The shell consists of a frame made of strong wire, reliable rope and metal mesh. As a rule, the upper part is narrower than the lower part. This is necessary so that the crayfish cannot leave the crayfish trap once they get inside it. You can make such a device yourself or purchase it at a retail outlet or market. Before purchasing, you need to think carefully, since a crayfish catcher may be considered non-sports equipment.
The principle of its operation is as follows. The cancer climbs into it to try the bait located inside the trap, but it will not be able to get back out due to the design features. Therefore, you can catch quite a lot of crayfish at one time. In this regard, it is believed that the crayfish trap is a very effective means of catching crayfish.
What do you use to catch crayfish with crayfish?
As a rule, crayfish prefers reservoirs with clean water, therefore, it does not live in muddy reservoirs. It is mainly found in ponds, lakes and rivers where there is no strong current. Most of all, crayfish are attracted to the rocky bottom, where they can safely hide from danger.
Cancer, to a greater extent, feeds on food of animal origin, or rather, it picks up everything that has died in the reservoir. Therefore, he is most attracted to the smell of carrion. At the same time, one should not think that he can eat already decomposed parts of fish or animals. He will always find a fresher product.
To interest the crayfish, it is enough to cut the carcass so that the appropriate aroma spreads. Sometimes Borodino bread with garlic is added to the bait. Garlic, oddly enough, attracts crayfish.
Catching crayfish on crayfish traps
What do crayfish like?
The diet of crayfish is varied.
They feed on food of plant and animal origin. They do not disdain carrion, for this they are nicknamed “orderlies” of reservoirs. But rotten food can only lure hungry crayfish, which live in scanty water areas or in very cold water. Plants make up about 90% of the crayfish menu. The rest is aquatic life. They love to eat mollusks, tadpoles, worms, insects, larvae, small fish or the carrion of large individuals. Among plants, they happily eat algae, water lilies, horsetail, elodea, nettles, pondweed, and fallen leaves.
The diet of crayfish depends on the seasons. In the warm season they are more active; in winter they go on hunger strike. In search of food, arthropods do not crawl far from the hole. When there is a shortage of food, they can cover distances of up to 100-250 meters. Activity occurs at night; during the day, crayfish hide in holes or under stones. Males eat up to two times a day, females once every two to three days. They can smell food well over very long distances.
Bait for catching crayfish should be selected taking into account the season of the year. Plant species are effective in spring and summer. In the autumn months and early winter, arthropods must be lured with animal food. Suitable for this:
- fish;
- shellfish;
- snails;
- meat;
- frogs;
- worms;
- trimmings from meat or entrails of fish and poultry.
The fish is served fresh or slightly spoiled. For a strong smell, you can dry it a little in the sun. Crayfish love to feast on roach, bream and crucian carp.
Photo 1. These crayfish were attracted to the trout's head.
For meat, a poultry carcass or a piece of beef is suitable. It may also be stale. Mollusks, frogs, and snails are caught in the same reservoir where it is planned to catch crayfish. Worms are used in rare cases when there are no other options. They are placed in a piece of thin gauze to prevent them from spreading.
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Attention! Peas and corn are boiled, steamed, or a canned product is used. Crustaceans are attracted to the smell of garlic; it can be added to other foods.
What bait should I use to catch crayfish?
The basis of the bait placed in the crayfish trap is: fish meat, animal or poultry meat, frogs, grasshoppers, etc. These are those food objects that are either found in a body of water or fall into it. And here, the opinions of some crayfish lovers differ.
Some argue that products that have a rotten smell are more effective, while others believe that products should be fresh, but not alive. In this case, everything depends on the presence of such food objects in the reservoir. If there is a lot of food, then the crayfish will look for fresher food, and if the crayfish have difficulties in feeding, then they do not particularly pick at food and eat everything.
As bait, crayfish can be offered mollusks that live in a given reservoir.
Bait and crayfish fishing seasons
Bait for crayfish in spring
In the spring, cancer may prefer fish meat, or rather fillet, as well as small fish, cut so that it emits the desired smell. Ordinary crucian carp, gobies or other small fish will be used as bait. You can either catch the bait yourself or purchase it frozen. Before use, it is advisable to dry the fish to such a state, after which a peculiar smell will appear.
Lure for crayfish in summer
In the summer, when there is enough food for crayfish, it is very difficult to interest them in anything. Therefore, in the summer, it is better to use animal or poultry meat as bait, as well as offal or parts of animals, such as ears, liver, stomach, etc. All these little things can be bought separately on the market. Like fish, it is better to keep animal parts in the sun for a while.
