another crayfish success

[stubby]

even though the winter months stopped the crayfish trapping, it did'nt stop me from researching stuff via the internet, and although I have tags for a certain stretch of river in hertfordshire, I wanted somewhere in essex, so we could invite the herts crew over here, well today it all came together and my hard work paid off, I had popped into a privately owned lake a month or so ago, that I had read via the internet, reports that it had a very bad crayfish infestation, speaking to the owner he informed me that he did have someone trapping and exporting them around a year ago, but as he hadent been back, if I applied for EA tags, then permission would be given, Im hoping that the exporter/trapper stopped going there because his catch rate fell to a point of not making sufficent money from the catch, but as a hobbie catcher/eater a smaller infestation is still good for me,

anyhow my 10 x tags came today, valid until 2015, so popped into see the owner, and full permission has been granted, he's ok with me taking small parties along, 2's and 3's, and I offered to take back some caught/purged crayfish along with the gas boiler so he and friends can give them a taste, thought that would sweetern the deal, as I also want to do a bit of lure fishing here for pike, Im also allowed to park in his customer area and it may warrent me buying a small boat (dory) and outboard in the future, hopefully a good start to the new year

[bakerboy]

Good news Steve.

Well done mate

[yankeedoodlepigeon]

[bakerboy]

L

This all started with a thread from you

 

T

[yankeedoodlepigeon]

T

 

I can't wait to get out fishing this year. All these posts make me green.

 

L

[malkiserow]

Are these tags mentioned for leaving traps in the water overnight only?

[stubby]

Are these tags mentioned for leaving traps in the water overnight only?

 

 

no, my permission from EA states to be removed within 24hrs, we use drop nets, they are lifted every couple of minutes and crays removed, when you apply for tags, you stipulate what you'll be using to catch the crays, drop nets are an easy way to gain ea permission, as traps that are to be left in situ, have all manner of guidelines that they have to conform too, size of opening being the main one, as other non target species, ie fish/otters can get caught and die inside the trap, some of the cheap "traps" sold on evil bay to not have the correct size opening, so permission/tags may not be given, or if otters are present in the area, again permission may be refussed, therefore drop nets, used only whilst you are there, in my eyes is the way to go...

[malkiserow]

Do you need to get access permission from the land owner first?

 

Any chance of an idiots guide to getting started with the permissions and paperwork..... and a sample tag request letter?

Thanks

MS

[stubby]

Do you need to get access permission from the land owner first?

 

Any chance of an idiots guide to getting started with the permissions and paperwork..... and a sample tag request letter?

Thanks

MS

 

no probs,

 

first, get yourself a little drop net from the tackle shop, looks like a keep net, but about the size of a dinner plate, and only 1 or 2 rings long, it lays flat on floor when dropped,should only cost around £4 like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRAWN-AND-CRAB-DROP-NET-/350426808633?pt=UK_SportingGoods_FishingAcces_RL&hash=item519710c139#ht_2702wt_1110

 

a length of rop around 15ft tied to end, now get some bait, any meat, the older the better, so raid the fridge for out of date stuff, sausage,bacon etc, I prefer chopped up fresh rabbit, oozes blood which is a good attractant, you'll be able to pin it to the bottom of the net (inside)

 

get out around your local rivers/lakes/ponds etc and do some test dip's, put it in close to the bank and give it a few minutes, then pull out and see if you have any crays, once you have found an area with crays, then its time to contact the EA, you can download a pdf form that needs filling in, name/address, you'll need the name of river/pond/lake, and area postcode, basically any info you can give the ea to identify that stretch of water, try ordenance survey maps, you can then get an actual number that the ea recognise, you have a section on traps/nets, I just say 10 x drop nets, 10 is the highest amount you can have as a hobby trapper, want more and your classed as commercial, but you can have more than 10 if different locations, but only 1 form per area

 

question 3 answer; all year round and tick drop net and personal consumption

question 4 ; just put in 10 x drop nets

question 5; write red signal crayfish

 

http://www.efishbusiness.co.uk/formsandguides/cr1.pdf

 

send it off and wait

the ea may phone you to confirm the type of net your using, either tell them its the type above, or that you make your own from old bike rims 28"

if you aint heard nothing after a month, phone them to inquire about your tags, hurry them up a little

 

now once you get your tags, attach one to each net,

 

now the grey area

if its a privetly owned river/lake/pond you'll need permission from the owner, if its council owned, its doubtful you'll be given permission, but you cannot get done for theft of a wild animal, maybe get yourself a rod license which then gives you the right to fish on council owned waters, we have never been approached by baliff's, most baliffs work for the EA, which you have tags from

Edited March 6, 2012 by stubby

[malkiserow]

Ace, many thanks

[bakerboy]

no probs,

 

first, get yourself a little drop net from the tackle shop, looks like a keep net, but about the size of a dinner plate, and only 1 or 2 rings long, it lays flat on floor when dropped,should only cost around £4 like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRAWN-AND-CRAB-DROP-NET-/350426808633?pt=UK_SportingGoods_FishingAcces_RL&hash=item519710c139#ht_2702wt_1110

 

a length of rop around 15ft tied to end, now get some bait, any meat, the older the better, so raid the fridge for out of date stuff, sausage,bacon etc, I prefer chopped up fresh rabbit, oozes blood which is a good attractant, you'll be able to pin it to the bottom of the net (inside)

