cray fishing in the midlands

[hedgerow pete 25]

Right the other threads on the cray fishing set ups has whetted the old appitite to have a go so,

does anyone in the midlands, Birmingham, Black country, Smethwick. Know of any area that they fish that is plagued with cray fish.

Canals, ponds, rivers any way realy.

 

once i find some where that has cray fish and then i can see the owners and get some permission and then some tags and nets made up.

 

so can any one tell me where they get cray fished when bottom fishing please, pete

[paulus 26]

Right the other threads on the cray fishing set ups has whetted the old appitite to have a go so,

does anyone in the midlands, Birmingham, Black country, Smethwick. Know of any area that they fish that is plagued with cray fish.

Canals, ponds, rivers any way realy.

 

once i find some where that has cray fish and then i can see the owners and get some permission and then some tags and nets made up.

 

so can any one tell me where they get cray fished when bottom fishing please, pete

most local canals have crayfish in now, failing that pop into your local fishing tackle shop for advice

[stubby 175]

It'll probably be easier to give it a month or two, tempreture rises in the water etc, as they seem to be slower in the cold, get a test net, travel to different water courses within your area and lob it in, having attached a rope first of course or do as I did, check with any fisheries/club etc that have their ponds fed by a local stream, then check if they had a cray problem

[Kaiserdog 20]

As Stubby says the canals are a good bet, i get a few from the Grand Union In the acocks Green area of Brum, There are also a few park pools in my area that produce well when the weather warms up.

[hedgerow pete 25]

cheers lads, many many thanks for the replies i was wondering if i was the only one thinking or doing this. the ideas were to get some ideas where to try over the next couple of months get some tags sorted etc ready for march april time and then the summer

 

do you guys prefere open drop nets or round tube mesh cages

[mattyg 1,862]

there are bloody 1000s to be had in a nice little river that runs through wraks.......pm and i will let you know where, i put a few traps down in the summer and have some great nets, no permission needed if you go the right places!

matt

[hedgerow pete 25]

i cant seem to get a pm to go to you is your inbox full try sending one to me instead i would love to know ehere you are thinking of

[Acuspell 329]

What kind of water is best for the signals? As in, do they prefer

certain depth

slow or fast

rocky bottom or muddy bottom - or any

size of waterway

depth of pond - what size outflow does it need for them to have inhabited?

 

Any pointers would be great because I have 3 miles of river I can try and several still waters.

[paulus 26]

What kind of water is best for the signals? As in, do they prefer

certain depth

slow or fast

rocky bottom or muddy bottom - or any

size of waterway

depth of pond - what size outflow does it need for them to have inhabited?

 

Any pointers would be great because I have 3 miles of river I can try and several still waters.

What kind of water is best for the signals? As in, do they prefer

certain depth

slow or fast

rocky bottom or muddy bottom - or any

size of waterway

depth of pond - what size outflow does it need for them to have inhabited?

 

Any pointers would be great because I have 3 miles of river I can try and several still waters.

theres a thread on here somewhere read it earlier gives you all the info you need just do a search

[hedgerow pete 25]

i was planning on tagging ten traps and then from the nearest point to home spread them out every 5 metres and then do an overnight stay for each trap, and work along till i find some.

 

everyone says they dig into the banks so i would try closer in rather than further out, i cant do further out due to the canal boats ripping into the trap mooring lines or fouling the wire mesh nets

[Acuspell 329]

Pete, how did you get permission for tags on a canal? Who did you approach for the permission to trap, BWB? My river, I have found out, is heaving with them! I have no problem getting permission from the landowner for that stretch, but the canals are a different matter.

[mattyg 1,862]

the right bait in a slow moving part of the river you will bag up mate. cheapest tin of tuna/makrel you can get, pierce it a few times.....hey presto!

plenty of scent trail but they cant actually get to the bait in the tin, works perfect to me.

matt

[Acuspell 329]

Cheers Mattyg. I am going to give it a go with some drop nets just to see if they are active before I buy some traps. Give them an hour soak, then lift, so in attendance - nice pool to try in the river, slow and deep with mud banks!

[hedgerow pete 25]

drop nets dont need an hour they need checking every 10 mins, other wise the crays walk in and off again.

 

as for permission for the canals, i have to apply and get tags and traps and then i can apply to the envioment officer at the bw for permission, so even if i do get tags i am still not on a permission yet, thats why i am doing the paper work through the winter as the bw is ridiculously slow in dealing with any thing and its also the reason why i want to find other areas to trap such as the council ponds and lakes, "no writen permission is ever given by sandwell vally council BUT anyone removing cray fish is welcome to, and we will not interferre with anyone doing so" council enviroment chief

[hedgerow pete 25]

as a note to any other midland readers of this post in the future, TIPTON is the cray fish capital of the midlands, they have come from the local canal ponds and small lakes and are now just getting there pincers into the canals, you dont need traps just use a standard landing net and scoop them out