Simple Match Fishing Forum

My local canal seems to have become totally infested with crayfish. Any time you fish on the bottom its constant little dips and lifts on the float. Most of the time when you strike there is nothing there, but every so often you hit a dead weight and its a crayfish.

This week Ive been twice. Monday evening I fed some hemp and castors at hand feeding distance (4 or 5 m) and a pot of pellets and corn on the far bank. The pellet and corn line was a complete waste of time. No fish, but 5 crayfish that all dropped off. I had a few rudd on the hemp and castor, but hardly any roach or perch. Every time the bait settled to the bottom it was crayfish bites.

Thursday evening a different swim, but the same result.

I remember when I lived down in Fleet the canal was full of crayfish and quite a few people fish it down there. Whats the nack? Especially for the bonus fish, everything I would think of trying for a bonus fish - worm, corn, pellet etc seems to be crayfish heaven!

Try this one Dan, get a tin of cheap dog or cat food and tie a bit o string to it and bodge some holes in it, drop the tin into the cut, keeping hold of the string, theory is that the crays are attracted to the tin leaving you to fish in peace, then you retrieve the tin when youve finished

Thanks, I've heard that one before but never tried it. I may give it a go.

Fishmeal based groundbaits also used to work ( probably same reason to why your pellet line was no use ), we used to feed two or three lines out of the way across the canal with it, to try keep the little crappity smack out the way