Fighting Alien Species, Killing Green Algae and Other Fishing Shenanigans 🦞

[@matthewcollinsangler]

✅ Watch next: This almost killed my lake: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJvdfqOqpLxmsMk Everyday’s a school day in fishery management. There’s always something new to learn. This summer I learnt a lot more about crayfish than I ever thought possible! In the end we didn’t have that many but when a lake local to you goes from zero to 200/week it’s all a bit worrying 😂 We never thought that it was possible to get on top of the algae situation that’s plagued us since day one but it turns out that it’s a solvable problem. It’s helped us make massive gains in water quality and oxygen stability and the fishing has improved as a result. We hope you enjoy another BTS at Beausoleil 😊

[@Martyn-NFFC]

This is great content, really like your approach to looking after your fishery, thank you.

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Thanks 👍

[@DjDolHaus86]

Excellent management, very well done. We've been battling an ungodly bloom of filamentous algae that's been the result of farming runoff, we've raised the issue with the estate and hopefully they're fixing the blocked culvert but we've been clearing bankside vegetation and planting filter beds to try and lessen the effects for next year. We also built the Megaskimmer (TM) out of lengths of plumbing pipe reinforced with bamboo so we can drag the crust clear in 12m passes down the length of the lake and shoot it out the overflow. It's far from perfect but for the first time in many years it feels like we're actually starting to reverse the neglect

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Nice, good luck 👍

[@nico.w680]

Love watching how much effort you pump into your fishery, it clearly pays off, the place looks amazing. 100% would love to fish there at some point in the future!

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Thanks mate 👍

[@beegle1278]

You'll want to keep an eye out for more crayfish. Removing the big males, like those ones, can mean that the smaller ones go on a breeding spree. Also, dont know if you have otters where you are but those traps can be deadly for them. They get in after the bait but cant get out and then drown. It's one of the reasons you need a crayfish licence in the UK. Best of luck!

[@SeanTheChef]

I used to trap crayfish commercially around the Oxford area. I found in the summer we had to do our nets 3 or 4 times a day. We would pull in 6kg per net after 4 hours but if we left the nets overnight they would be empty as the crayfish found a way to escape. Maybe check the nets sooner. Also try fish carcasses or chicken wings for bait in the traps as it keeps them there longer picking around the bones.

[@nath526]

Just want to say a massive thankyou i used your simple mono rigs today and caught my third biggest fish only 17.6 but still made me very happy nailed centre bottom lip now for a 20 😂👍🏻 keep up the great content just wanted you to know you are really helping other anglers with your knowledge ,all the best 👍🏻

[@matthewcollinsangler]

That's wonderful to hear, thank you 😊

[@delwigzieful]

Matt i have learnt so much fron your fantastic channel ,it's absolutely awesome 10/10 packed with fantastic information and tutorials,just like to say thank-you for all your time and information matt,i really appreciate it matt Thank-you

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Really appreciate the feedback mate 🙏

[@gandalfthewise3901]

Another great video. Keep it up 👍

[@mariuskoekemoer4646]

Awesome to see a new video Keep them coming please

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Thanks mate 👍

[@cb01ttr]

Love your comment about accuracy. I can happily spread both free bait, and rigs over a very wide area... indeed some may say its a speciality of mine lol.

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Very much depends on the lake, here I'm talking about a small estate lake, when I fish big waters, I spread my baits over 40m lol

[@garethbaker3429]

Well done Matt, great video!

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Cheers mate 😊

[@r2drone227]

Signal crayfish have been in French rivers for decades. I once caught 200 signal crayfish in 2 hours in France in the Albi area. Fantastic eating but deadly for native species. The largest one I caught was 22cm long!

[@filippofava2729]

Hi Matthew, I've watched many of your videos and loved them, also learned a lot. I was wondering what you think about fishing with a rock and an elastic compared to other lead systems. I usually boat my rigs out and I've seen that the rock get dropped every time the carp shakes the head and places a really good hook holds

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Wow, sounds very specialised, I understand that that can work very well but it's not a setup that's appropriate to the waters I fish.

[@Princeps7289]

In the US, red signal crayfish have spread far beyond their original range. Unfortunately, many native crayfish species have been driven to extinction. I hope they do not take hold in your beautiful lake.

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Luckily, we've managed to avoid a full invasion, unlike other lakes.

[@HammyHamster-c2r]

Avoid the crays by not using fish meal based boilies. They also love to nip rig tubing, which puts pinch marks in the mainline. So if you see your rig tubing has been damaged, always check your mainline. They are also very tasty. So 24hrs in a bucket of water, cook them up, pinch the tails off and bin the head end. Tasty little snack. Bon appetite. 👍

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Yes, there have been several tasty meals for a few weeks!

[@cgarr04]

The problem with crayfish is they cradle your bait for hours so even if you use rock hard baits which they struggle to nibble at theres still a good chance that the fish cannot get near it!

