by Ron Key

American Signal Crayfish are here and they are spreading virtually unchecked. I first encountered them a few years ago in the Colne Valley where there were actually stocked in some waters to cultivate as food. They eventually escaped and have now spread over the whole of mainland UK. They are much larger than our native crayfish, and carry a fungus that is deadly to them. From an angling perspective they are so frustrating.

The crayfish are relentless they will try to eat everything; this includes your hooklink and boilie stop. I gave up using mono hooklinks very quickly as the crayfish nipped the line seriously weakening it. I use soft braids or coated braids now; they tend to fold when nipped rather than deforming but they do need examining regularly for damage. I also hide the hair stop when possible as this is usually the first thing to be eaten, leaving your boilie free for the crayfish to rob you. At best the only indication you will get is a single beep of your buzzer and you are no longer fishing.

After spending time finding your feature, baiting up and finally casting out your hook bait; there is nothing worse for your confidence than spending your time wondering if you actually have any bait on the hair. Were those liners you were getting and making you feel so confident actually signal crayfish taking your bait?

I used to get up a couple of times a night to wind in and check my baits to ensure I was still fishing. On the worst water I fished, three rods were robbed of their hook baits within 20 minutes of casting out. The bobbins were dancing within seconds and were not still until the hook baits had gone.

I don’t mind the crayfish creating a disturbance when they eat a few of my free offerings as I think this activity can attract carp. They do after all eat crayfish having the ability to crush them in their pharyngeal teeth, but when the carp arrive I do want be sure I have a baited hook waiting for them.

I have successfully used many of the artificial baits on the market. However there are times particularly when you have been baiting up a water, when you want to present your favourite Quest boilie on the hair safe in the knowledge it will stay there.

So what is the answer? Years ago one of my many jobs was to manage an electronics workshop and when terminating cables we used to use a plastic heat shrink tube in a variety of colours to finish the joint and act as an identifier. This tubing was placed around the cable and shrunk to fit using a heat gun. I had used it in the past to create landing net handles and coating bank sticks never thinking at the time what it could be used for. I sourced a clear version of the tube in bulk from RS Components I think, and cut it into short lengths. The boilie was pierced with a baiting needle, the sleeve slipped over the boilie and it was rotated in the flame of the stove to shrink it. I usually store my prepared boilies in a pots of Bait Glugs to mask any smell of plastic that the process may have left behind.

The results were immediate, the plastic coat slowed down the crayfish and ensured we always had a hook bait, and best of all it did not affect the baits ability to attract a fish. I always leave a small opening at each end of the boilie to allow for flavour leakage, and an extension at one end which allows me to hide the boilie stop from the crayfishes’ clutches. All our original tubing was sourced through electrical/ electronic factors but now you can buy prepacked lengths from many tackle shops.  

At the time it was a leap of faith, would the carp pick up plastic? With the growth in artificial carp baits, wrapping your bait in plastic is not a confidence issue for most anglers. Try it; it’s put plenty of fish on the bank for me in situations when I hadn’t got a chance of fishing effectively

Ron Key 

Related posts