Crayfish

[mikench]

Why would someone use a fake crawfish as bait when the dreaded American variety is readily available in our rivers and canals?

Are they used and are they a successful bait!

 

[peter crabtree]

It is illegal to return signal crays to the water dead or alive.

 

[mikench]

....mm I can understand that for an invasive species but if we were encouraged to catch and kill them they would make good bait I would have thought!

Illogical that they cannot be used as dead bait! They taste good however!

 

[peter crabtree]

They carry a virus which kills our native crays and the virus is still present in a dead crayfish. Look on the EA website it clearly states using crayfish as bait is illegal in England and Wales.

 

[mikench]

I will. I do not fish for predators by the way and have no intention of doing so.

I am not in awe of the EA and do not consider that they really know what they are doing in many instances! That is another story however!

 

[maurice walsh]

you dont know what your missing mike, get some pike gear going n get yourself some toothy critter fun

 

[Peter Jacobs]

The rules surrounding the Signal Crayfish are indeed contradictory . . . .

It is illegal to take them without a valid licence from the EA.

It is also illegal to return them to the water they came from . . . .

Therefore you cannot use them as a bait and the only (legal?) option remaining is to crush them on the bank and leave them there for nature to take care of them.

I don't see anything against having a Kelly kettle with boiling water though so you can drop them into that and eat them (really good eating) tha also saves the hassle of making sarnies for a day on the river

 

[Philip]

I don't see anything against having a Kelly kettle with boiling water though so you can drop them into that and eat them (really good eating) tha also saves the hassle of making sarnies for a day on the river

Like the idea of the Kelly kettle cooking ...you literally just drop em in like a mini Lobster I presume and pull em out when they go pink ?

Conincidently I was watching a programe yesterday about how to BBQ signal crays over an open fire ...really good tip for cleaning...take hold of the big middle tail fin..pull it to one side till it clicks...pull it to the other side till it clicks again then pull it directly away from the body and out comes the intestinal canal and you are left with a cleaned crayfish ready for cooking.

 

[ken more]

I think the idea of eating Crayfish is a fine one, but why not kill them first before dropping them into boiling water

Philips idea about cleaning them is also a good one in my opinion.