Has anyone used a crawfish trap?

[Teal]

58 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Who in their right mind would waste perfectly good bacon on a crawfish trap?

I'm with him... just use whatever meat u need to get rid of.  DO NOT USE GOOD BACON.  I'm pretty sure there's some old testament penalty of death for that.   

[The Bassman]

Used to catch 'em as a kid with kite string tied to a scrap of raw bacon. The drainage ditch behind us was full of them. We just did it for fun. We were too chicken to actually handle them. Wish I was ten again.

[ChrisD46]

*I would try a craw fish trap primarily just to see what their colors are at any given time  , so I can match the hatch with soft plastic craws , craw trailers and football jig colors .

[Ohioguy25]

On 8/17/2020 at 5:15 PM, Teal said:

I'm with him... just use whatever meat u need to get rid of.  DO NOT USE GOOD BACON.  I'm pretty sure there's some old testament penalty of death for that.   

I hear ya, chicken is just as expensive as bacon lol and while I love bacon I like chicken wings better! 

On 8/16/2020 at 10:28 PM, camman said:

No need chicken is tough enough.  People also use bacon which will need to go in the cage

I ordered these but they are a lot smaller than I thought, each one is only the size of a quarter - 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Mimilure-Fishing-Feeder-Basket-Available/dp/B07S33ZXQ1

 

would this work better or does it need to be more exposed like it is in a wire cage? I wonder if I could make my own.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Promar-AC-300SP-Seal-Proof-Bait/dp/B00CO965A4

 

 

 

 

[camman]

Make them yourself...just get some 1/2” chicken wire

[J Francho]

Just use a paper clip to wire up whatever piece of meat.  I've never heard so much discussion about trapping craws, lol.  It's not a science.  It's pretty simple, but you have to just go out and do it.  Let's see some pics of your crab catch.

[Ohioguy25]

On 8/24/2020 at 8:29 AM, J Francho said:

Just use a paper clip to wire up whatever piece of meat.  I've never heard so much discussion about trapping craws, lol.  It's not a science.  It's pretty simple, but you have to just go out and do it.  Let's see some pics of your crab catch.

I set the trap Monday, gonna go on the river tomorrow. Think 48 hours is too long to leave it sitting there? I’m gonna be ticked if there’s nothing in it, something tells me there won’t be. What should I do if raw bacon in a bag with holes didn’t work, add a can of tuna or is raw chicken better? I really don’t understand how people do it successfully on YouTube, I literally put a can of cat food and a hot dog in last time and got nothing. I don’t think it works as well as people say.

[J Francho]

Did you see if there are craws where you set it?

[Ohioguy25]

6 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Did you see if there are craws where you set it?

Yes it’s my crawdad spot where I am usually able to catch at least 10 by hand within 10 minutes using a net flipping rocks. About 2 feet deep, clean cold water with a very subtle current and a ton of rocks. Going to check it now, I’ll let you know.

[Ohioguy25]

11 hours ago, J Francho said:

Did you see if there are craws where you set it?

Just got home, the trap was empty when I got there and the bag inside was destroyed and the bacon gone, I’m assuming fish got it. Swapped the bag for the bait cage loaded with bacon and threw it in, waited 20 min and success! While I was waiting I also used the advice given on here to throw a piece of bacon on my hook and dip it in the water then pull it out slowly, worked like a charm! Got about 5-6 doing that and 2 in the trap, closed it back up and left it for next time, hopefully it’s filled when I go back. Glad I finally got it to work, thanks for the help everyone, great day on the water!

 

https://ibb.co/g7TJzyV
https://ibb.co/42r4hB4
https://ibb.co/nsPPNPz
https://ibb.co/HLyxXd5

[Ohioguy25]

On 8/24/2020 at 2:22 AM, camman said:

Make them yourself...just get some 1/2” chicken wire

Only issue I’m finding is the craws that seem attracted to this bait are on the larger size. I rarely have success with the bigger ones, they 

almost always seem to go after the smaller ones. Will smaller ones go into the trap too if I leave it long enough? If not, is there any other way to catch them other than by hand?

[snake95]

45 minutes ago, Ohioguy25 said:

almost always seem to go after the smaller ones. Will smaller ones go into the trap too if I leave it long enough?

I hate to be the guy that says this first but man, you're going to be the one who answers this for the rest of us....

 

When I trapped crayfish I got a full range of sizes.  Would think it is very situation dependent.

 

Kudos for posting about your first results.  So many guys ask questions then there is never any follow up.  

 

Also... hate to be that guy but if you were getting 10 of the size you want in 10 minutes, and you have the time to do that, why don't you just keep on doing that?  Seems hard to beat.

[Ohioguy25]

6 minutes ago, snake95 said:

I hate to be the guy that says this first but man, you're going to be the one who answers this for the rest of us....

 

When I trapped crayfish I got a full range of sizes.  Would think it is very situation dependent.

 

Kudos for posting about your first results.  So many guys ask questions then there is never any follow up.  

 

Also... hate to be that guy but if you were getting 10 of the size you want in 10 minutes, and you have the time to do that, why don't you just keep on doing that?  Seems hard to beat.

Good to hear that you got a range of sizes, I’m hopeful I will as well. To be clear, I actually did not get 10 of the size I want, only one of the craws I caught yesterday caught a fish. The rest wore out and died from overcasting, nothing even nibbled them even after taking the claws off. Hopefully there are some bite sized ones in my trap. 

