here in wisconsin you can not fish with live crawfish. i guess it is so no exotic species are introduced to the waters.I take the crabtail and peel it and use the meat for perch fishing. works great.
HIMO
Most of the lakes in my area have very silty/soft bottoms, so I might have a problem with the trap sinking into the mud. Thanks for any help.
kero
Cider, you said you hook them through the back. Paralell or perpendicular to the body? Front to back or back to front?
Parallel with the body. Start the hook point in from the rear of the the thorax and go towards the head leaving the hook point up.
Cider, a sure way not to kill the crayfish is to use a small rubberband that an orthodontist gives to patients for braces. They're tight enough to hold the bait on the hook well and you can keeep them alive all day on the hook... Until a nice bass inhales them that is. ;)
So where are the experts on catching Crayfish?
How do you catch them, is there a trap you have made? How about a picture?
How do you keep them and how long can you keep them for? Do you feed them while "raising" them for fishing.
What is your best way to fish with them?
This duffer has netted a few from streams. Have never "trapped" them before or kept them for more than a week or so. In fishing them I have found them to be good used whole for larger game fish, with parts of the Crayfish good for panfish and even stream trout.
-Reelcharacter
I catch most of my bait by mugging them.I look for a riffle section of the river and select a rock about the size of a paper plate.I slowly lift the back of the rock and slide my hands under the rock blocking their escape.I feel around for stonecats and hellgramites .If I find something I slowly cup my hands and pin it to the top of the rock. If I take my time I can get it without getting stung.I hold stonecats loosely and let their pectoral fins slip between my fingers. I grab hellgrammites by the collar and crayfish by the claws so I dont get pinched .You can also get them by shore by slowly lifting rocks, so you don't muddy the water too much.When the crawfish tries to get away put one hand or a minnownet behind it so it goes backwards right into it.Takes some practice.I store hellgrammites in damp burlap.I keep several buckets of water that I put rocks and PVC sections in for cover.I run one aerator and split it with tees and extra tubing. I keep different baits separate so they don't kill each other.I feed them goldfish flakes and dead minnows once in a while.Hey susky are you a noodler? ;D
So where are the experts on catching Crayfish?
How do you catch them, is there a trap you have made? How about a picture?
How do you keep them and how long can you keep them for? Do you feed them while "raising" them for fishing.
What is your best way to fish with them?
This duffer has netted a few from streams. Have never "trapped" them before or kept them for more than a week or so. In fishing them I have found them to be good used whole for larger game fish, with parts of the Crayfish good for panfish and even stream trout.
-Reelcharacter
Ok this sounds wierd but true. Last night I was fishing and was getting little bites. I reeled in and caught a craw fish on a frog. Tried a minnow and the same thing happened. Switched to worms and ditto. I couldn't believe my eyes. I caught 20 crawfish and every other cast the bait was clawed. They were aggressive because they would hold on for a 25 yard reeling. :o :o :o Trying again tonight. What species like crawfish. We dont have bass where I was fishing so any other species that might be on a feeding frenzy ???. What do you think guys. Maybe I am fishing for the wrong species. ;D Oh well try again and see. 8)