ANIMALS & AWARENESS
Crayfish Trap
Notes:
This is a trap that would be left in deeper water, with bait, probably overnight.
Potentially, a smaller basket could be used like a net to help actively catch crayfish.
1. Participants should collect lots of long pieces of vine (1 - 2 pencils thick). We used asian bittersweet, the most widespread suitable invasive vine in our area.
2. We used 7 relatively straight paw paw sticks (each about arm-length, about 30" long), sharpened on one end, so they could be stuck into the earth as in the first video.
Potentially, a smaller basket could be used like a net to help actively catch crayfish.
1. Participants should collect lots of long pieces of vine (1 - 2 pencils thick). We used asian bittersweet, the most widespread suitable invasive vine in our area.
2. We used 7 relatively straight paw paw sticks (each about arm-length, about 30" long), sharpened on one end, so they could be stuck into the earth as in the first video.
Fishing - basics
Safety and ethics
- When fishing with hooks, great care needs to be taken to avoid snagging anyone!
- The fishing team should move slowly and carefully, and use good communication.
- You should bring needle-nosed pliers for freeing deep-hooked fish.
- Bend the barbs down to make the hooks easier to remove.
- Fish that cannot be unhooked without seriously harming them should first be killed as humanely as possible. I usually put them on something wooden and slice through the brain with a suitable knife, or smash the skull. The dead fish should be eaten, used for bait, and/or left for animals to eat.
Fishing with hooks and a stick pole
Choosing a stick:
Attaching the line to the stick:
Attaching the line at the base, wrapping it around the stick, and tying it off near the tip of the stick helps ensure that you don't lose the fish from the stick breaking, or the knot failing.
- A long stick gives you greater reach, allowing you to get the hook farther out, into deeper water, and may help you avoid dragging the hook through vegetation and debris.
- Often a green branch or sapling will offer a good combination of flexibility, strength and length. Ask an instructor before cutting any live plants.
- A flexible stick absorbs the shock from when a fish jerks the line away suddenly. It reduces the chances that the line will snap, permanently harming the fish.
Attaching the line to the stick:
Attaching the line at the base, wrapping it around the stick, and tying it off near the tip of the stick helps ensure that you don't lose the fish from the stick breaking, or the knot failing.
Tying the line to a hook, stick, etc.
Finding bait:
Attaching the bait:
- Find earthworms by looking under the thickest leaf litter you can find, or under logs, rocks, etc. CAUTION: watch out for snakes, black widows and wasp nests when looking under such objects.
Attaching the bait:
Casting the hook:
|
Key points: make sure line is not caught on anything, and there is no one too close!
|
|