 

get out around your local rivers/lakes/ponds etc and do some test dip's, put it in close to the bank and give it a few minutes, then pull out and see if you have any crays, once you have found an area with crays, then its time to contact the EA, you can download a pdf form that needs filling in, name/address, you'll need the name of river/pond/lake, and area postcode, basically any info you can give the ea to identify that stretch of water, try ordenance survey maps, you can then get an actual number that the ea recognise, you have a section on traps/nets, I just say 10 x drop nets, 10 is the highest amount you can have as a hobby trapper, want more and your classed as commercial, but you can have more than 10 if different locations, but only 1 form per area

 

question 3 answer; all year round and tick drop net and personal consumption

question 4 ; just put in 10 x drop nets

question 5; write red signal crayfish

 

http://www.efishbusiness.co.uk/formsandguides/cr1.pdf

 

send it off and wait

the ea may phone you to confirm the type of net your using, either tell them its the type above, or that you make your own from old bike rims 28"

if you aint heard nothing after a month, phone them to inquire about your tags, hurry them up a little

 

now once you get your tags, attach one to each net,

 

now the grey area

if its a privetly owned river/lake/pond you'll need permission from the owner, if its council owned, its doubtful you'll be given permission, but you cannot get done for theft of a wild animal, maybe get yourself a rod license which then gives you the right to fish on council owned waters, we have never been approached by baliff's, most baliffs work for the EA, which you have tags from

Steve

 

That is very informative, and should prove helpful to lots of potential Crayfisher's.

 

It is worth pointing out that the nets you are showing are made out of old bicycle wheels with the spokes removed. Last year you placed a thread on how to make them it may be worth resurrecting that thread.

To hold the bait at the bottom of the nets, I find the best and the cheapest way are the nets you get fruit in from the Supermarket, or the nets Babybel cheese is sold in, as these are free and plentyful they can be disposed of at the end on the trip or rinsed and used again.

Heres waiting for the waters to warm up.

[bi9johnny]

thanks for the information chaps.... i have done all kinds of fishing in the past and would love to give crayfishing a go...... most of the ponds and fisheries here are not fed by rivers or streams, will i still find them in these.....also are they found in canals and lastly is there any info of where abouts they are being a pest

best regards

john

[bakerboy]

Canals would be the first place to visit.

I would ask your local fishermen, they know where the Crayfish are.

[bi9johnny]

thanks terry surrounded by canals here

[stubby]

also are they found in canals and lastly is there any info of where abouts they are being a pest

best regards

john

 

you'll get all pest info from the EA website, just google it, the fact they are called american red signal crayfish, shows they are non native to the uk, thus classed as a pest, same as squirrels, which is why on the "tags" form question 3; I answer all year round, as a non native they cannot have a closed breeding season, and we can start catching when we see fit/or the weather gets better

 

belive it or not, but crays can walk very well on dry land, therefore areas do not need to be fed by a river, when they get the urge to breed they will walk, terry has stories of them walking up the high street

 

here's the link to making your own drop nets

http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/185509-my-homemade-crayfish-nets/page__p__1570792__fromsearch__1#entry1570792

 

I'll add, that I use a wire "wild bird bread feeder" attached to the centre of net, to hold my bait in, and I also fix the tag to this, so its in an easily seen position once out of water

Edited March 7, 2012 by stubby

[bi9johnny]

thanks chaps :good:

[stubby]

...also are they found in canals and lastly is there any info of where abouts they are being a pest

best regards

john

 

I read your post wrongly, thought you were asking for confirmation that they are classed as pest,

 

but you wer'nt,lol

 

they way I found areas was google searches, try typing in crayfish in; and then the name of your area, or river name etc, it may take a few minutes or hours, but you should get loads of info to troll though, playing the detective for a few hours does pay off,

[pegasus bridge]

thanks terry surrounded by canals here

i dont want to rain on your parade, but check with the local EA first, if you still have populations of indigenous crayfish in the area they will probably not grant licences. i tried with my local EA and they point blank refused (and confirmed i would need a licence even just to use attended nets) reason given was the risk of moving the virus around that kills off our own crayfish. i was gutted - i know where the signals are locally in some good number

 

i would be interested to see if you do get a licence though - keep us posted

[stubby]

i dont want to rain on your parade, but check with the local EA first, if you still have populations of indigenous crayfish in the area they will probably not grant licences. i tried with my local EA and they point blank refused (and confirmed i would need a licence even just to use attended nets) reason given was the risk of moving the virus around that kills off our own crayfish. i was gutted - i know where the signals are locally in some good number

 

i would be interested to see if you do get a licence though - keep us posted

 

its true that if areas have our native crayfish in, you wont get issued a permit/tags, but your stating above stuff thats already been mentioned, yes for drop nets you need tags, if nets are used in more than one location, your advised to disinfect nets between waters, to stop the spread of virus, but its still not a good enough reason to not be given a permit, if an area has red signals, its very doubtful that theres still our native whites living there too, the impression I was given from trolling the internet on our own white crays, is that once found by the EA, they are normally moved to areas that the public do not have access too

 

my advise to anyone wanting to catch crays, read my info post, download and fill out the forms, only phone the EA if after a month you have no reply, I think phoning beforehand sounds as though you'll get fobbed off, they are not gods, they dont know everything, as Ive witnessed on my phone conversations with them,

but they love doing stuff by the book, which your filled out form is!!!