deeperblue.net limited.

DeeperBlue.com is the World's Largest Community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving, Ocean Advocacy and Diving Travel.

We've been dedicated to bringing you the freshest news, features and discussions from around the underwater world since 1996.

ADVERT