Bait for crayfish in autumn and winter
With the onset of autumn, and even more so winter, the level of food supplies decreases sharply, which leads to a certain lack of food for everyone living in the reservoir, including crayfish. Moreover, with the arrival of autumn, crayfish try to eat more in order to stock up on fat. Therefore, during this period, crayfish can be interested in ordinary bread with garlic, wrapped in gauze. If this is not done, the bread will very quickly become soggy and cease to serve as bait. In addition, during this period you can attract crayfish with non-fresh fish or meat.
Fishing using method No. 1
Required:
- Black (gray) bread
- Garlic (peeled)
- Meat grinder
- Packing mesh (sold in hardware stores). Do not use gauze - it has a very small mesh.
Gray bread is ground with garlic, formed into balls and then the balls are placed in a net. The secret of this bait is that bread is not interested in crayfish, but it attracts fish very well. Thus, a fish (fry) swims up to the smell of bread and the washed-out dregs, and here it is, together with the smell of rolled garlic, luring the crayfish. It is contraindicated to use a cloth or a bag with a fine mesh in this method, because the bread will not be washed out. In this case, the whole process breaks down and becomes impractical. Therefore, it is better to work hard and find a net with the desired cell, thereby increasing the chances of attracting not only small fish, but also crayfish.
The disadvantages of bait are that:
- It washes out quickly in the current. Half a day and it is necessary to make a replacement, since there will be nothing left of the balls.
- Labor-intensive preparation process. For example, being already on a pond, it will be difficult to grind these ingredients.
A few words about what size the balls should be. There is no need to make them very small, but we don’t need cobblestones either. The size is done by eye, so that the bait mass is covered with 2 palms (remember what snowballs are).
Features of baits for catching crayfish
A common bait is fish. This is due to the fact that you can either catch it or buy it without any problems. In addition, fish is included in the diet of crayfish. The bait should be elastic and have a strong odor. In order for the smell to be clearly expressed, the fish carcass is cut, and part of the skin is also torn off. You don't have to use a lot of fish to catch a lot of crayfish. It is enough to provide conditions so that the crayfish cannot eat the bait prematurely.
In addition to dead bait, you can also use live bait. All you have to do is find a snail or shell and place it in a shell trap. In addition to them, a small frog will also go, which may interest the crayfish. Despite this, many crayfish anglers do not use live bait, and such fishing is questionable.
Garlic bread works well. The pungent smell of garlic attracts crayfish, and the bread serves as a kind of filling.
DIY bait
It is very important not only to choose the type of bait, but also to prepare it correctly so that it performs its functions. In the case of fish, it should be cut and the giblets removed along with the air bubble. The fish must be cut and, if necessary, removed from scales. In this case, fishing may be more productive.
If you use meat from an offal set, then there is no need to cut it: it already creates a peculiar smell. To prevent crayfish from eating the bait ahead of time, it is better to place it in gauze. The same applies to bread with garlic.
The Best and Effective Lures for Catching Crayfish! How to Catch a Lot of Crayfish on Rakolovki!
Bait for crayfish - fish or garlic?
Cancers are hermits by way of life. During daylight hours, this arthropod hides in a shelter, quickly retreating deeper into the hole at the slightest danger. Crayfish go out in search of food at dusk, and in cloudy weather - in the afternoon.
They usually move in the water at night, stretching their claws forward and holding their tail straight, but if they are startled, they quickly swim back, helping themselves with strong blows of the tail. It is believed that crayfish stay in one place, but this is not true: they travel several hundred meters in a week.
Everyone has tried crayfish, unique in their taste, with beer at least once in their life. Catching them is exciting, rewarding and accessible even for children. This type of fishing does not require special gear or equipment. The only thing needed is a few traps and crayfish bait. These arthropods live in clean rivers and channels, sometimes in lakes. During the day, they are mainly in their burrows dug under shady steep banks, under stones or snags, and at night they move along the bottom, looking for prey. In winter they go deep.
In our country, catching using crayfish traps has become widespread, especially since Russian rules do not limit such fishing.
The advantages of this type of fishing are the compactness of the trap, ease of portability, ease of installation and testing. The shells do not require frequent checking. Another advantage of this gear is its low price.
You can get a pretty good catch if you know exactly what bait to fish with. Crayfish are attracted to fresh fish, shellfish and similar living creatures characteristic of a given reservoir, cake. This arthropod perfectly eats fish such as bream, roach, and silver bream, but is reluctant to take perch or pike.
An interesting bait for crayfish is garlic. Experienced crayfish fishermen use a loaf of bread, preferably black, for this purpose, passing it together with garlic through a meat grinder. Then the resulting mass is rolled into balls, placed in gauze and loaded with trap bags. One such portion, like one fish, is enough for the whole night.
