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Crayfish nets etc


Dekers
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Never tried but fancy a go, I have water and application to the EA is done.

 

Any advice on net type, good, bad, those to avoid, seems a lot of price variation around the web. Who knows if I will take to this, so I'm not looking for Rolls Royce equipment to start with but would like to avoid rubbish.

 

Oh yes, and what bait do you recommend, it will be river use.

 

Any other advice, tips, hints on how best to catch much appreciated

 

Many thanks.

 

:good:

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My experience of the Thames was...... it could hardly be easier! I used old guts from rabbits etc. Also we used a variety of nets. Cheap ebay ones were fine. Seems the Thames crays just go into any net and very quickly. I was shocked how many there were.

 

I suspect old socks with bait in and a piece of string would catch a few!

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I use rabbit, it's not that bloody but it does work very well. If you are getting traps don't get the cheap collapsible ebay net types as they don't work too well and fall apart after a couple of goes. I made my own from chicken wire, which work very well, but I'm getting some Swedish crayfish traps soon as they stack and are easy to open.

 

If you plan on staying by the river then drop nets will work best, I don't use them so can't help on those.

 

Enjoy

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Once you have caught some and put them in clean water to purge, make sure to cover whatever you put them in well as they are escape artists.

 

I kept the ones I had in a big gorilla bucket with an airline and a landing net over the top. A fair few still got out and they stink to high heaven when they die and start decomposing.

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I put mine it a big plastic storage box and stick it under an outside tap that is trickling water, I have drilled holes half way down to let the excess water out and because of they smooth sides I have never had an escapee yet. The trickling water stops them from suffocating BTW.

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I suspect they climbed up the airline.

 

I put mine it a big plastic storage box and stick it under an outside tap that is trickling water, I have drilled holes half way down to let the excess water out and because of they smooth sides I have never had an escapee yet. The trickling water stops them from suffocating BTW.

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Much appreciated so far.... :yes::good:

 

A little more if you can help please, what does PW consider the best time of year for catching crayfish, I don't see any specific season (legal) but I have seen many references to Crayfish season, I assume this is when best to catch/eat, or do I have it wrong?

 

 

Thanks again.

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We camp at one of my permissions for a few days every summer and always drop some pots overnight with some cheap dog chum into the Thames, we average 30 crabs per trap every night and after purging them overnight in a huge aluminium boiling pan cook them straight up over the camp fire. It's good to live of the land.

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Deckers, there are so many in your river, I'd try it anytime (warmer really is better) I've reliably pulled out 20 or 30 in 10 minutes from a single drop-net

 

Just make sure the bait is fixed in a small net (like a fruit bag from tescos) or punctured tin otherwise they will have it away and down the river.

 

I

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Once you have caught some and put them in clean water to purge, make sure to cover whatever you put them in well as they are escape artists.

 

I kept the ones I had in a big gorilla bucket with an airline and a landing net over the top. A fair few still got out and they stink to high heaven when they die and start decomposing.

 

 

I put mine it a big plastic storage box and stick it under an outside tap that is trickling water, I have drilled holes half way down to let the excess water out and because of they smooth sides I have never had an escapee yet. The trickling water stops them from suffocating BTW.

there really is no need to go to all this trouble, keeping them in buckets or trays in a damp sack (we use pillow cases) is plenty enough to keep alive, they breathe air and DO NOT NEED TO BE KEPT IN WATER

keeping this way you can leave for around 4 days, longer if you put them in the fridge, they are cold blooded remember

this will purge the contents of their stomachs, then when your ready to use, wash them through by filling two buckets with water and table salt,(a good handful) and tipping them from one bucket to the other, this makes them up chuck, emptying anything left in stomachs,

 

any of the nets sold in shops for crabs are ok, but if your in an area with plenty of crays, bigger is better, so make your own drop nets from old bike wheels, as for bait, a few whole rabbits, frozen solid, take out on the day your going and chop up with an axe into cubes, it'll slowly melt giving off lots of flavours and blood that the crays cant resist

 

how many tags did you apply for?

use all of them

 

IMAG0115.jpg

 

IMAG0080.jpg

 

if your catching small amounts, then boiling on the cooker is fine, large pots in our house take around 6-7 crays, boil until they float (around 3 minutes)

but when you start catching large numbers, the cooker takes forever, so I invested in a gas bottle cooker plate, and imported a proper crayfish boiler from the states

can keep water on a rolling boil and boil around 20-25 crays at a time

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Burco type boilers are good for large amounts. As for the keeping/purging, it was what I had at hand.

 

 

 


there really is no need to go to all this trouble, keeping them in buckets or trays in a damp sack (we use pillow cases) is plenty enough to keep alive, they breathe air and DO NOT NEED TO BE KEPT IN WATER

keeping this way you can leave for around 4 days, longer if you put them in the fridge, they are cold blooded remember

this will purge the contents of their stomachs, then when your ready to use, wash them through by filling two buckets with water and table salt,(a good handful) and tipping them from one bucket to the other, this makes them up chuck, emptying anything left in stomachs,

 

any of the nets sold in shops for crabs are ok, but if your in an area with plenty of crays, bigger is better, so make your own drop nets from old bike wheels, as for bait, a few whole rabbits, frozen solid, take out on the day your going and chop up with an axe into cubes, it'll slowly melt giving off lots of flavours and blood that the crays cant resist

 

how many tags did you apply for?

use all of them

 

IMAG0115.jpg

 

IMAG0080.jpg

 

if your catching small amounts, then boiling on the cooker is fine, large pots in our house take around 6-7 crays, boil until they float (around 3 minutes)

but when you start catching large numbers, the cooker takes forever, so I invested in a gas bottle cooker plate, and imported a proper crayfish boiler from the states

can keep water on a rolling boil and boil around 20-25 crays at a time

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This is a really interesting thread and is something I have wanted to try for a while. Is it fairly easy to distinguish between those that are protected and those you can take? Also how do you go about getting the permit or whatever it is you need from the environmental agency to catch them. Any help would be appreciated.

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This is a really interesting thread and is something I have wanted to try for a while. Is it fairly easy to distinguish between those that are protected and those you can take? Also how do you go about getting the permit or whatever it is you need from the environmental agency to catch them. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Application to trap form is available on EA website, you need waters and a tag for each trap/net!

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Used to get 15-20 per day. Normally get a couple of days from a carcass.

you need to find a new place to go, we were getting 15-20 per minute

 

This is a really interesting thread and is something I have wanted to try for a while. Is it fairly easy to distinguish between those that are protected and those you can take? Also how do you go about getting the permit or whatever it is you need from the environmental agency to catch them. Any help would be appreciated.

when you apply for the tags, you will only get permission if there are no native crays reported, therefore ID is not something to worry about

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Are there any Native left anywhere on the Thames?

very doubtful, had a chat with the environment guy, seems when they do find natives, they are whisked away and put into private areas AONB etc to build up breeding programs

have you applied for tags yet deeks?

make sure you ask for drop nets rather than traps, its so much easier to get permission, as traps carry more jurisdiction needed, also ask for 10 tags, and at least a 2 mile stretch of river

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