The Giant Crayfish Got To Me

[@korgeth]

I Love that you teach people you don't have to have all that expensive kit to have fun fishing. I been watching you for a few years and I never commented. But I felt I had to tell you how amazing you are teaching the "young-in's" that fishing doesn't have to be expensive to be fun. Thank you for your films.

[@TAFishing]

Appreciate the comment...I do genuinely use the same old rods and reels...I don't see the point in changing.

[@lchambee]

@@TAFishingGraeme is the reason I started fishing in lockdown, and is the reason I’m going out fishing tonight with my other half. The most wholesome, peaceful pastime in the world. Thank you Graeme

[@mickhardstaff6605]

Places change that quickly Graeme when you haven't visited them for a few years , It reflects just how fast our lives are moving on , yet we don't seem to realise it until our memories remind us of it , them we realise how old we are getting 😂.

[@roooooooory]

Love the river fishing videos, Graeme. Even if you don't catch it's always much more of an adventure than a commercial

[@sallyfolkes2650]

That Graham must be the most depressing video I’ve ever seen you do, I remember so well the rolling meat show you did and the decline in that river is alarming. I thought the river Teme in Worcestershire was a sad case but that is just unreal.Keep up the great work Graham you deserve a medal suffering those Crays. Neil

[@borderlands6606]

As a younger man, I used to dream of fishing the Hampshire Avon or the Kennet. Up here our local rivers were the colour of strong tea, and contained plenty of silvers but not much else. Now the Trent is chock full of barbel, and grayling and brown trout can be caught in the middle of cities. That said, I hear the Thames is turning up big barbel and huge perch that have been gorging on those mini lobsters.

[@darwindarwin141]

The lack of fish is primarily down to three things, 1 untreated, sewage being deliberately pumped into rivers , 2 , people from EE keeping every fish they catch , 3 , Crayfish eating fish eggs and competing for food .

[@williamavery9185]

So why don't the local fisheries trap the crayfish. It's so easy.

[@TrancetasticWilza]

You forgot to mention otters and cormorants

[@Dp3.16]

Agreed the foreigners eaten them all pisses me right off !

[@bigmoncrief6071]

Graeme, you really need to champion crayfish as a smoothhound bait. With peeler crab at £3 a pop sea fisherman are desperate for a cheap effective alternative.

[@mwscuba]

@@williamavery9185maybe you need a license as it the native ones are protected

[@willproctor7301]

I honestly think we get too impatient with fishing those childhood haunts as we get older. We remember the red letter days of bagging up on the tidlers and a few rare big perch or bream, bunging a dead bait out for a pike, but not how we would go at the crack of dawn in the summer holidays and spend 12 hours feeding up the smaller fish until we got that one special fish that had chance to move in, and then bent the rod. We would go every day during the summer holidays to that same "magic spot" and chuck maggots and that cheap red groundbait (died breadcrumbs) from the local tackle shop in. We had the time then to just go and try things until they worked in one swim, you couldn't just move to the next one as there was always someone else in it :). The lake was so full of your mates fishing, that if you casted 20 degrees left or right you'd get a shout of "oi poacher!". Great times.

[@alessandromazzini8664]

Didn't know that also in the UK you have this kind of problem. In Italy crayfishes are destroying freshwater species since years. I know they are only a part of the problem, but you better move fast to eradicate them or at least to contain them if you care about your waters! Cheers Graeme keep on fishin!

[@robertcotton9091]

Great to watch as always thank you Sir.

[@Matty30Boy]

Another cracking video. Thank you Graeme for another year of super videos. A very Happy Christmas to you and all the family 😊

[@TAFishing]

The same to you and yours.

[@clivedavies3]

Hi Grahame i had a great year on my local river with chub bream perch and dace even minnows only to go 3 weeks ago to see the fish gasping at the surface due to polution not only once but a couple of times only now to see all the big fish pike chub bream carp roach floating on the surface dead the end of the fishing for me through the town of nantwich cheshire on the weaver. i think all rivers are now at a point of low stocks of fish as there seems to be no one realy looking after them as they should, i myself have seen the stocks of fish decline over the years in canals rivers and natural lakes i have fished with my uncles since the 60s. i wonder what you think?

[@TAFishing]

Gone downhill so fast its scary...trouble is wild fish like Barbel,Chub etc are not easy to replace. And if you restock all you do is feed all the unwanted critturs....

[@kingrafa3938]

Another nice video Graeme!

