Wishing the Cray away

[Res-Man]

Morning Chaps,

 

been fishing all my life, but just about to tackle something I know nothing about, so thought I'd get a little online advice. Hopefully next year I'm going to start fishing a very large water, which is full of Signal Crayfish. I've heard about wrapping baits in mesh, fishing with wooden balls soaked in glug, hardened hook baits, tiger nuts, popped up hook baits, zigs, even chucking out a pierced tin of cat food to draw them off the bait. But we all know, just because something is on a shelf in a tackle shop, or in a magazine, does't mean it actually works.

Any ideas, tips or lessons learned on the bank would be massively appreciated?

 

Cheers

 

Theo

[ouchthathurt]

I’ve fished waters with large populations of crays in the past and I found them to be a right pest! I make my own baits usually anyway, so added egg albumin and/or hardening mix was an option. When fishing boilies, I always felt a little worried that the bait would be gone. Bottom baits were especially vulnerable but crays will get pop ups quite easily. 
 

I usually go for different bait options, such as tigers and my personal favourite, peanuts with sugar and garlic purée. Hemp and corn are another option, which allows the use of plastic baits. I never had much confidence in meshing baits to be honest, but they do have their place. 

[salokcinnodrog]

On 19/12/2020 at 10:26, Res-Man said:

Morning Chaps,

 

been fishing all my life, but just about to tackle something I know nothing about, so thought I'd get a little online advice. Hopefully next year I'm going to start fishing a very large water, which is full of Signal Crayfish. I've heard about wrapping baits in mesh, fishing with wooden balls soaked in glug, hardened hook baits, tiger nuts, popped up hook baits, zigs, even chucking out a pierced tin of cat food to draw them off the bait. But we all know, just because something is on a shelf in a tackle shop, or in a magazine, does't mean it actually works.

Any ideas, tips or lessons learned on the bank would be massively appreciated?

 

Cheers

 

Theo

Crays can be a right pain in the rectum. 

 

I have had meshed baits, in armour mesh or stockings mesh munched. Armour mesh they can cut through, stocking mesh will pull and hole, so either way you end up with a ball of plastic on your hair. 

The little blighters will also cut mono hairs, so I would advise Korda Armorkord (see I own a Korda product), or 25lb braid as a hair. 

Rigs I would recommend using coated braid or fluorocarbon, although see my comment about mono hairs, coated braid is the best option. Plain uncoated braid they will pluck, twist and tangle. 

I would advise against using real bait pop-ups, and do not use putty on your rigs or tubing. For some reason Crays love tungsten, will pull it off, cut tubing into tiny pieces. 

They will also walk and pull down pop-ups to get the bait, and they can remove boilie stops. 

 

The answer as your original post is drilled wooden balls, soaked in a decent glug. My recommendation is a mix of liquid yeast, Marine 30 or KMG liquid, with a tiny amount of flavour per pot. 

The balls will float when you get them, but after taking on the glug for a few weeks they usually become critically balanced. 

I used to use a wooden ball on the hair, then tie on with a double overhand knot, a real pop-up to the hair loop as a snowman set-up. If they get the pop-up, you have the knot holding your wooden ball on, so still have a bait. 

If you need any added weight to weigh your hookbait down, use match angler's olivettes. 

 

 

As for chucking a pierced tin of dog food in the margins, you attract those in the margins, not much point if you are fishing any distance out as they are out there as well. 

[framey]

Just cast somewhere else if you get little plinks and plunks and odd beep

i have a few lakes I fish that are riddled with them 

[emmcee]

A fella I know absolutely hammered a lake that was full of crays. His tactic was simply fill it in with particle. And when I say fill it in I mean he was doing 15kg of dry particles every session.  The particle being a blend of parti-blend, hemp and tigers. And as has been said his hookbaits were whittled down wooden balls to resemble tigers. 

On one of the lakes I fish there is a crayfish problem,  not a severe one but enough to need to recast every 6-8hrs if boilie fishing. A big bucket of particle certainly slows them down. 

[kevtaylor]

If they are problematic I think I'd just fish tigers in small amounts, by all accounts they are not attracted to them and as a bait they work all all year round.  Pop them up with a cork insert if you wish.

Hate crays they ruined my river campaign, don't use pellets, don't use fishmeals they like those immensely. 

[dayvid]

They also dont particularly like silt