Crayfish nip-offs??

[Julian Marshall]

Have had very few days out over the year & was hoping to get out today but the weather is really foul so stuck at home.

To do something fishy thought I’d ask here for any opinions / advice:



On my last 2 visits to the Ure I’ve struck into a fairly tentative `chub` bite, feel resisstance & a couple of seconds later the line is slack & the hooklength has parted. It wasn’t at the knot & the bait shouldn’t appeal to a pike, no mussel beds around.

There are signal crayfish in the length, took one out in the summer & it was around 6” long.

Is it possible for the claws to cut through 6lb mono? I don’t mean that they would do it deliberately, but could it happen if caught up on the line?

I can’t really think of any other sensible explanation so what might you think?

Cheers if you might offer any suggestions, Julian

 

[Richard Turner]

Have had very few days out over the year & was hoping to get out today but the weather is really foul so stuck at home.

To do something fishy thought I’d ask here for any opinions / advice:



On my last 2 visits to the Ure I’ve struck into a fairly tentative `chub` bite, feel resisstance & a couple of seconds later the line is slack & the hooklength has parted. It wasn’t at the knot & the bait shouldn’t appeal to a pike, no mussel beds around.

There are signal crayfish in the length, took one out in the summer & it was around 6” long.

Is it possible for the claws to cut through 6lb mono? I don’t mean that they would do it deliberately, but could it happen if caught up on the line?

I can’t really think of any other sensible explanation so what might you think?

Cheers if you might offer any suggestions, Julian

Sounds exactly right. My local water which houses some super tench suffers from numerous signal crayfish and what you have described has happened to me several times. They appear not to like sweet corn but avoid meat, maggots and worms!

 

[Damian Kimmins]

I think they might be chub, Julian. Deep hooked, bitten off by the pharyngeal teeth. Though I may be wrong.

 

[Julian Marshall]

Thanks for the replies chaps - I'm fishing close in & strike sooner than later so do hope it's not a chub bite - off. Had a few hours today with no similar problems & one small chub.

 

[Huanzhou Zhu]

Caught this guy last week, my last catch in 2021. I have no doubt the claw this size can easily cut the 6lb line.

 

[Paul Richardson]

I'm plagued by crays when pike fishing
The damage they do to baits has to be seen to be believed - soft fish like sardines, smelt and herrings come back like Tom & Jerry fish ( a head and a tail) if you're lucky.Sometimes there is half a bait as though they have cut through the backbone.
They seem to clamp round the bait and I'll often see them drop off as I'm retrieving baits which might explain the resistance you are feeling. No doubt they would break 6lb mono. Difference is I'm using a wire trace.