[@carltrollope1192]

Perfect net angle, great to see some fish

[@fredcooper2063]

......Need to do a 'catch & cook' with the signal crayfish, Graeme,..... Very tasty!!!!!!

[@Walsallgrower]

The only way to get rid of the crayfish is to set lots of traps, of course you will need the fisheries permission but it does work Graeme.

[@andykjohnsonjohnson7622]

Interesting video Graeme 🎣👍. Tho. You could make a Crayfish trap. I cook up the larger one's 😋😋😋, the tail meat on smaller ones. Is good for carp & Perch bait, as it's Free. No more paying for prawns. Your bait for your tarps is free ( left over fish skeletons) , & how don't like free stuff Especially you Graeme 🎣🤪😉😉

[@bigbrobunny]

You need a licence though….,

[@cliveeariss880]

And I thought it was me, yes I know the feeling mate been a tough one, but we will do what we can, crayfish ahhhhh no, nice Chub, lovely looking place, but we want fish, great video mate, thanks for sharing.

[@martinynwabenzie...5985]

Love this guys content could watch him all day long...legend...😎

[@stephenasbridge878]

Fred Taylor’s comment about “never go back” was in my mind as you started your introduction, Graham. I live overseas now and made the mistake of going back to a childhood haunt near Cambridge. It was full of people, dogs, fences, signposts explaining what all the trees were and where I was supposed to walk, wooden walkways. Basically ruined in the name of protecting nature. No anglers, either. Oh, and the UK population is 15 million more than when I was fishing in the UK…..

[@TAFishing]

I didn't think anyone would remember Fred J's comment,but he was not wrong...In fact now its worse .Places I fished as a kid are basically overgrown ditches now.

[@alamocannon3791]

Looks like the Mill at Aldermaston on the Kennet. Crays and otters have devastated that part of the Kennet. Such a shame as that part used to produse match weights of over 100lb of Chub and Barbel. I can`t believe she took the day ticket money from you!!

[@TAFishing]

I have a picture taken from just below the bridge with a mate that had around 80/100lb of Barbel I recall ,pleasure fishing,not in a match.

[@RonBaker456]

Some enterprising person should start catching and selling them. They are a decent industry here in the states and I've not heard of any problems with them. Crayfish Etouffe or jambalaya are YUMMY! Taste like little lobster tails.

[@williamavery9185]

😅After spending many nights poaching pheasants. At 67yo I have 43 crayfish traps , catching 140 to 200 day.All signals. The local pubs and restaurants can get enough of them

[@jozsefronai9875]

Wow Mr P you were pissed off with that river fishing !!!!! thats what happens to a river that no one takes care of restocks and water testing they charged you to fish there so who is doing this work ??? I felt your pain watching and you right it shouldn't be like that !!! The best river i ever fished is in guildford Surrey if you fancy something different? That river is hundreds of years old deep and rich in life with huge fish from massive pike huge wild carp you can see cruiseing around near the loch decent barbel in faster runs and giant chubb under the town bridge and not too far from Hampshire either pike tip for you dead bait or live bait below the park wier ive had pike over 25 lb there and dont ignore the back water there you will have a blast there i promise good luck bud and its free to fish there too

[@kbpets418]

Love and good health to you, from Pittsburgh, Pa, USA

[@TAFishing]

Hi there Pittsburgh. P.A. Stay safe over there.

[@freddyoutdoors]

Really enjoyed watching keep them coming

[@jonathanluce9130]

Really enjoyed this one, I must try your net tactics next time I get out.

[@davidhempkin2402]

Nice 1 GP was just about to watch a older video of yours 💪🎣

[@colgele]

I fish just above and below the Old Mill on the Wasing Estate Graeme. A mixed bag of brown trout with the odd larger fish, grayling, chub, bream, roach and dace. They did stock some barbel in the last couple of years but not sure the bigger fish are still there in any numbers. Otters and crayfish are a problem but a lovely river to spend time on all the same. My best fish was on the final day of last season, a 7lb brown on a size 14 3lb hook link which put a smile on my face. You never know…

[@TAFishing]

Used to get the Roach just upstream of the weir before it joined the Wasing stretch,but I don't know if they are still there now.

[@DBCooper2]

Lovely looking pool Graeme, shame it’s glory days are now a distant memory.

[@goplanit]

40 years ago we used to get decent sized Barbel in good numbers on the Wensum in Norfolk. Unfortunately with Anglia Water dumping gallons of sewage and farmers with their chemical runoff there's virtually none nowadays. Surprisingly the Chub seem to have overcome the filth being chucked in.

