How to find Crawdads?

[little_stephen]

I tried to find this topic elsewhere, if i failed, sorry.

Crawdads, Crayfish, Crawfish........ what ever you call them...... I need to know how to find them.....

No where in my neck of the woods sells them. And I'd really like to figure out how to get some for bait. The lake id like to use them at is packed with them. But three problems exist:

1. I dont know where to look for them.

2. I dont know how to go about catching them.

3. I cant go wading around the lake (I dont own waders, and the rangers are sketchy about letting people into the lake for safety reasons.) (But i can get into some water on the far side of the lake.)

Help!?

In the combined infinite years of expierence we have here, I figured someone could shed light on the most productive way of getting my hands on some of these things!

[Kowen117]

Crawfish traps yes they sell them but i have caught some just by taking a net with fine mesh and digging it into the bottom a little and moving it along the bottom also i have been told that if you sting cans together then sink them the craws will live in them then just pull the sting of cans up and there you go but i have yet to try this

[Red]

I always found them as a kid by just turning over rocks.  The bigger the better.

[acmaul13]

My experience is streams and creeks but I'll assume it would be the same.

1st find shallow water with rocky bottom

2nd find rocks softball sized or larger

3rd slowly lift one side so you don't stir up silt or spook crayfish

4th come in from tail side with hand or small net and creep up to crayfish and either scoop or pinch and pin

on main body 8-)

Hope this helps ya,

ac

[Paul Roberts]

I figured someone could shed light on the most productive way of getting my hands on some of these things!

1. Crawfish trap let soak overnight.

2. Try dip-netting using a flashlight at night along a cobbled shoreline, or stream. Seriously.

[Catt]

Go on down to JT's seafood & order all ya want

How to catch them depends on how serious you want to get, down here in Southwest Louisiana we have crayfish harvesting boats.

[basspro215]

i agree with all you but i used to go to this creek in Pa. it was loaded with them,we took a kids net and a bucket just put the net in the water behind them and wave your hand in front they will swim backwards right in

[sleepman00]

get a 2 liter bottle cut the top off about 2 or three inches down save it for later, put a rock, or half a brick in 2 liter and a  couple of hot dogs, take the top you cut off and flip it around and stick it in the 2 liter spout side down and staple with a stapler,  place around rocks and wood and let soak, you will have to put rocks on top of it so the raccoons will not get the hot dog, and so it will stay down where you need it, they crawl in to get the hot dog but cant crawl out

[jb7725]

i have caught many just by turning rocks over..they live underneath the rocks

[urban_angler28]

I use night crawlers rigged with a little weight around a rocky shallow area. You will feel a small tick and they will be holding on long enough to drop In a bucket.

[Hinkle2891]

get a 2 liter bottle cut the top off about 2 or three inches down save it for later, put a rock, or half a brick in 2 liter and a couple of hot dogs, take the top you cut off and flip it around and stick it in the 2 liter spout side down and staple with a stapler, place around rocks and wood and let soak, you will have to put rocks on top of it so the raccoons will not get the hot dog, and so it will stay down where you need it, they crawl in to get the hot dog but cant crawl out

that is absolutely INGENIOUS!

[sleepman00]

get a 2 liter bottle cut the top off about 2 or three inches down save it for later, put a rock, or half a brick in 2 liter and a couple of hot dogs, take the top you cut off and flip it around and stick it in the 2 liter spout side down and staple with a stapler, place around rocks and wood and let soak, you will have to put rocks on top of it so the raccoons will not get the hot dog, and so it will stay down where you need it, they crawl in to get the hot dog but cant crawl out

that is absolutely INGENIOUS!

thanks  it really works around here in Alabama around rip rap,  I catch them and fish them on a carolina rig on long points

[Catt]

Very interesting but over complecated

Attached is a link to Fishnet Co., they sell crayfish nets with nylon web

To use simply tie a food source of varying type to the center and place is an likely area then wait.

Here's two secrets all Cajuns know

First tie a length of highly visible material to the top of the net so it can be spotted from a distance. Second obtain a length of round wood stock lie a broom handle or PVC, insert a screw an 1" back from the end, now you can lift the net with out scaring the mudbugs.

http://www.fishnetco.com/crayfish.htm

[Luke at Gouldsboro]

traps work, and looking under rocks works also. In some lakes there are weeds that have died and they float on the surface, and the crayfish like to go in that because minnows get stuck and die ( easy meal for them)

[simplejoe]

I always found them as a kid by just turning over rocks. The bigger the better.

x2

I check a couple times year to see what colors they are for the different seasons, then I make my jigs or craws to match.

[bobbyc]

Down the throat, and in the belly of most any LM.

[Red Bear]

when i was a kid we used to catch them from the small creek behind the house with plastic cups and a stick. put the cup behind them and put the stick in front of their face and they shoot right back into the cup.

[1inStripes]

I have a trap, but never had any luck with it.  In a creek that runs beside our garden, I have caught plenty by using an aquarium net and turning over rocks and "encouraging" them into the net.   Also have used a seine net on poles to poke into creek banks and once again "encourage" them into the net.

[WRB]

Buy the book "In pursuit of Giant Bass" by Bill Murphy.

Bill explains how to find and catch crawdads and how and where to fish them. You can also Google "how to make a crayfish trap".

WRB

[brushhoggin]

i caught them when i was a kid just by scraping a net through some mud in a ditch in front of my house, after a heavy rain. i would get some that looked like baby lobsters. unfortunately, it was before i fished for bass religiously.

[Shane Procell]

Down here in the glades we just walk the edges of the flag ponds and gator holes. I use a flashlight and barehand them. Gotta be quick and have eyes in back of your head. Back in La. where i was raised we used regular crawdad nets and bacon or turkey necks tied in the middle.

[IwillChooseFreeWill]

get a 2 liter bottle cut the top off about 2 or three inches down save it for later, put a rock, or half a brick in 2 liter and a couple of hot dogs, take the top you cut off and flip it around and stick it in the 2 liter spout side down and staple with a stapler, place around rocks and wood and let soak, you will have to put rocks on top of it so the raccoons will not get the hot dog, and so it will stay down where you need it, they crawl in to get the hot dog but cant crawl out

I remember doing the exact same thing growing up in SD. It also works with some minnows to.

[NeedAnewScreenName-587943]

right around this time of year (late winter/early spring) I've hit the jackpot!  A big female laden with eggs.  They burrow into shallow rocky creak bottomes.

Put her in a 30 gal tank and grow the 50-100 fry to bait size for a couple bucks in electricity and food scraps.  They like lettuce, bits of old lunchmeat, all fish food, etc.  A single powerhead with an undergravel filter is easiest, room temp is fine.  I also downsize the aquarium bulb to save electricity and to get them active.  They're fun to watch.

[flyboy]

Anybody know anything about crayfish in Central Florida lakes?  I used to see them in lakes up in Georgia, Texas and Louisiana but I have never seen any in Florida.  They have to be here if they live way up in the Louisiana swamps.

[Taylor Fishin 4 life]

turning over rocks and being a man using my hand