Crayfish

[Guest]

Hi everyone

are you able to catch crayfish on the broads & without a license for consumption?

if so is there any bait you cant use

is there a way to prepare them so you dont eat anything you shouldn't.

there are a couple of things i have always wanted to try & do near the broads but neva got chance you could probably do it anywhere but if your near the broads makes it that much more special.

like trying lobster, crab (i dont like the smell or taste of crab sticks so want to try the proper thing) scollop's, catching my own fish & eating them, mushroom hunting as i love mushroom i think i have a bad habit.

Jonny

[Antares_9]

I have caught them in a pot baited with cat food at Beccles Jonny, also unintentionaly on maggot when bottom fishing, cooking them is no different from say Nephrops or large shrimp.

[jimbo]

also unintentionaly on maggot when bottom fishing

I won't ask!

[pks1702]

Jimbo Wrote:

I won't ask!

[senator]

A couple of years ago they were all you could catch off the Worlingham free moorings on the Waveny Jonny.

Think there is a hard bottom there which suits them but not sure if it is still the same, they were all Signal Crayfish as well, bigger for eating and you are doing the broads a favour by taking them out.

[Julz]

Hi Jonny, crayfish taste very similar to Scampi, only without the breadcrumbs lol, Lobster likewise only larger and some meat in the large claws. crab meat is either the brown body meat, or the white of the claws, which is more fibrous strands of flesh and what the crabsticks try to mimic in their construction, although they are now often more correctly labeled as Sea Sticks, and actually contain no crab at all in the majority of brands.

If your not familiar with dressing crabs and lobsters, you may well be better to buy one ready dressed off a fishmonger, as their are some parts that could give you a nasty upset tum if eaten, such as the intestinal vein and the gills, sometimes refered to as 'The Devils fingers'

I have never prepared crayfish from raw, but i expect them to be similar to King prawn, where you need to take a sharp Knife and slit down their backs and again remove the intestinal vein, which is ofen quite clearly seen and looks like a tube of fish poo, which of course it is! then cook them through until pink and opaque.

Mushrooms are also something best gathered by the people who are sure of what they are actually picking, some that look like they are tasty can indeed be poisionous, but at certain times of the year, it is possible to pick up on nature walks with the experts, some of which include Mushroom and edible fungus gathering, we went on one a few years ago run by the National trust around the grounds of Kedleston Hall

To try a fresh dressed crab, pop upto Cromer sometime, theres a little shop near the church who sell them rather like a takeaway, complete with vinegar, bread roll, and a fork to eat it with, that way you get to taste both the body meat and the white claws

Edited to add that the Kings Arms at Ludham often have fresh Crab Salad on their menu in the high season, but perhaps an expensive way of trying it, if after a mouthful you decided it wasnt to your liking

Julz

[Guest]

thank you all for you reply's

I think ill get a crayfish net & give it ago & will also do what you said about the vain thing Julz would it be best to do that once cooked or before?

about the mushroom stuff i am going to have a look online see if there are any walks or professional gatherings about..

Jonny

[Guest]

just found this aswell cromer crab festival next month

http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/edp24/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=EDPOnline&tCategory=xDefault&itemid=NOED27%20Apr%202010%2016%3A05%3A43%3A940

Jonny

[w44nty]

Jonny

Before you go out and catch all the Crayfish,please read link,you will need a licence to do it legally

http://www.thefield.co.uk/countryquerie ... yfish.html

[marshman]

Just a word of caution - this is monitored closely by the EA and they get very upset if they find pots. I assume it is because you could catch the wrong ones but i am not sure there are many,if any, of those left.

[jimbo]

That reminds me of the logic used by our local fishing club! A huge amount of Rainbow trout escaped from one of the local fish farms into the river, threatening the Brown population. Members were asked to remove any they hooked, but were still told they were only allowed to remove 3 as was the same rule for Brown Muppetry on a grand scale!

[Julz]

A good fishmonger will prepare them for you Jonny if you give him time, just go early in the day, buy and pay for your whole scampi/crayfish/king prawn and arrange to collect them dressed and ready to cook later in the day

Their shells are quite tough and sharp to get through, its easy to cut your fingers on them at times

I prefare to remove the intestinal vien and give them a good cleaning before cooking, but having said that, i have bought cooked King prawn from Sainsburys in the past, and found the vien still intact

Julz

[Guest]

from what i know i think its the crayfish with the blue claws you can eat due to it being an illegal if that makes sence. does anybody have an EA number so i can give them a call i want to do this & as they say its free so best to just cover your self & know what your doing.

I have been talking with farther when we take our seal trip we will be going to cromer for some fresh prepared crab...

Jonny

[Guest DAYTONA-BILL]

I was of the understanding that you could legally catch the larger American crayfish without a liscence, and that people are even ENCOURAGED to do this due to the American crayfish starving our native veriety into extinction, though not 100% sure, but the smaller native British Crayfish have a National Protection order on them. Does anybody know the full facts?, as i would hate to hear about poor Jonny being locked away in Norwich Castles dungeons . Be careful Jonny, and make sure if you do so, you do it within the law. Regards ...................... Neil.

[Guest]

after talking with the BA & EA catching & eating for our consumption i might be only limited to one spot as you can cause the crayfish plague so i asked what if i were to dip the nets in like a detergent before putting the trap in the water at a new location they said that would be fine as its the same method if your were on a closed lake most places ask you to dip your nets.

now i will use two buckets one with water & detergent in one & clean water in the other then let the pot dry out..

now is there any environmentally friendly stuff that wont harm anything in the broads & where can i get some from they dint mention that bit over the phone...

Jonny

[Antares_9]

Potassium Permanganate is good for cleaning pots Jonny, a soak and a good rinse should do it, also you could (I guess) use some cheap baby bottle steriliser akin to Milton from a pound shop or Lidle et.al.

The pot design is worth considering too, I would favour one of the top entry Scottish West Coast prawn pot designs of the smaller size.

[jimbo]

Potassium Permanganate is extremely harmful to marine life

[Guest]

Potassium Permanganate is extremely harmful to marine life

thats the key you see

Jonny

[Antares_9]

Not if you rinse it off after its harmed the marine life you want it to Jim.

[jimbo]

Not if you rinse it off after its harmed the marine life you want it to Jim.

I was thinking more along the lines of what you do with the bucket full of the stuff you dunked it in after! Being on a boat and all

[Antares_9]

Clean them at home.

[jimbo]

Clean them at home.

That might work!

[Guest]

come on you two i am serious here

Jonny

[jimbo]

So are we Jonny! Clean the pots at home using the Potassium Permanganate, rinse well and make sure you tip out the Potassium Permanganate somewhere it cannot enter a marine enviroment You can buy it from the chemist by the way.

[Antares_9]

Perfectly serious about it Jonny, if you do use one of the widely available end or side entry traps then make sure you set it with the entry with the stream for the period the pot is down. If I recall the research and development of the traps observed under CCTV correctly, the critters, in that case various Cancer, found the entry much quicker and more easily than any other position as they followed the scent closely. Also set the bait just inside the opening so the scent trail has a direct path into the pot, that will give you a fighting chance to bag some of the little buggers.