In addition to fishing with the help of crayfish, these arthropods are caught in the same way as fish - with a fishing rod. At the same time, unlike “silent hunting” for a hook, this method is not so reliable: the crayfish can break off at any moment. And the gear is somewhat different: they are sticks one and a half or two meters long with fishing lines tied to them. The pointed ends are stuck into the bottom of the reservoir, and the crayfish bait is placed nearby.
Fishing rods are installed at a distance of at least five meters from each other. They need to be checked every three to four hours. They are carefully lifted from the bottom and almost at the surface the crayfish are caught with a net. Before consumption, the prey is stored in cages and transported without water, in a spacious box.
The most primitive and oldest method is to catch crayfish with bare hands, and in this case no crayfish bait is needed. Of course, this method is not suitable for those who cannot swim or are afraid of getting hurt.
But someone who really wants to drink beer with crayfish, but does not have any available gear at hand, can, by illuminating the bottom of the reservoir with a torch or flashlight, score a fairly good catch.
In the old days, there was a good bait for catching crayfish: a fire was lit on the shore, and the arthropods crawled to the shore in the dark. They say that in this case, up to several hundred of them can be caught on the rocky shore.
How to catch crayfish using a crayfish trap?
Rakolovki are divided into two main types:
- Open type shells. These are the simplest equipment to design and manufacture for catching crayfish. Any fisherman can make such a crayfish catch if he has the desire and a little free time. It consists of a round or square frame with a metal mesh attached to it. The diameter of the crayfish can be in the range of 50-70 cm. In appearance, this tackle resembles a colander. A reliable rope is attached to the structure from above, which serves to lower and raise the shell.
- Closed shells. Such traps are more effective than previous designs, but more difficult to manufacture. Despite this, they can be designed to fold. In this case, it will be convenient to transport it.
Lure attachment
The bait, which serves as an object for attracting crayfish, is attached to the bottom of the trap in any available way:
- A special pocket made of gauze or nylon is attached to the bottom of the shell. Subsequently, bait is placed in it.
- The bait can be secured with an elastic band.
- It is possible to use other fastening options, for example, using wire.
How to catch a crayfish
With any fishing method, you must adhere to several rules. They will help make the hunt as successful as possible. First of all, you need to make a fire on the shore. Smoke attracts arthropods and they are more likely to fall into any of the traps. The bait can be set on fire. Such meat emits a more pungent odor, which will attract crayfish more quickly. It is worth paying attention that the chosen bait, if it is not meat, must be caught in the same habitat as the crayfish. For some reason, arthropods ignore bait caught in other bodies of water.
In summer
In summer, crayfish are caught by hand. This is the simplest and most common method. This way you can catch these animals in shallow waters. The best time for fishing is either early morning or late evening. It is successful because the crayfish are hungry at this time and come out of their hiding places. In order to catch a crayfish, you need to walk along the river and look for claws. It is important to be focused and react quickly, because crayfish are very agile animals that can spot danger from afar. Experienced crab catchers know that the arthropod will defend itself with its claws, which is very painful and unpleasant, so they prudently wear gloves. The easiest way to lift a crayfish from the bottom is to let it cling to the glove.
in spring
In spring, crayfish can be caught using a crayfish trap. This is a tackle that consists entirely of wire. A ring is made with a diameter of about fifty centimeters, then it is covered with a mesh with small holes. Rings with a smaller diameter are also attached to the bottom and top. A cord is attached to one of the rings, without which it is impossible to remove it from the water. The bait is placed in this device and it is lowered into the water. Within an hour you can pick it up and see who got caught.
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At night
Also, with the help of a crayfish you can catch crayfish at night, because they are nocturnal. Crayfish can even be caught with a fishing rod. To do this you need crayfish bait. However, this method is very doubtful, but if you don’t have a crayfish trap with you, you can try catching a crayfish with a fishing rod.
In the lake
If the lake is quite deep, you can try to find crayfish in it using the device described above. Suitable baits include grasshoppers, meat, fish, frogs, and shellfish. Anything that cancer may have in its diet will do. There are different opinions about baits. Some crayfish fishermen believe that crayfish respond better to rotten meat, while others use exclusively fresh product to catch.
In the spring, fish is the preferred species for crayfish, so using fillets in the trap will be successful. In summer, meat can be used because there is a lot of food in rivers and lakes, but something new can attract curious arthropods. Offal products are also suitable: liver, ventricles, ears.
On garlic
In autumn or winter, reservoirs become hungry and cold, so you can even use bread with garlic . The latter has a very pungent odor that can attract arthropods. Such bait must be wrapped in a piece of thin cloth so that it does not become soggy, but gives off a smell, otherwise the bread will simply become soggy in the water and scavengers will be able to pull it apart without effort.