[@TAFishing]

I wonder if the Barbel suffer as they are right on the river bed where all the detritus pumped in eventually settles ? And the Chub being more of a midwater species perhaps don't get the worst of it ?..Just a theory...

[@goplanit]

@@TAFishing Sounds like a good theory. And Otters of course that we never had.

[@d4rren4]

Hi Graham, been a fan for many years of both the TA channels. I’m a dedicated predator angler and was wondering if you’ve ever been to my home country Scotland for pike/perch and if so, where have fished? PS lv the channel n keep up the good work

[@TAFishing]

Only been through Scotland once to fish fore Porbeagles out of Scrabster..and yes,another blank !

[@idc2120]

Caught a couple of crayfish on the canal in Guildford. Bailiff said we'd be fined if caught putting them back so they were immediately culled. I was told its all the Asian restraunts that introduced them to our waterways and you often see them fishing for them with crablines. I hope our native fish species dont end up like the Red Squirrel.

[@davefave4351]

Great Video Graham - I've been following you since the early 90s and your writings for 'Coarse Fisherman' Would an artificial jigged cray be effective for Barbel? I know the Chub and Perch grow fat on the real ones. Has the law been changed regarding the removal of Crays? I thought it was illegal because of the risk to our native Cray? Besides, all the comments regarding catch and cook; who would want to eat something from our excrement filled rivers? It makes you wonder why you pay for a licence!

[@lancerbiker5263]

Boiled crayfish and corn are a delicacy in the southern USA.

[@petenikolic5244]

The other issue these days are the EA's the unlicensed poachers

[@Chris1Kent]

I fish just down stream, at the benyons. I had my barble this season 😂

[@mikehaines6520]

Great channel and it’s taught me tons, thanks for all that you do, - This is so depressing, our rivers are in an awful state for many reasons, invasive species being one, I’m a not very experienced hobby fisherman and live locally to you, I just enjoy a few hours now and again, - it’s so hard to catch anything on local rivers, blanking most of the time is tedious and after a while for me the enjoyment goes - in some sense, if with your huge experience you struggle, there’s hope for me, - at least one of the river area’s that TA fishing use, I also go to, often with little success. I’m tending to fish stocked lakes - at least I know with certainty that there are fish present and I generally do catch.

[@TAFishing]

If it wasn't for the commercial day ticket waters I reckon many anglers would pack up. I rarely see an angler on many river nowadays. that must tell its own story.

[@shaunjones6049]

I watched some wildlife program where they diverted a small section of a stream and literally drained it down to nothing. When they lifted up the rocks and scraped through the gravel it was teaming with crayfish the size of shrimps, so many it would be impossible to eradicate them once in a river or lake 😔

[@TAFishing]

I can believe that...I dare say the few remaining fish might eat tiny Crayfish,but there must be millions more that grow to reach maturity.

[@GeneralJoe123]

Awsome as allways 👍👍

[@peterturnham5134]

Graaeme, I'm English but live in france so I'm not up to date with English law. Of course I'm an enthusiastic fisherman but also scuba diver. In France we can fish crayfish on foot with a glass bucket or with goggles snorkel and fins. We know how to cook Crayfish and you should see what Price live crayfish sell for in the market. Here the local fishing club would talk to the local scuba club. Once a month 3-5 divers would clean out a Km of river in a morning. Lunchtime The fishermen bring the wine the divers the crayfish we drink and eat everything.. Of course in England there is probably a law against this that is for you to investigate. From what I understand the big crayfish is an invasive species. If so NO MERCY. However, you dislike otters, as did Walton. They are our competitors, but everything is stacked against them. If they can't survive our fishing is dead too, apart from lakes protected by electric fences. I will take a blank anytime in turn for seeing a live otter.

[@mattgosling2657]

That sounds good for divers to get the crayfish but some rivers I know look too dirty ,I doubt divers would even be able to see them.

[@bricktop3784]

look like old mill to me day ticket, use to fish there in 80s and so many big barbel ,kennet was my favor river sad to see it like that now

[@oshiforb7445]

Just a question. Do the crayfish attack and eat the fish? I would have thought they were more than a scavenger rather than a hunter. I have only ever seen a crayfish on KZbin

[@TAFishing]

I had one come off the bottom and take a 4-inch dead roach I was twitching in midwater for Pike,so yes,it appears they eat larger fish as well.That was a first for me. I don't think the powers that be realise the massive infestation there is and the damage they are causing.

