On Thu, 7 Jul 2011 11:56:59 -0700 (PDT), John
wrote:

Up until two years ago I used to put down traps in my local river, The
Bain, always caught more than I could eat after 30 minutes!
Illegal to put them back alive so as they are deemed a pest I ate what
I could and disposed of the rest (dead)
Not as tasty as sal****er crayfish, but not bad, especially when
dipped into a nice garlic, chilli butter. Glass of cold white and a
few slices of good brown bread, perfick.
Maybe I will try again this year, the beggars are rampant again!

I've always wanted to have a go, but as well as a good spot you need a
licence from the Environment Agency and I'm not sure how easy it is to
get one now. What the penalties are for taking them without a licence,
I don't know; but they could be in line with those for other kinds of
poaching -- which is to say, pretty heavy. I've heard of some pretty
fierce competition between trappers, too...

--
Mike.