Catching crayfish in the places where they are found is not difficult. It is enough to make rakolovka, the manufacture of which with your own hands can be done even by a beginner in this matter.
Catching and cooking crayfish is sometimes no less exciting than fishing. It is difficult to catch them by hand, it is impossible to use a fishing rod with bait, like a fish, so the simplest constructions were invented, called crayfish or crustaceans, which are traps for crayfish.
Required tools and materials
The simplest design of rakolovka is a ring of steel wire, the diameter of which is about half a meter or slightly less. This construction is covered with a mesh in a special way. This crayfish has a drawback - it is required to check it, taking it out of the water, on average once every half an hour, since after eating, the crayfish easily leave it. Therefore, it is better to make a slightly complicated model that can be left for the whole night: getting out of such a crust is not easy.
In order to make such a structure with your own hands, you will need a mesh - strong and with small cells, thick wire, at least 4-6 mm in diameter, and a nylon thread.
In the event that the rakolovka is made in the field and from improvised material, a large plastic bottle can serve as a frame, and instead of a mesh, nylon tights or stockings can be used. The frame can be made of wood, and even entirely woven from willow twigs.
Manufacturing process
The main element of the crayfish trap remains a ring of steel wire, but in this case you need to make two of them, the first with a circumference of about half a meter, and the second 15-20 cm. If there is a ready-made wire frame of a different shape, it can also be used by covering it with a net.
If the wire is used at least 6 mm in diameter, additional weights are not needed, in other cases they can be tied to the bottom so that the structure is not overturned by the current.
The mesh is attached to the rings with a nylon thread, but if this method seems too tedious, you can use plastic clamps. 3 spacers are made of wire: of equal length and height from 10 to 20 cm. The upper small ring is fixed on these spacers so that it stands level and stable over the large one lying on the ground. For ease of transportation and folding, at least one spacer must be made removable.
After that, the sidewalls are covered with a mesh. On the upper small ring, they are fixed in the same way as on the lower one - using a nylon thread or plastic clamps. The excess net is cut off after fixing and the crayfish can be used by tying a strong rope to the upper ring in order to pull the full trap out of the water. The thickness and material of the rope does not matter, the main thing is strength and good knots - the catch can be difficult if the trap is filled to the top.
The bait is tied to the bottom of the crayfish. In some places, crayfish prefer fresh fish, refuting rumors of their addiction to carrion.
In catching crayfish, a flashlight is often used, or a fire is made on the shore opposite the place where the trap is set. Crayfish are attracted to light, and the catch will be greater with these tricks.
