Crayfish

[t.eddie]

One of the farms that I have shooting permission on also has a stream with signal crayfish in. When I was chatting to the farmer earlier in the year he mentioned it so I got my trapping license and it has since been an activity that I do with my daughter to help the waterways as well as get a different type of food source. She recently started nursery and has taken to it well so as a well done we carved some time out to get down there to get some.

She was very excited as she was pulling the traps and seeing the crayfish in there. We are thinking this will go into some firm of Thai curry. Its unbelievable and some of the food you can get by just putting in a little work and even better when you can share the experience with someone you love, this is her first foray into fieldsports/country pursuits/ hunting

 

[Netherfield]

Grand footwear she's got on.

 

[t.eddie]

Grand footwear she's got on.

Thank you, she loves them and they do come in handy!

 

[t.eddie]

The end result

 

[Andrewapril]

Brilliant...me and the kids live on the river we used to catch bucket fulls of them...chap l know used to sell them to posh restaurants he made a fortune!!

 

[t.eddie]

Brilliant...me and the kids live on the river we used to catch bucket fulls of them...chap l know used to sell them to posh restaurants he made a fortune!!

Sounds great! I never even thought about catching them until this year and its worked out well that my daughter enjoys doing it!
Not sure I'd have enough to sell

 

[Netherfield]

The end result
View attachment 1135249

You could have turned them the other way, so they weren't looking at us

 

[t.eddie]

You could have turned them the other way, so they weren't looking at us

I'll bear that in mind for next time

 

[L P]

Out of interest did you flush them with fresh water? Used to have a chap catching them locally and they tasted like pond water if they weren't put in clean water for a couple of days for a fresh drink

 

[Nearly]

Clean water with a garlic clove in?

 

[L P]

Clean water with a garlic clove in?

He was catching them on the canal banks, might be that if the water is flowing faster you don't need to do it.... no amount of garlic could make them taste good otherwise!

 

[t.eddie]

Out of interest did you flush them with fresh water? Used to have a chap catching them locally and they tasted like pond water if they weren't put in clean water for a couple of days for a fresh drink

The new rules are you aren't allowed to take them away alive, so I take fresh water with me and a larger cooler, clean them, then despatch and put on ice. Not had any foul tasting ones yet

 

[Two Tone]

I used to catch them years ago. We are on a water divide between the Thames and Severn. All the Thames rivers (Evenlode here) are crawling with them, but there are none in the Severn rivers (Stour here).

Great eating rather like a sweet prawn.
Sheep Street in Stratford-on-Avon is lined from one end to the other with restaurants, mostly to feed the theatre goers. Several of them do a Crayfish Cocktail, as opposed to a Prawn Cocktail and they are the best, tastiest starters on the menus.

Had a friend who made a trap for them out of weldmesh in an open topped box shape, with some cat food wired to the bottom. He could pull at least 6 out every minute on each trap.
He then built a Scottish barbecue using a 12’ diameter Oak log, which he chainsawed 4 groves in on the top at 12, 1.30, 3, 4.30 about 6’ deep. He then poured lighter fuel in the middle and set fire to it. It quickly burned out the middle leaving 8 pillars, on which he put a pan full of water to boil the crayfish. Lasted for hours, so long that we could fry our breakfast on it the next morning!

 

[Two Tone]

Clean water with a garlic clove in?

What a way to die, if you are a Crayfish!

 

[t.eddie]

I used to catch them years ago. We are on a water divide between the Thames and Severn. All the Thames rivers (Evenlode here) are crawling with them, but there are none in the Severn rivers (Stour here).

Great eating rather like a sweet prawn.
Sheep Street in Stratford-on-Avon is lined from one end to the other with restaurants, mostly to feed the theatre goers. Several of them do a Crayfish Cocktail, as opposed to a Prawn Cocktail and they are the best, tastiest starters on the menus.

Had a friend who made a trap for them out of weldmesh in an open topped box shape, with some cat food wired to the bottom. He could pull at least 6 out every minute on each trap.
He then built a Scottish barbecue using a 12’ diameter Oak log, which he chainsawed 4 groves in on the top at 12, 1.30, 3, 4.30 about 6’ deep. He then poured lighter fuel in the middle and set fire to it. It quickly burned out the middle leaving 8 pillars, on which he put a pan full of water to boil the crayfish. Lasted for hours, so long that we could fry our breakfast on it the next morning!

Where I catch them on the farm isn't heaving but there is enough to make it worth seeing the traps.
Sounds awesome what your friend did

 

[Clive]

how do you catch them ? what kind of trap ? i know we have some in a stream on the farm so might send my boys to try get some

 

[t.eddie]

how do you catch them ? what kind of trap ? i know we have some in a stream on the farm so might send my boys to try get some

I just grabbed some otter safe traps from amazon about 10.00 or so if I remember correctly. You do have to apply for a licence to use traps from the environment agency which is free. Also have to make sure you don't knowingly take the native crayfish

 

[Two Tone]

how do you catch them ? what kind of trap ? i know we have some in a stream on the farm so might send my boys to try get some

Imagine a shoe box made of weldmesh (though it could be square instead of oblong). The sides are hinged so they fold down flat beside the base. Each side is attached by string to a rope that when you pull it, the sides raise vertically to trap the crayfish in. Wire a bit of rotted meat or cat food to the base, chuck it in the river, wait 30 seconds then pull the trap out by the rope.

 

[t.eddie]

Imagine a shoe box made of weldmesh. The sides are hinged so they fold down flat beside the base. Each side is attached by string to a rope that when you pull it, the sides raise vertically to trap the crayfish in. Wire a bit of rotted meat or cat food to the base, chuck it in the river, wait 30 seconds then pull the trap out by the rope.

Fish sticks work well as does cat food also. Anything a bit stinky should do the trick

 

[Andrewapril]

Banana skins work surprisingly well