People have been catching crayfish since ancient times. And in the Middle Ages they were even used for medicinal purposes: ashes from these representatives of the decapod squad burnt alive by these representatives helped from the bites of a snake, a rabid dog and a scorpion. Boiled crayfish Aesculapius was prescribed, for example, during treatment for exhaustion.
As early as the sixteenth century in the Swedish royal court, the taste qualities of crayfish were highly appreciated. The peasants caught and delivered them to the homes of the nobility, but they themselves treated this "shell beast" with a degree of mistrust.
general information
Crayfish are quite whimsical to living conditions. The reservoir in which they can exist must be fresh, since they do not reproduce in a salty environment. In addition, crayfish are sensitive to pollution, but if the living conditions around are favorable, then they can be found in a variety of places - lakes, elders and streams. However, most often they are still found in rivers.
Crayfish are the twilight inhabitants of water bodies. Their intense period of food falls on the time after sunset or at dawn, although in cloudy weather they eat during the day. To search for food, they can crawl ashore, staying there for several hours. Crayfish feed on aquatic vegetation - shoots of rdest, buckwheat, etc. But for normal development, these arthropods also need animal food. Therefore, they eat mollusks, mosquitoes, larvae of caddis flies, tadpoles, sick or ripened fish, frogs, etc.
When to catch crayfish?
The fishing season for these arthropods begins in July and continues until the end of the second autumn month. Crayfish catching in September depends on weather and water temperature. From the second half of the month, the amount of production begins to decline.
Toward the end of October, crayfish meat changes its taste, their carapace gradually hardens. If it was warm in May and June, and the water temperature was high, the molting of these arthropods ends before the onset of the hunting season for them. And then, from the beginning of July, catches are good. But if the summer was cold, and molting was late, then the crayfish will only move from the end of July, after the shell has solidified completely.
On crayfish in September
Weather greatly affects this type of "hunting." On a cloudy or rainy day, these arthropods are easier to catch than on a clear day. That's why many people think that catching crayfish in the fall is the most productive. But in windy and very bad weather, in a thunderstorm or rainfall, it is better not to go to the reservoir, since it is unlikely to be able to return home with prey.
Crayfish catching in September takes place at depths ranging from thirty centimeters to a meter. Burrows of these inhabitants of reservoirs are not too difficult to find. They can be occupied by any depression between stones or snags. But there you can find only adults, young growth is better to look in shallow water.
Tricks of Autumn Fishing
Many seasoned cancers go out to the pond in the late afternoon, so that after dark they go hunting for prey. The easiest way to catch crayfish in the fall is with a flashlight. This is the simplest and most unpretentious method, in which the only tackle is a "ray of light." Actually, the hunt itself takes place as follows: one of the fishermen illuminates the bottom of the reservoir with a powerful spotlight, and the other goes nearby and collects the prey with the help of a net in a cage. This fall crayfish fishing is very much like mushroom picking after rain. Often, the prey itself creeps ashore, where it can easily be assembled without any effort.
However, catching crayfish, which is so unpretentious at first glance, has its limitations in the fall: the water in the pond should be as transparent as possible. Only in this case the flashlight will be able to illuminate a sufficiently large area. Such a “collection” of production takes place at a distance of two to three meters from the coast.
The easiest fall fishing method
Of the equipment, only a sufficiently powerful searchlight is needed to illuminate the bottom, a net for drawing arthropods out of the water, and, of course, a bag or a cage where it will be possible to store the prey.
Such crayfish fishing in the fall is most effective if two or three people participate in it. At the same time, certain requirements are imposed on such equipment for catching crayfish, such as a landing net. Its length should be at least two meters. The basis should be taken as light as possible, but strong stick. The latter characteristic is required in order to be able to capture cancer along with the surrounding sludge or part of the clay bottom, reducing the likelihood of its departure.
Where to catch?
Crayfish are found, as you know, only in clean reservoirs. If the lake or river is heavily polluted or not rich in oxygen, then going to them for these arthropods is a waste of time. At the same time, the best places for catching crayfish are those in which water stagnates faster.
These underwater inhabitants are found at different depths: in some lakes and rivers crayfish can be caught by going into the water knee-deep or slightly higher, while in others you have to look for them at a depth of up to three meters.
These arthropods are big fans of the rocky bottom, where they find numerous shelters for themselves. Often they can be found in reservoirs with clay soil. Here they dig minks under the shady steep banks. But in shallow places, where there is a hard sandy bottom, it is impossible to find them. These underwater inhabitants do not tolerate water bodies with a silty or densely overgrown with algae base.
