Fishing for Crayfish

[matowakan]

I just want to find some!!!!
Tried 7 different rivers and streams over the last 2 years during the summer and cant trap anything except 3 little fish which have been living happily in my pond for over a year and I dont know what they are!
Am I getting neurotic about trapping crayfish.....yes obsessed more like!"

[Minnesota]

in the USA, I find small crayfish under rocks near the shore of freshwater lakes.
I will harvest a few, once in a while, to use as bait for fishing large mouth Bass.
the crayfish real are small...it'd take forever to get enough for a meal.

I also use frogs for bass fishing. There is a season when they move
from the swamps to the lakes... on a rainy night they will be all over
the roadways...easy pick ens' that's also when the bass are waiting
for them...Good fishin'

[MKG]

There's the problem, Minnesota - here they have an open field and can grow to decent bite-sized creatures. Our native crayfish don't stand a chance (and the bugs the signals carry don't help at all). But there you go - maybe you have too many. A couple of hours in a decent signal fishery gets you a good meal for four here - according to folk legend

Mike

[surlymonkey]

I too wanted to trap for personal consumption and thought I would do it legeally and properly and what a minefield.
I applied for a licence but first I have to tell them what part of what river I want to trap in,then I have to get that owners permission for that part of the river .Then...! I reapply to the Environment agency and they will tell me if I can fish there.
I asked if they could suggest a local river but they say they cant do that!
Hugh FW made it look so easy on the TV !!!!
All I want is to catch the signal to eat.
Any suggestions for me here in N Dorset?
Fist time I applied I was told that we are inundated and shouldnt need a licence.So now I am confused and fed up!!!
Fiona

Yeah, same here!

I need to get permission from the owner of a river, but am going around in circles. I've tried the local parish, the land registry (too pricey), and the enviromental agency but to no avail.

Wouldn't suprise me if these barriers in obtaining a licence are causing people to trap illegally.

Bit of a pain in the just to catch these critters!

[MKG]

The EA is being careful. The native crayfish is more than on the red list - it's probably doomed. So the EA want to ensure that no-one is taking native crays because they can't tell the difference between those and signal crays - and, let's be honest, how many of us can? As long as there's even the slightest possibility that the native cray is hanging on in any water, then the fishing is going to be tightly controlled. Controlled, that is, to the point where licences are simply not issued.

When it's an absolute certainty that the native cray is extinct in any water and has no chance of returning, believe me, licences will be ten a penny. Until then, I'm supporting the efforts to prevent the spread of the signal at the expense of the native - even though it means that I can't get a licence to fish for the buggers.

Mike