How to catch crayfish - many know. From ancient times, they were hunted simply with their hands, probing the coastal rocky bottom or deepening of the clay coast in search of minks. Hence the saying: “So that you find out where the crayfish hibernate!” It is a wish that the namereck should look for them in the cold. That's when catching crayfish is the most unpleasant task. Just imagine: wandering around the edge of the ice, making holes and rummaging in cold water ... Not to mention the fact that being angry arthropod pinched by the finger is also not good news.
Therefore, ingenious people came up with rakolovki. These are very simple devices that you can do yourself. They resemble wire string bags. In the middle of such a bag they put the bait, lower it on a rope to the bottom and calmly go home for several hours. It is only important to know when to catch crayfish. These are twilight animals. As a rule, they crawl out of the holes for feeding with the onset of the evening. But after midnight, the activity of these animals is on the decline. But simply stating that the best season for hunting aquatic arthropods from 8 p.m. to 3 p.m. will be too much simplification.
If the water is clear, and the bottom of the river or lake is rocky, then it is better to set the bait closer to 7-8 pm, but if there is a lot of silt, it will come down to 5 hours, and even 4. Crayfish love the illumination, so experienced hunters burn a bonfire at the edge water or they take a powerful lantern with them into the boat (if they decide to abandon rakolovka far from the shore). By the way, about the bait: contrary to popular belief that crayfish eat rotten meat, they perfectly smell fresh raw fish. And they also love oilcake, dill and garlic. To prevent grass-vegetables from surfacing, they are wrapped in gauze with something heavy. But when it is not recommended to catch crayfish, it is during a thunderstorm and full moon. Science cannot yet explain the last phenomenon (because crabs love light). But animals are very active during drizzling rain.
It is believed that even in Ancient Russia it was revealed in which month to catch crayfish. Allegedly in those in the names of which the letter "p" does not occur. There are not many of them. It turns out that hunting for crustaceans is allowed only from May to August. But, if you think about it, in ancient Russia there were completely different names for the months: grass - May, sickle - August, etc. Yes, and common sense tells you: the most delicious crayfish are caught in late August or early September. Over the summer, the animal has already walked up fat and gave offspring.
The question of when to start catching crayfish can be answered as follows: from the time when fishing rules permit it . They are different in every region and region of Russia, but mainly in the spring and until the end of June there is a ban on hunting. Just in those months, the modern names of which in the Russian language do not contain the letter “p”, the crayfish molt, acquire a new shell and give offspring. Yes, of course, they are caught well in the summer, because they are very hungry and go hunting even in the afternoon. But their meat is tasteless, nutritious. Let the animal accumulate useful substances in the body, and indeed live ...
In deciding when to catch crayfish, one must also consider the presence of inexperienced young animals that are caught in the net. The most delicious and fatty animals are those whose length from the eyes to the tail plate is at least 10 centimeters. These cancers are about three years old. Only such a specimen is considered commercial.