[Mbirdsley]

Half a hot dog hung by a treble hook works too.  Usually just hung it via wire so they can’t get to it from the outside or eat it in the trap. I always just bought the cheap coated wire minnow traps and opened up the holes on both sides so they can fit. 
 

48 hrs is to long to set it.  If you are able to I would check it every 6-12 hrs.  I know in Michigan if you leave a trap un attended you need your name and address on it.  I dunno if Ohio requires that or not 

[Ohioguy25]

3 hours ago, Mbirdsley said:

Half a hot dog hung by a treble hook works too.  Usually just hung it via wire so they can’t get to it from the outside or eat it in the trap. I always just bought the cheap coated wire minnow traps and opened up the holes on both sides so they can fit. 
 

48 hrs is to long to set it.  If you are able to I would check it every 6-12 hrs.  I know in Michigan if you leave a trap un attended you need your name and address on it.  I dunno if Ohio requires that or not 

Why is that too long?

[Spankey]

1 hour ago, Ohioguy25 said:

Why is that too long?

Dude you know I’m all about the efforts you put into live bait. And it looks like you are on your way to being a crustacean expert. 
 

But, did you ever try going out with 3 or 4 bags of various manufacturers plastic craws. And try them. A craw is pretty easy to mimic. Easy to fish. I would leave everything at home except your rod, jig heads, light Trig bullet weights, #7 & #5 split shot and 2/0 and 3/0 worm hooks. Fish them hard, sort of really get into it. I bet you will be rewarded. You have to leave all your other stuff home. Because you’ll stray and start fishing that other stuff. Leave that at home. 
 

I'm not trying to Force any of my ideals on you but when I first started fishing rubber worms, and wanted to perfect the fishing of them (I’m still no expert), I left my other gear at home.  Sort of fish what you brought or go home. I was not going home. I caught smallies and stayed. Same with grubs Many years ago. That’s another bait you should do well with in your conditions. 
 

But good luck, you know how you want to fish, I’m not telling anyone what to do. Only trying to serve up something different to you. The rewards will be there if you try it. 

[J Francho]

2 hours ago, Ohioguy25 said:

Why is that too long?

They figure their way back out, lol.  I still can't believe you're wasting bacon on this.  That's a crime in some places!

[Mbirdsley]

2 hours ago, Ohioguy25 said:

Why is that too long?

Craw fish do need to eat or they will die.  They won’t be able to eat while in the trap and could start canabalizing the smaller ones ( the ones you want to use) 

 

im going by what Michigan rules state and I have no idea what Ohio’s are but, in Michigan you have legal tend or check the trap every 24 hrs.  
 

also the longer you leave the trap in.  Somebody is more likely to find it.  They could take it, take your crawfish, or destroy it.  
 

 

[Ohioguy25]

1 hour ago, Mbirdsley said:

Craw fish do need to eat or they will die.  They won’t be able to eat while in the trap and could start canabalizing the smaller ones ( the ones you want to use) 

 

im going by what Michigan rules state and I have no idea what Ohio’s are but, in Michigan you have legal tend or check the trap every 24 hrs.  
 

also the longer you leave the trap in.  Somebody is more likely to find it.  They could take it, take your crawfish, or destroy it.  
 

 

Hmmm it’s a little bit down river from the drop in, being injured it is quite a production getting all of my gear unloaded and in the water, and I can’t paddle today as I’m leaving town and it’s going to rain here in an hour anyway. I suppose I could buy an inner tube and float down to it then swim back upstream, you think it’s worth all of that or should I just leave it until Monday and hope there’s still something in there? I saw the frabill traps dropped down to $7.99 on Amazon so I went ahead and snatched up 2 more, so if someone steals or destroys it I will have more by then but I did sort of hide and secure it between two large flat rocks so it’s harder to see, I wonder if rain could still wash it away or if anything could still be alive in there? How do they find their way back out, I thought that was the whole point that they couldn’t?

[ChrisD46]

Toss in a couple of cans of cat food opened up with a can opener in a few spots to leak out the smell - along with other suggestions .

[TnRiver46]

Caught the heck out of crawfish with a seine this weekend. They didn’t catch fish nearly as well as helgrammites 

[Ohioguy25]

On 8/28/2020 at 8:16 AM, Mbirdsley said:

Craw fish do need to eat or they will die.  They won’t be able to eat while in the trap and could start canabalizing the smaller ones ( the ones you want to use) 

 

im going by what Michigan rules state and I have no idea what Ohio’s are but, in Michigan you have legal tend or check the trap every 24 hrs.  
 

also the longer you leave the trap in.  Somebody is more likely to find it.  They could take it, take your crawfish, or destroy it.  
 

 

Went back to check today and the bacon was all gone. How is that possible? It was in that bait cage. Minnows? What do you suggest? I only left it 24 hours.

[J Francho]

I don’t know, but someone is gonna report you to the bacon police. 

[Mbirdsley]

5 hours ago, Ohioguy25 said:

Went back to check today and the bacon was all gone. How is that possible? It was in that bait cage. Minnows? What do you suggest? I only left it 24 hours.

Try wet  cat food or canned shrimp in a women’s nylon Nylon than put a knot in it.  Dam craw fish you are feeding eat better than most people haha or I guess put the bacon in nylon 

[Ohioguy25]

5 hours ago, Mbirdsley said:

Try wet  cat food or canned shrimp in a women’s nylon Nylon than put a knot in it.  Dam craw fish you are feeding eat better than most people haha or I guess put the bacon in nylon 

Would bacon work in a stocking? I already have that, rather not buy anything. Wouldn’t it be more effective in the bait cage if I just checked back sooner? What do you think ate it?