However, fish is most often used as bait for crayfish. You can use either a piece or a live specimen. Also, arthropods may be attracted to a snail or shell.
The shells are divided into two types according to their structure: open and closed.
Open ones are easier to build, so they are used more often. To build a crayfish trap, you only need wire and wood. The basis is a circle. It can be made of wood or metal. The diameter of the circle should be from fifty to seventy centimeters. On the one hand, a mesh is attached to it, on the other, a cord that will lift the full shell.
The closed type is more difficult to build, but it is more effective. In addition, it can be folded and carried in the trunk in the summer in case of unexpected fishing.
Then you need to secure the bait in the trap. To do this, you can sew it to the bottom with cloth or gauze, an elastic band or a pin.
It should be remembered that catching crayfish is a specific type of hunting to which all the rules also apply. For example, there should be no more than three crayfish traps per person. In addition, it is currently prohibited to catch crayfish with your hands. You can't catch fish that are too young. In addition, one person can catch no more than thirty crayfish per day. This quantity is sufficient for personal needs and not enough for sale.
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The best time for fishing will be from the end of summer to the end of the year. During this period, arthropods have already laid eggs and are most active.
Reeds often grow near the banks, making it difficult to set a trap. Therefore, many crayfishers lower it from the boat. In order not to lose the trap later, tie a stick or foam plastic to the cord by which you need to lift the crayfish; any floating material will do. Several crayfish traps should not be placed close to each other. A ten-meter distance is enough.
On a stick
To catch crayfish with a stick, you will need several poles, two to three meters in size. They need to be sharpened at one end. You will also need nylon stockings, a rope, something that can sink and, of course, a boat.
Bait affects the catch rate. The tastier the bait, the faster the arthropod will bite on it. You can use frogs and grasshoppers. One pole requires several baits. As a rule, the frogs are roasted a little over a fire, this is done so that the smell of burnt skin appears. A pebble or metal sinker is placed at the bottom of the stocking, and the bait is distributed along the entire length.
The stocking must be secured in such a way that after the pole is stuck into the bottom, it remains on it. Lures should be placed away from the shore, where the bottom is approximately two meters from the surface. Then you just need to wait. Depending on the time of year and the hunger level of the crayfish, you can wait an hour or two. If it happens at night, you can wait less - arthropods are most active in the dark.
The point is that the arthropod sees the bait and clings to it, but cannot tear the stocking. So it remains hanging on it. Therefore, the poles must be pulled out carefully so as not to scare or unhook the arthropod. If the place is rich in crayfish, there may be several individuals on one pole.
Author of the publication
offline 2 years
Nika
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I am interested in hiking and traveling, photography and videography. I have been going hiking since childhood. The whole family went and went - sometimes to the sea, then to the river, to the lake, to the forest. There was a time when we spent a whole month in the forest. We lived in tents and cooked over fires. This is probably why I am still drawn to the forest and, in general, to nature. I travel regularly. About three trips a year for 10-15 days and many 2 and 3 day hikes.
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Nika Nutrition in the wild
What time to catch crayfish with crayfish?
In the midst of winter, which is January or February, crayfish are in burrows. Therefore, there is no point in catching them during this period.
With the arrival of spring, somewhere in March and April, you should also not count on a serious catch, since the crayfish are just beginning to awaken from hibernation. In May and June, crayfish are also not particularly caught, since they molt, shedding their old shells and separating their eggs.
From July to December you can count on good catches. After the cancer sheds its old shell, it becomes quite active and feeds just as actively. It actively migrates through the reservoir and looks for food.
With the arrival of autumn, crayfish begin to gain weight, and females begin to produce eggs. During this period, they need to stock up on nutrients for the winter. With the arrival of November and December, the crayfish becomes well-fed, and the females complete the process of laying eggs under a new shell. Even in December you can count on a certain catch.
At the same time, it is worth noting that all terms are quite conditional. Everything is connected with the action of external natural factors, such as ambient temperature, water level in the reservoir, early periods of cold weather, the period when the first ice appears, etc.
Technique for catching crayfish with crayfish traps
The shells can be installed directly near the shore, if nothing interferes, or with the help of a boat, if available. Since the depth can be significant, the places where the crayfish are installed are marked. To do this, tie a piece of foam plastic or an empty plastic bottle to a rope. In our time, such “good” is in abundance. If the trap is set from the shore, then the rope should be tied on the shore to a stick stuck in the ground.
If several traps are installed, then they are installed at a distance of at least 10 meters from one another. After just three hours, the crayfish can be checked.