[@blessedinjax]

I thought it was a fish fish We call them mud bugs or crawfish I love em you ought to catch them and steam or boil them up with some seasoning little butter I’m in Florida in the states

[@guardian786]

Good session this day 😉

[@brianreed1451]

Is this Aldermaston mill

[@Guitarlessons-1234]

Love your videos

[@Danny-outside]

That looks like the perfect place to shock predatory fish like perch,pike,burbot maybe if we shock more predatory fish to eat crayfish, there would be less of a problem and some nice size fish in few years.

[@TAFishing]

It might get better if they fired some small Catfish in the rivers,I reckon they would sort the Crayfish plague out .At least the last of our native species fish eggs would have a chance.I'm actually thinking of moving away from legering rivers and just concentrating on moving baits with a float..Its pretty soul destroying when every bait you anchor on the river bed has Crays swarming them,often within minutes. I did put a short film up I got on my phone a few films back when a guy was pulling some cray nets. He said he usually gets 20kgs !!...and I was told a club tried a lake clean years ago....Apparently they had a "ton" out filled in one of those bulk builders bags !!...

[@newsmonger77]

Sadly it's the EA failure. What the hell are we paying our fishing licence for? I've been asked to show my licence just once in 40 years of fishing.

[@BanksideFishing]

I recently made a pike video about how bad our river was, it is infested with crayfish, Huge oil slicks coming down the river which has been reported for numerous years and ‘ investigated ‘ by the EA with no conclusion. The outcome is fishing is extremely difficult on the river now.

[@darwindarwin141]

Graeme please can you tell us where this fishery is ?

[@TAFishing]

I believe its closed now.

[@darwindarwin141]

@@TAFishing that’s a real shame , I hope it recovers 👍

[@dpagain2167]

When I was last in Louisiana crayfish were served only in two sizes, a bucket and half a bucket. Only the tails are eaten. Maybe someone can start catching them and serving them Cajun style.

[@TAFishing]

They will be needing a bigger bucket over here.They are in plague proportions in many lakes and rivers.

[@Hoozpoppin]

Those crayfish are good eating. Cook em up.

[@d4rren4]

Thanks

[@TAFishing]

Glad you enjoy it,thanks,more to come.

[@ianmiller865]

why the hell are the locals not putting traps out to eat them ill never know.

[@seanbarraclough2484]

Maybe a crayfish trap, tenner off amazon, good eating.

[@williamavery9185]

Easy money, drop the trap at 4pm collect at 7am

[@johnwilkes7190]

the only good thing about the crays is they are good to eat and if cooked peeled salted and frozen make a good tough bait

[@MrEdnap]

Random unrelated newbie question, have you ever heard of anyone using or having success with lures on a flapper rig while beach fishing? I tend to find out I have time to go fishing at the last minute, but then I don’t have any bait prepared, if not the lures do you know of any good supermarket baits or any preserved baits I can keep in the van?

[@TAFishing]

There are some packets of artificial and flavoured worms you could try as a last resort. I don't think lures on a flapper rig would work from a beach,but maybe from a boat. Check with your local tackle shop they might have some new preserved baits in stock.

[@shaunhaynes1997]

Aldermaston had plently on little barbel about decade rhere ago

[@hellrazor2050]

Our rivers are in a dire state low flow pollution and invasive species . Sad state of affairs vastly different from what i remember going fishing with my dad in the 70s and early 80s eels were our plague

[@tonywright-p5p]

Agree with you, but we have let it happen, all chasing big carp, rivers neglected all gone to commercials and the EA should be after the crayfish, and we do not need otters. Maybe I should walk along river banks and drop a few rattle snakes here and there, lovly things.

[@WeldonKilburn]

Can you eat them? That is what we do with smaller ones in Texas.

[@elliottlock9555]

Getting so hard everywhere in south for barbel and it was never easy. Quite a few factors unfortunately.

[@DuddridgeMark]

Is no-one purposely harvesting the crayfish? They're good eats...!

[@TAFishing]

It appears not...I for one wish they were...they are in plague proportions now,the destruction must be enormous.

[@andrewgreen1940]

Only ever seen one American crayfish...Mitten crabs are more common. You can eat them at least.

[@chessmoon]

eels and salmon like eating Crayfish , so may in time increase there numbers

[@brianreed1451]

sad reflection on what humans are doing to our rivers. river Stour at Wimborne used to produce weights of 30 40lbs of Roach in a match. We are weighing 3lbs and less now

[@Last-Crusade]

None of my old haunts produce the calibre of fish they once did and the one constant thing 365 days of the year is otter predation and like the great JW use to say,they are a wanton killer.

