cray fish trapping

[food for free]

Does anyone have any info or ideas on making a home made crayfish trap.

I think i will be able to put it to good use in the coming weeks.

Ideally it would be cheap and portable i.e quite small.

I have pondered on the idea of a large pop bottle with the end cut off with the screw top enlarged and inserted back inside the bottle and a load of holes in it.....if you get the idea.

Any help appreciated

 

Cheers

[markbivvy]

loads on ebay.

the paper work for this game is a nightmare. was going to have a go at em myself

but there is reams of paper to go through.

good luck with it.

[HEAD SHOT]

Before you do, check up on the rules and regs on trapping crayfish. Theres only a few places you can do it.

[vole]

How stupid to make it so difficult to trap a destructive alien species. The Environment Agency should be giving the traps away.Typical of this bloody country. Good luck with the trapping. I catch them most times I go fishing. Even on fly!

[Suffolk shooter]

How stupid to make it so difficult to trap a destructive alien species. The Environment Agency should be giving the traps away.Typical of this bloody country. Good luck with the trapping. I catch them most times I go fishing. Even on fly!

 

I'd agree with you vole21 if it was only the american signal crayfish, but with our native species in decline because of said american crayfish, then he risk is there for the inexperienced to take them as well or instead of.

 

Why not purchase a simple licence the same as coarse and trout in order to carryout this task though. Each licence could have pictures of each type and gender so as not to cause confusion laminated as well.

 

SS

[bob300w]

A doddle to make if you have an old rabbit or coypu trap.

Take trap, turn it upside down, fix trapdoor at 45 degrees with cable ties or wire. Snip wires on three sides of other end and fix this end at 45 degrees also. Put bait inside, fix rope for lowering into water and removal, done job. Crayfish walk up the 45 degree slopes and drop in, when they try to walk out they are trapped. Mine works a treat.

[bignoel]

take a 5 gallon drum plastic drill plenty of holes all round it to allow water flow cut out a large round hole on front make yourself a chicken wire funnel place on front cable tie it on throu pre drilled holes now turn it over cut out a door .put hand throu and tye down weights to what is to be the bottom side., i put a tin of mackrel in with drilled holes in [tined mackrel in oil ]close door with cable tyes place in water watch oil flow check daily. have fun they work.

 

fix rope to plastic handle.

Edited April 24, 2008 by bignoel

[Jonty]

How stupid to make it so difficult to trap a destructive alien species. The Environment Agency should be giving the traps away.Typical of this bloody country. Good luck with the trapping. I catch them most times I go fishing. Even on fly!

 

I'd agree with you vole21 if it was only the american signal crayfish, but with our native species in decline because of said american crayfish, then he risk is there for the inexperienced to take them as well or instead of.

 

Why not purchase a simple licence the same as coarse and trout in order to carryout this task though. Each licence could have pictures of each type and gender so as not to cause confusion laminated as well.

 

SS

 

The main reason for the licences according to defra and the EA is to stop cross contamination by people allowing the american signals into new watercourses where they hammer the native crays. However, as I don't reckon there's many of us catchng crays for the sport of it, there ain't no way that any I catch would be going anywhere apart from the barby.

 

I can understand where they're coming from, I suppose neither the native crayfish or red squirrels were too pleased when they were introduced to their american Cousins.

[food for free]

cheers for that will give it a go...

didnt know about the licence though.

its scotland where i intend to do it... Do the same rules apply there

[MC]

Get them off e bay, mine were about a fiver each. Not worth messing about with.

 

Don't worry about the paperwork, just get on and trap them. Speak to your local angling clubs, they will let you trap them on their waters.

[Suffolk shooter]

I hear there nice freshly boiled with a bit of a lime and chilli marinade, washed down with a bit of chardonnay. Any chance of getting few MC?? Obviousdly I only want legal and above board ones.

 

SS

[staglioni]

i use a 2 quid drop net i got on ebay cable tie a bit of on its way out chicken on the bottem for bait and lift it up every ten minits beats **** out a lobster and bucket loads free in an hour trust me my friends love it

[MC]

I hear there nice freshly boiled with a bit of a lime and chilli marinade, washed down with a bit of chardonnay. Any chance of getting few MC?? Obviousdly I only want legal and above board ones.

 

SS

 

 

Sorry SS,

 

I don't do legal and above board.

 

If you want some of the others I will go and put the traps in for you.

 

Cheers

 

Martin

[Suffolk shooter]

I hear there nice freshly boiled with a bit of a lime and chilli marinade, washed down with a bit of chardonnay. Any chance of getting few MC?? Obviousdly I only want legal and above board ones.

 

SS

 

 

Sorry SS,

 

I don't do legal and above board.

 

If you want some of the others I will go and put the traps in for you.

 

Cheers

 

Martin

 

:blink:

Oh go on then

 

SS

[bigt1754]

PLEASE CHECK THE REGS FOR THIS

 

A few months ago I was called to a job with home made crayfish trap. The trap had THREE otters caught in it, the mother and two young uns. The entrance has to be a set diameter.