[@josephquinn7356]

Another great video👍 QQ, do you have any thoughts/suggestions for dealing with Snapping turtles? They’ve inundated my favorite local pond and have quickly become the bane of my existence!!! They seem to love corn, ground/pack bait and boilies of any flavor. Any ideas at all would greatly appreciated. Thanks - Joe (from the USA)

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Hi Joe, best thing to do is to use rock hard boilies and spread your bait over a wide area so that they don't have anything to home in on. I’ve actually had a few US anglers ask the same question and on another video, here’s the feedback I got yesterday on my method: “This helped me dramatically with Turtles (USA). We don’t have Crayfish but we definitely have Red Ear Sliders in CA. They operate the same way and when I was using smaller food items like Korda Fake corn or Small dumbbell Wafters I was getting annihilated”. He was commenting on this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5iwZnlqe5yMoNE To make your own hard rock baits easily, watch this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXvMZat3ideph80 Good luck and let me know how you get on 👍

[@Scottymol]

Those cable ties on the poles dont look great Matt, they look like they might angle and dig in and grip. Be much better if you could get a solid plastic or metal ring.👍

[@garethedwards1387]

Put a wire post nail at the top of the post on a chain clip on the aerator enough slack for summer and winter job done 👍

[@christopherholder0713]

I actually live in Jacksonville Florida and we have a annual Crawfish festival every year or The Mudbug fest as some people call it😊 and I have to say they are delicious so I don't know if they are caught in the wild or if they are farmed at a seafood farm but either way about 50 or 60 tons of them are eaten every year within 3 day's so I don't know if they can be caught and sold for human consumption or not but its money for the area they are in

[@markjeep9415]

Looks great where is it

[@matthewcollinsangler]

It's in NW France mate, my lake is called Beausoleil Carp & Cats.

[@rcboatlife4907]

When i seen something about crayfish on Clarkson farm the guy on there said it was illegal to catch and eat them

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Yes, you need to apply for a licence to trap crayfish in the UK, but it's not the case in France where I live.

[@jeremymanning2132]

It's possible the crayfish with small claws was a 'Turkish' one. They were imported in the 70's for the catering trade and are also an invasive species which are detrimental to our native species. Native crayfish tend to have a whiter shade on the underside of their claws. I've found tinned sardines work as a good bait in traps. Great video. 👍👍

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Thanks for the insight 👍

[@basildean]

They're louisiana swamp crayfish. Introduced to France around the same time that signals were to the UK.

[@jeremymanning2132]

@@basildean That's unlikely. The Louisiana variety has a reddish colouration that this one didn't have.

[@thomaskass6668]

We have crayfish but nothing that size. When the crays spawn here the the carp will come into the shallows and feed on the juvenile crayfish. And fishing is not very good when this is happening .

[@charlesoleary3066]

Just moved back to England after 25 years in France. On a narrow boat adventure. Thames and Kennet and Avon are full of signals and driving me nuts !!! Where do you get the traps from?

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Got them from Amazon! Just search for crayfish traps.

[@clivelogsdon1492]

I'd quite often find crayfish traps on the Kennet and now on the Thames you've also got bloody Mitten crabs, horrible things but you can eat them as well

[@robertwhite-overton-es4kj]

Are you down near Etang de Bellebouche??

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Ah no mate, we're 3h30 away.

[@robertwhite-overton-es4kj]

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly much appreciated

[@MarkC-h7l]

i thought the issue of algae was too many nutrients entering the system. is part of the problem due to the feed u add?

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Yes, algae feed off nitrogen which is given off by the ammonia in the carp poo. It's a tricky balance to achieve, feeding the fish and keeping the lake as healthy as possible.

[@MarkC-h7l]

@@matthewcollinsangler i gather from ur answer that there is not enough food from the immediate environment to sustain the carp, or the number of fish u want to look after? hence feeding them. im from Australia where carp are a pest so its quite amazing to watch ur vids and see people paying to catch them. if u catch a carp here ur supposed to despatch it and not return to the river/lake u caught it from - regards markc

[@matthewcollinsangler]

@@MarkC-h7l Yes, that's right. Yes, I've heard that the carp culture is very different there! It's quite an industry here with dedicated brands, sponsored anglers and yes, we sell carp fishing holidays, there are hundreds of businesses like us!

[@MarkC-h7l]

@@matthewcollinsangler hi Matthew, another ignorant suggestion from Aus, are there any predatory fish u can add that will eat the introduced crays? Most freshwater fish, here, including black fish, murray cod, yellow belly, etc will happily hoover up yabbies (aus fresh water crays) but wont bother larger fish, hence the problem with carp overtaking our waterways, i.e not enough predatory fish to control the carp populations.

[@matthewcollinsangler]

@@MarkC-h7l It’s a very good idea, and the catfish we have are rather partial to crayfish so they limit the population. The problem didn’t last long luckily, I think it was a freak increase in the population due to the heavy rains that we had.

