The crayfish infested River Blythe is a small intimate river with some of the cleanest flowing water you will ever likely to find in England. Crayfish infested? Well yes because after drowning a worm three times in its clear waters, that’s all I’ve bleeding caught, the river is full of the little crazy biters. A friend of a friend who has a licence to trap them on a different river and often has up to 50 crayfish per trap and he uses 10 traps. He sells them to local gastro pubs and restaurants for something like 10 quid a kilo. He uses road kill as bait believe it or not, apparently they are partial to a bit of badger.
Gravel and clay-bedded rivers such as the Blythe can support a thriving crayfish population provided the water is pure, and the banks soft enough to burrow into. It’s such a “particularly fine example of a lowland river on clay” in 1989 is received Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and therefore has protected status. The river flows through Warwickshire, through the borough of Solihull and and on to Coleshill, it’s largely uncharted and un-fished especially as of late where many would rather fish parked next to a mud puddle where a blank is an impossibility. It’s a roving angler’s delight and suits me perfectly.
For the fisherman the mudbugs can be a either an asset or a hindrance. An asset because the fish are dining on them and they are getting bigger, fatter and fast. Where there is crayfish, there is a likelihood of overly large fish. A hindrance because especially when fishing a static bait the crayfish are so prolific that they home on to the bait before a fish does. I’ve even caught crayfish whilst trotting a weir the Warwickshire Avon so they even take moving bait suspended off the bottom too, the jammy gits.
The environmental agency reported a while back Perch of just four years old who had crayfish as part of their diet were reaching 4lb in weight. Yes 4lb, startling statistics really. Super size me indeed. Chub are also enjoying the addition to their diet and rivers such as the River Lea which also has an infestation are producing near double figure fish, that’s huge for a Chevin and not that long ago fish that big were unheard of.
This particular stretch of the Blythe in the summer months is barely fishable, not only is it difficult to get to the swims because of the dense undergrowth but the river in most parts is inches deep. Come winter time though when the thicket has reduced, access is easier and the levels make it fishable and the crayfish are also less active. It has shallow, fast-running stretches to slow moving lengths with deeper holes and overhangs and it was these holes and overhangs I intended to target.
It didn’t even cross my mind what to fish with, simples. My 8ft superlight TFGear quiver rod armed with a link ledgered lobworm, I also had ½ a pint of red maggots to drip feed the swim and some cheese paste for back-up.
It was a difficult morning, after a few hours and 7 or 8 swims I was still biteless, I swopped to two red maggots and again not a titter on the tip. It was a bitterly cold wind and no signs of any fish. The coloured water seemed to be getting more tea like so I decided to prebait a chubby looking swim with red maggot, chopped lobs and a few bits of cheese paste and let it settle for 1/2 an hour. I also changed the hook link to a cork ball on a bayonet hair and used a walnut sized piece of cheese paste, a chub sized gob stopper. No matter how bad the clarity of the water the stinky bait would surely be found if there were fish in the swim.
I plopped the mouldy dumpling against some nearside cover and waited. After 15 minutes or so a short sharp rattle on the quiver. The bite didn't develop so I sat on my hands till it did, no point being premature for a Chub. You will know when to strike, you ain't going to miss it. I was mid bovril when BANG, a huge bite and the rod was making a bid for freedom. A fish was on with the rod bent double, it was hold and hope for a few seconds. For such a dainty 8ft rod it's got some some backbone and with a snaggy swim and a big Chub there is no messing around you have to get on top of it otherwise it will snag you up and you will lose it. It was all over the swim trying to reach any snags and at one point I thought he had succeeded! but eventually after a hard fight a chunky Chevin was in the net.
I needed the scales for this one, it was a good'un. 4lb 9oz and equalled my PB. The camera was now flat but luckily my iphone came to the rescue. Certainly encouraging considering I've only fished the Blythe a few times, I'll be back.
