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Polchraine wrote:

snayperskaya wrote:

Polchraine wrote:Is Crayfish trapping in my garden permissible? Have not seen or heard anything, so I'll carry on.

Yabbies for tea?

That's a good Aussie name for them. Unfortunately there are not to many at present or I need to change the bait

Are they indigenous crayfish or Signal?

I used to find loads of crayfish under the rocks in the Severn when I was younger, whilst catching Stone Loach to use as eel bait.

Incomers - Signal

You need a DEFRA licence to trap signal crayfish. It is free of charge. Once caught they must not be relocated and traps must be tagged to show they are under licence.

Ovenpaa wrote:You need a DEFRA licence to trap signal crayfish. It is free of charge. Once caught they must not be relocated and traps must be tagged to show they are under licence.

Have my licence and tags. From submitting to them arriving, about 2 years back, was about 3 or 4 days.

River is just 3 to 4 metres from my front door ...

I asked an organisation it I could trap in the river where it runs through their land and was told "No, the river is dangerous",. Compared to parts of the Spey where I fish and can be wading up to my chest, this one is fairly shallow - but still needs respect.

Signal crayfish are very tasty but in short supply around here now. They have taken a real battering over the last decade (rightly so) I could go out with a drop net and catch 100 in less than an hour. Struggle to catch 10 now.

Lampuki wrote:Signal crayfish are very tasty but in short supply around here now. They have taken a real battering over the last decade (rightly so) I could go out with a drop net and catch 100 in less than an hour. Struggle to catch 10 now.

Good and Bad !

Good that numbers are being kept down, and bad that you cannot get enough for a big feast!

What sort of size were you getting? I had one last year that was around 8"/20cm long.

And bait - any preference you have found?

Wow, I have seldom seen them more than 4 or maybe 5" in length.

I have an image (somewhere on the PC) of a giant on my size twelve boot. Plenty were in the 5-6 inch range, with a great chunk of meat in the tail and some with huge claws (my favourite part to eat)

I just used to tie a lump of mackerel onto the net as bait. I did have a number of traps I would set overnight but never had the numbers I had with the drop net, poachers?? :)

I got a phone call the other day from the local harbourmaster. "Would I like some lobster & crab?", "Does the Pope sh*t in the woods", says I! Picked them up yesterday, lovely and the price was right (free/nada)! Joys of living in a wee Scottish Fishing village.

Andy632 wrote:I got a phone call the other day from the local harbourmaster. "Would I like some lobster & crab?", "Does the Pope sh*t in the woods", says I! Picked them up yesterday, lovely and the price was right (free/nada)! Joys of living in a wee Scottish Fishing village.

Flipping heck! I would kill for a lobster right now.

I'm also chomping at the bit to get out with my shrimp net!! Hmmmm potted shrimp!!