crayfish

the more i read weekly papers the more it seems that the crayfish is hated.
i know that they mean a demise of our native cray but surely this is negligable compared to polution and water being drawn off.
people are always coming up with ways to get rid of them but in my experience where theres crays theres big fish and this can be the only reason they are big.
a local water to me contained crays and large perch and chub. when they reduced the crays they also got rid of the big perch and chub.
surely to have specimen fish in a water is worth a few stolen baits and scratched boilies.

[Graham Whatmore]

Don't think you'll get much agreement there Andy. If you read back thru the threads you'll find the concensus is good riddance, and I reckon you'll find that thoughout the fishing community. I live in the south west of the country and they havn't got a foothold, YET, but I will definately fall on the 'anti' side if they do

The EA have reacted far too late to do anything about them now so we might as well get used o them because they will eventually be everywhere. Like every introduction of an alien species the populations will eventually stabilise and we will all end up taking them for granted like we do coots or carp )

Andy big fish have to grow from eggs which sadly vanish along with small invertabrates upon which small fish feed.The middle Thames has no crays (yet) but produces Chub and Perch every bit as big as those from the Kennet, equally the Dorset Stour and Hants Avon to my knowledge has no crays yet produces big everything.I could go on using the Lodden, Severn, Warks Avon, Wensum and most of the Great Ouse as examples of waters that produce big fish of most species yet do not suffer the dreaded crays.Anglers adapt to problems but sadly it is a problem that resembles a galloping horse from an unbolted stable.

As you say David, bigger chub in the Stour than in the Upper Ouse. No crays in the Stour, crays in the Upper Ouse an absolute f***ing nightmare. However, as Andy says, we had better get used to them as they will be everywhere in time.

the rumour of the possible record perch came from a stretch of a river which has no crays in that section and it's currently heaving with small fry.