Ways to catch crayfish
These arthropods can be caught in a variety of ways. This can be catching crayfish by hand, and using special inventions for this type of hunting. Many fishermen do not understand, and therefore ignore the fishing of these arthropods, believing that there is no excitement and sports interest in it. However, those who at least once felt pleasure in catching them will never miss the opportunity to have fun again.
The most common are the following ways to catch crayfish:
- hands;
- punctures;
- fishing rod;
- by measures.
All of them are catchy and are not considered poaching.
Catch without equipment
Hand crayfish is the most primitive and most ancient way. The catcher, carefully moving in the water, looks under the stones or tree trunks under which these arthropods hide in the daytime. Noticing the prey, he quickly seizes it, so that it does not hide or run away. Of course, this method of catching crayfish is not suitable for those who are afraid of sharp claws. The largest “crop” can be gained at night, when the crayfish that come out of their shelters are easily collected by lighting the bottom of the reservoir.
Hands can grab them only if the depth of the river or lake is not more than one and a half meters. For deeper places, the so-called "ticks" are used. This wooden crayfish fixture makes it easy to catch and raise prey from the water. Ticks have a length of one to three meters, and so that they do not damage the catch, they are made hollow.
A simpler equipment is a long stick, at the end of which a cleft is made, expanded with a small pebble or wooden block. With such a device, it is impossible to pull the cancer out of the water, they only press it to the bottom and only then take it out with their hand. Tick fishing requires sufficient dexterity, as these arthropods only seem slow. But as soon as they sense danger, they run away very quickly.
Angling
For this method of fishing, a bait tied to a fishing line or stick is used. Cancer clings to her and holds tight. And the hunter has to catch him with a net and pull him out of the water. Fishing for crayfish from a fishing rod is different in that hooks are not used with it, so prey can be released at any time.
At the same time, tackle is done primitively and simply: a fishing line is attached to a two-meter stick, and a bait is attached to it. The end of the fishing rod is fixed: this can be done by sticking it into the bottom of a lake or river near the shore. The catcher can use several gear at the same time.
Nozzles attach crayfish in stagnant water on an area of about ten square meters. Therefore, you should not have fishing rods often. It is better to stick the gear on the coastline at a distance of five or seven meters from each other.
All evening and night, depending on the intensity of the zhor, fishing rods need to be checked periodically, sometimes even four times per hour. The catching area should not exceed two hundred meters in length, so that it would be convenient for the hunter to check the fishing rods on time, so that the crayfish do not have time to eat the bait and leave. If during one evening the catch goes down, it is better to move to a new place.
When checking the fishing rod, you need to carefully pull it out, slowly and smoothly raise it so that the crustacean that grabs the bait does not detach, but is pulled out with it to the surface. Then the fisherman with the net lowered into the water from below carefully picks up the prey.
Other gear
A fishing rod can be replaced with a zergilka or zakidushka. These gear of the same type are equally effective. The equipment is assembled as follows: a bait is attached to one end of the fishing line, preferably one and a half meters, and a bobber to the other end. When using a lantern, a sinker is attached next to the bait.
Traps
Today, crayfish are widely used for catching crayfish - cylindrical nets that are stretched over a round metal hoop. The latter is most often made of galvanized wire . Its most common diameter is fifty centimeters. In order to avoid distortion of the ruchech to the hoop at the same distance, three or four thin cords of equal length should be tied. They are connected by one common unit, in the loop of which a stronger rope is threaded for raising and lowering the gear. In case of fishing from the shore, the end of the cord is attached to the pole.
The bait is attached to the net on a cord stretched across the diameter of the hoop. Then the trap sinks to the bottom. The cord for lifting the rakolovka is tied to a buoy or pole, fixed in the slope of the shore. This type of fishing is based on the following: prey grabbed by the bait no longer has a chance to get out. Raise rakolovki need quickly, without delay.
At the same time, you can hunt at once with several rachev. Usually traps are set at a depth of one to three meters.
Lures
Crayfish eat almost everything: a worm, corn, but are especially well caught on rotten meat or fish. And this means that for luring it is advisable to use the same rotten meat. Crayfish and canned peas are not bad.
Those who are going to fish using traps can simply pour a jar of these beans into gauze, dress it and attach it to the rakolovka. If arthropods are in the pond, then they will definitely smell the bait.
Experienced crayfish are advised to use for this purpose and makuha or brown bread. Interestingly, in different reservoirs, crabs react differently to an identical bait.