[@scarfacebear7503]

release some largemouth bass , spotted bass ,smallmouth .. crayfish be gone!

[@TAFishing]

That's probably not a bad idea,and with the plague of Crayfish can you imagine how big those Largemouth would grow ?..

[@colhughes3892]

Eat it they are very nice

[@donmarlowe717]

why not eat the crayfish

[@TAFishing]

With what they are feeding on in our rivers ??? I might pass on that one.

[@hensleyshobbies-doug7761]

Not many big enough predator fish in that river otherwise the crayfish would be few and far between. I know Carp over here eat crayfish, I don’t see why they wouldn’t eat them over there too, and I bet the bigger perch will probably prey on them too, I don’t know about the chub and barbel, but my opinion once they reach a certain size they’ll probably eat the crayfish also. You don’t see or get bothered by crayfish in some of those lakes you fish at , do you? That’s bc I bet a lot of the bigger fish in there are preying on them, but I’ve been told you can’t use crayfish over there for bait, what a shame, otherwise I bet you’d catch some good fish on them. Oh well, you guys over there figure out different ways all the time to catch fish.

[@TAFishing]

I fished a Pike water last spring and the Pike were definately eating the Crayfish . I imagine bigger Carp and Tench might nab them as well.

[@adamfooks7248]

Rather than all the fisherman winging about the problem why don’t people get together and try to come together to improve things…..it’s amazing what 10 or 15 people can achieve with fairly low input per person over a few years. Basic stuff, running lines of crayfish traps and having a rota on checking and rebaiting them, river maintenance and swim maintenance…..have organised days where you you get together and have a day or two at it, few beers in the pub afterwards. I get tired of hearing people whine about these issues and yet it’s always someone else’s problem. It won’t change unless people get off their arses together and make it change 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@borderlands6606]

It isn't a single issue. There's water abstraction for new builds reducing rivers to a silted up trickle. Then there's nitrate run off from farmer's fields, and water companies dumping sewage into rivers rather than spend shareholder dividends on new pipes. Otters have been reintroduced and can clear a pool in a few days, and hunting them is banned, (a family of mink has taken up residence in my local wild brown trout swim, with inevitable consequences) as is shooting cormorants, which are a sea bird (two watched me fishing a reservoir last week). Seals seem to make their way further up freshwater rivers with each passing year. Newer demographics have a tradition of taking all fish for the table, a prohibition that protected fish stocks in the 19th and 20th century. Oestrogen is altering the balance of waterways, and to cap it all invasive crayfish are chomping their way through fish eggs. But not to worry, because people who used to carry a sandwich board and predict the end is nigh on street corners, now read the weather forecast. I honestly think we are in the last days of coarse fishing as most of us know it, where hole in the ground commercials with tagged and named fish - surrounded by electrified otters fences, naturally - are the future of what's left of the game.

[@oldncarvingJohn]

👍❤️

[@tonywright-p5p]

stock carp in our rivers.

[@TAFishing]

I always wonder why they never stock Triploid Rainbow trout to at least give anglers something to catch.

[@giveitaswingoutdoorswithsm2901]

Otter!!! that Explain the lack of fish get some Crayfish traps out and have a' boil '🦂🦂🦂

[@petenikolic5244]

Crayfish are nowt but a pain in the ass find them when i am out on the river the pools or the Cut would not be quite so bad if the freakin Cormorants would eat the crays .

[@AboveAverageAngler]

We need an EA independent of government.

[@shaunjones6049]

Environment Agency Government run Agency in charge of protecting waterways and habitat , who monitor water quality and check for pollution. The Agency who prosecute small businesses when they accidentally pollute.👍 Yet turn a blind eye to big water companies who pollute on a industrial scale on a daily basis 🙈🙊🙉 Time for a public inquiry into the top brass of the Environment Agency and criminal investigation

[@claudiaclark6162]

They eat those in the U S

[@meok292]

When we stop killing our rivers with agricultural chemical run off and sewage outfalls, natural venues might be prolific again. However, as we know, money and votes are the most important thing to our policy makers, not the the health of our environment. farmer giles will still be allowed to spray whatever he wants mr water company can pump our untreated effluent in the rivers, so long as theres ££££££ in it

[@waynewigger9904]

Makes me wonder why we pay for a licence where doe's the money go because its not on up keep

[@TAFishing]

are not wrong I feel.