From time to time crayfish can be a nuisance. Here are a few tips to fool them!
Although instances of crayfish at Beausoleil are extremely rare, they are a real nuisance and can ruin a fishing session.
I’ve fished a number of lakes that I would definitely class as having a major crayfish problem and I know how frustrating it is to reel in baitless or with snipped and damaged hairs.
If you can’t avoid the areas where the crayfish activity is heavy, here are some suggestions:
► Don’t fish over beds of bait larger than 0.5kg.
► Fishing a small trap over a spread of boilies will prevent the crayfish homing in on your hook baits.
► Use harder baits. I would increase the air dry time of my standard home made Blue Oyster boilies to 48hrs to make them rock hard.
► Use larger baits. I’ve been experimenting with some hand rolled 30mm baits and have had good success on them on the river Mayenne where I’ve had baits nibbled.
► Protect your baits with anti-crayfish netting or cages.
► If you’re experiencing snip offs, then up the hook link to 45lb quicksilver. This is definitely not too heavy for the carp and some excellent catches of multiple 30lb carp have been taken on it.
So if you encounter the pesky bait robbers, I hope some of these tips can help you.