[@peterthornton8520]

The native Black Crayfish is no problem, Its the Red Signal Cray's imported from the States that is ruining a lot of Fishing Lakes and Rivers

[@andym5900]

One of the ponds I fish has crays in The owner has had a professional in twice now to trap them On both occasions no crays caught But I’ve had boilies cut to bits by the little blighters If on a very light 1/2 ounce lead l can see the line move as the boilie get picked up & walked across the pond bed

[@matthewcollinsangler]

That is weird.... I didn't find them hard to catch at all and I only used 2 traps. Mate of mine had 8 traps going and got rid of hundreds.

[@andym5900]

@@matthewcollinsangler I found it strange as well I was hoping he might be selling some for the pot

[@clivelogsdon1492]

Think the 'professional' is ripping the owner off, they're easy to catch in the traps, a couple of guys who trap them on a river near me gets that many they sell them to Sweden

[@clivelogsdon1492]

Yeah, you'll get a run from the carp and a walk from the crays😂

[@T5Zplayer]

Where I fish at South Cerney the crayfish are an absolute menace. club does a great job in catching as many as it can but we can't exterminate them because they have to be moved to a safe place. It's taking the ****

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Wow...

[@clivelogsdon1492]

Not true. If they're definitely signal crayfish - which you can tell by their red colour - by law they must be removed ie killed and not put elsewhere. To trap them you offiicially need a licence, which is free from the EA

[@chrisaktyl1570]

Hi How I can book date on your lake ?

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Hi there, you can book a fishing holiday with us directly from our website: www.frenchcarpandcats.com. The venue is suitable for 2 to 4 people and you get the exclusive use of the lake and self-catering accommodation for a week. If you have more questions, you can contact us directly on our online chat system 😊 Cheers, Matt.

[@Chefticles]

What I can't understand is in the UK, it's an offence to remove or dispatch an non native species of crayfish. The law doesn't make sense!

[@bitty8462]

Bottom of tin with the holes

[@akwamarsunzal]

And crays are great eating!

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Yes, that's about the only upside!

[@akwamarsunzal]

@@matthewcollinsangler They are great bait for carp too! Break the head off, cut the shell and use the body fresh. May need a little bait elastic to hold it onto the hook but works a treat. Cut to size if its a big one.

[@clivelogsdon1492]

The other problem Mat is they can undercut the banks

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Yes, coypu are the worst for that though I've found.

[@clivelogsdon1492]

@@matthewcollinsangler yeah, I remember the first time I fished in France I thought they were giant rats lol

[@blazedray9903]

Bit of a backhanded compliment really but your water must be great they won't live in dirty or polluted water

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Thanks! We do our best for our fish and for anglers staying with us 😊

[@Globalfisherman]

Louisiana swamp crayfish , they can walk on land for miles

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Yes.... I saw that!

[@baldieman64]

Just so you know. Using crayfish as bait is completely illegal in the UK. Not saying I agree with the law, but it's on the books. Edit. Here you go: Byelaw 3 Use of Crayfish as Bait Any person who in fishing for salmon, trout, freshwater fish or eels, uses as bait crayfish of any species whether alive or dead, or parts thereof, shall be guilty of an offence. Edit 2: Just realised you're in France. Largemouth bass might help with managing the crays.

[@matthewcollinsangler]

I was aware of this, you need to apply for a licence to trap crayfish in the UK, but it's not the case in France luckily. Thanks for the info 👍

[@NatureGreene]

👍

[@akwamarsunzal]

Fishing in Portugal you are constantly hitting crays! They get tangled in rigs and completely ruin the fishing. Nibbled or completely destroyed baits! Not fun!

[@matthewcollinsangler]

Not at all! Salt cured extra hard baits work really well for me to fight the crays on the river 👍 (that's what I do: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXvMZat3ideph80)

[@akwamarsunzal]

@@matthewcollinsangler Two days ago I was fishing a rock hard boilies. 2 hours later came back in and it was nibbled all round. Also, I have had two tangle around rigs, particuarly when using braid! There are just so many here, its crazy!

[@matthewcollinsangler]

@@akwamarsunzal Wow… I’m using 1 year old salt cured Scopex Squid baits right now and they are golf ball hard. I use a gun drill to drill them out to hair rig them. They are even too hard for a bait screw without pre-drilling! But the crays can’t touch them. My deadly mono d rig with 0.50 mono snag leader gets rid or rig tangles: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKOXoZSLaqeSqJY

[@akwamarsunzal]

@@matthewcollinsangler Indeed, these boilies I pre drill with an electric drill at home otherwise they are useless lol I have started using mono rigs now, the braid is just too easy for the crays to mess around with and get their legs/claws tangled. All very annoying!

[@Northstar-Media]

Hate them they give me the creeps for some reason like little aliens

[@bitty8462]

Your pond is bad now

[@matthewcollinsangler]

My pond is actually healthier now, the crays are gone, the oxygen levels are higher and more stable and the fishing has improved 🎣