Red Signal Crayfish

GrahamM

GrahamM

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Has anybody noticed these in waters fairly recently where they've never seen them before?
 
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Dave Slater

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There were a few found in a weirpool on a syndicate stretch on the Hampshire Avon at Bickton a couple of years ago when I was a member. As far as I am aware these have not shown since and have not spread. I dislike the things intensely after fishing the Ouse and the Clydon Brook. I hope they do not spread to the Avon and the Stour but I fear the worst as they seem to get everywhere eventually.
 
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Wolfman Woody

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They have been reported in the Thames now at Windsor and Ian Mathers, runs the Civil Service angling Club, brought one to a RUG7 meeting the other week as rowers hadn't seen them before. They're coming up with Mitten crabs too which undermine the banks.
 
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ED (The ORIGINAL and REAL one)

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In over 40 years of fishing I have never seen a crayfish ---white,red signal or any other type
 
Peter Jacobs

Peter Jacobs

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In the last 4 years I have not seen one on the Hampshire Avon, although there are a few in one or two of the CAC's lakes near to Ringwood.
Fishing these lakes last summer a friend of mine 'caught' a couple whilst float fishing.
 
GrahamM

GrahamM

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Danebridge Trout fisheries, where I flyfish quite often, is riddled with signals.

The river Dane runs just 50 yds away from it.

Fifty years and more ago, when I used to poach the Dane for brown trout, I used to catch loads of White Claw crays.

I haven't seen one in the Dane for many years. But how long now before the signals turn up? Maybe they have already........
 
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Steve King

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The Kennet is riddled with tRed Signals & so are parts of the Grand Union Canal.

The last time that I saw a native cray was over 20 years ago on a tributory of the Teifi.
 
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Warren 'Hatrick' (Wol) Gaunt

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Sad state of affairs this. Watch the match lads now on the local canal and one of the first things they do is open either end of a tin of meat and put it in the margins on a piece of string to draw the crays away from the 'main' swim they are going to be fishing and onto the tin of meat. Canal has shed loads in.

The water i'm breaming has them showing up more and more each year. ****ing pain in the arse, they really do get to you at times. Specially when you really want to present a natural bait like a lobworm.
 
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Wolfman Woody

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You see the Cherwell. I was wondering one day how boilies were coming of my hair rig. The crays had found a way of inching the boilie up the hair, removing the stop, and slipping the boilie off altogether.

I didn't believe it at first until I saw a cray walking upstream carrying one of my boilies high above its head like a trophy. Fortunately, we have none reported upstream of Marlow yet on the Thames. It's only a matter of time though.

We'll put some waterproof maps in the Grand Union so they can find their way to the Mersey for you, Eddie.
 
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Jon Moores

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An awful lot of small stillwater trout fisheries are full of them. I can think of quite a few in the North West, not an area otherwise noted for Signals. I suspect they were in many of these cases unwisely deliberately introduced as a potential cash crop.
 
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Jim Crosskey

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I fished the Thames just above Oxford on Sunday, deadbaiting for Pike - not a single run all day, but every deadbait (even popped-up 2-3 inches) came back with at least some cray damage - on a few occasions, three different individuals would be attached to the bait. I certainly got the feeling that the water was totally infested with the little beggars, as the indicators would start to twitch immediatley after casting. Anyone got any ways of avoiding their attention in this situation?
 
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Steve Reeves

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The River Goyt from Marple to Stockport is already infested with signals.
getpicture.php

Heres's a photo of one of the blighters.
 
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Steve Reeves

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Hi Jim, you'll have to pop up your bait a lot more than 2-3 inches if there're crays about.
I think the only way you will avoid their attention is don't put a bait on your hooks.
:))
 
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Steve King

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Apparently several Portuguese rivers suffered an invasion of red signals some years ago. I am informed (reliably or otherwise!) by a Portuguese friend that the authorities response was to poison the affected rivers killing all fish, crustaceans, invertebrates etc and re-stock from scratch.

Sounds a little drastic to me!
 
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John Lock

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The River Lea at Dobbs Weir was infested with Signals for most of this year. At least 50% of my catches were crayfish. Some professional crayfish catchers were called in and they removed 200kg of the things in just one day. The problem isn't quite so bad now, last time I fished there they only made up 10% of my catches. But I reckon they'll be back next year and I will be expected to obey the fishery sign which magically appeared during the summer, and which says "It is illegal to catch or kill crayfish". We'll see.
 
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Kevin Thornton

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Alien crayfish are far more common than you may believe. The fact that you haven't seen or caught them doesn't mean they aren't there. I only rarely catch them on my hooks but I do know that the bottom of some of the rivers and lakes that I fish are paved with them. Next time you experience those typical 'crafty chub' tugs which don't fully develop, or even the fizz bang wallop of barbel that you keep missing on the strike, suspect crays. Put out a fishmeal boilee. Evidence of crayfish appears as scratches or score marks. Trust me, they are out there!
 
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Steve Reeves

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The ones in my local river don't just scratch a bait, they mangle it. I have had them mash minnows that were intended for perch. If you retrieve the tackle steadily they are still hanging on.

Is it illegal to kill signal crayfish?
 
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Kevin Thornton

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This is what the Environment Agency has to say about trapping.

Regulation is needed:

(a) to protect our native White-clawed Crayfish;

(b) because the traps and fyke nets commonly used to catch crayfish are "Fixed Engines" as defined by the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act (1975); unless authorised by byelaws, the use of these instruments to catch crayfish is an offence under Section 6 of SAFFA (1975). Therefore, while fishing for crayfish is legal, unless crayfish traps are authorised by byelaws, their use is illegal, even where they are used within a site registered as a fish farm.

I guess what they are saying is, it's not illegal to catch them, but you will need a licence to take them, and that's where we came in.
 
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