 

The sed trap entrance was to small, the otters were looking for some lunch, got trapped and drown. That was a third of Cambs otter population gone in one go.

 

 

I'm sure the EA would help if you asked them.

 

 

Please follow the rules, As mentioned so many times before on this forum, give em an excuse to take a sgc or fac............

 

Not saying that would happen, but holding the licence should mean that the holder is a responsible person.

 

Thanks for reading

 

T

[lord_seagrave]

From:- http://www.defra.gov.uk/fish/freshwater/crayfish.htm

 

"If you are thinking of trapping crayfish you should bear in mind that there are a number of conditions that need to be met. Permission to trap will be dependent on local situations, in particular the presence of the native crayfish. The EA will also take into account the possible detrimental effect that trapping could have on other species, such as protected animals like otters and water voles. Many water courses go through private properties and it will be your responsibility to obtain the permission of the landowner before you commence. You should also try and ensure that the traps are inspected every 24 hours, and disinfected after use.

 

You should also be aware that if you reintroduce the caught crayfish into any other waters, without the required licence, you could be liable for prosecution under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and this could result in a heavy fine."

 

LS

[lord_seagrave]

From:- http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subje...n=1&lang=_e

 

The Crayfish Code: How Can You Help?

 

You Catching Crayfish will not help the environment

Unlike the message from many TV programs, catching crayfish on an ad hoc basis can actually make the situation worse and not better. You will be catching the bigger crayfish in any stretch of water. These will eat their smaller siblings which helps keep the population in balance. By taking out the bigger dominant crayfish you will inadvertently destabilise the population which could cause it to expand in area.

 

Sustainable Crayfish?

To be effective at reducing the impact of crayfish from any stretch of water you need to be trapping continuously all year round and removing and setting traps on a daily basis during the spring and summer months. A planned removal operation carried out in this manner will reduce the impact of crayfish but will never remove them completely. If you want your restaurant to have crayfish on the menu, choose a reputable supplier who operates in this manner. You will end up with lots of smaller ones and few big ones. If you cannot use this size of animal, do not buy them.

A supplier who removes crayfish in a sustainable manner is likely to have a management plan for a water and that aims to remove and not crop the resident crayfish.

 

Buyer Beware

If you do buy crayfish do so only from a reputable source, and do not store them anywhere where there may be the threat of escape, for example, ornamental ponds. It is a criminal offence under the Crayfish Order to store live crayfish in a non-secure location.

 

Report Sightings

If you see anyone in possession of, or attempting to trap, release or sell live crayfish, please report it to the Environment Agency immediately. A legal trap will always have an identifying plastic tag on it. If you are unsure, write down the number of the tag and call us. We can check to see if the trap is licensed to be used at that location. You always need the landowners permission to fish for crayfish. A legal trap will always have an entrance less than 200mm and if it is greater than 95mm will need an otter guard fitted. Crayfish traps will kill otters and water voles if not set and fished correctly. This is why all crayfish trapping is authorised through ourselves and amateur trapping should never be encouraged.

 

Do not introduce alien crayfish

It is a criminal offence to release or allow to escape, signal and other crayfish species into the wild anywhere in England and Wales without a licence. It is also against the law to use crayfish as bait for angling in England and Wales. This is alive, dead, liquidised, cooked or raw. This is to prevent the spread of crayfish and crayfish plague to other waters.

[jimdfish]

Bignoels trap is exactly the same as i use. the drilled holes in the tins of mackerel are nothing short of genius though. thumbs up and hats doffed.

JDF

[32 grams of pain]

if you find alot in a small stream/river you can catch them with a net by putting some rotting fish/meat in the net, when a few crayfish crawl to the bait lift the net up and out them in a bucket also what i have found it when you are fishing the attack you feeders and hang on for dear life

[pavman]

yep i called enviromental agency, wont allow trapping on rivers even though they know there are no English Crays, but will on selected still waters, I said whats the chance of getting caught they said very little

 

which is nice :unsure:

[Fisherman Mike]

" I said whats the chance of getting caught they said very little "

 

 

Just give us your contact details and our inspector will get back to you !!!

[Rabbit_Ryan]

i dont use traps i just find a stick then tie sum fishing line or string onto it then get sum mackeral or any other sea fish and tie it on the other end,i got thousands in one day,o and i just stick the stick into the bank coz there normally under the bank,and as people are saying check the rules,happy crayfishing o and another thing is to use them cheap crab nets that you buy at the sea side,the best ones are the ones with them little washing up bags,and they just cling on like crabs.

[TuftySnuffer]

There is a lake near Bletchley park that is full of American Signal Crayfish.

 

I have been informed that because these are vermin and wiping out our native stocks that they can be caught and cooked without a licence.

 

You do however need diving equipment and a pair of stout gloves to avoid getting nipped/pinced

 

regards

 

PGB