Crayfish Catching, Keeping and Fishing

[Somers]

Reelcharacter,

For the tinkerer in you

A 3 liter bottle w/ the top cut off and inverted and simply stapled all around works as good as the minnow traps too.  You can double the length by doing it to 2, taking the bottoms off and making a 1" slice in the bottom of one of them.  Just duct tape the middle after baiting and drop it in.  I've drilled holes around the bottles to allow better scent flow from it and allow for drainage when removing from the water.

[Jigwiggler]

      I know that crawfish are great bait, but I have never used them.  Some of the places I fish in NY people swear by them.  I've heard of hooking them through the tails before.

 Cider, you said you hook them through the back.  Paralell or perpendicular to the body?  Front to back or back to front?

 I used to net stone catys at night and would catch 300 - 500 crawfish in an hour in the process.  I just threw them back.  I'm typically not a bait fisherman, but I am always eager to broaden my fishing knowledge.  I'll have to give them a shot this summer.

On another note, when baiting a trap for minnows try uncooked macaroni.  Works great and lasts a long time.  It will soften in the water.

[Cider]

  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.  When the fish hits it you should get a good hook-up almost everytime.  Be carefull not to go deeper than the shell/exoskeleton.  You don't want to hit a nerve or vital organ and kill your bait.  I am sure dead crawfish will work, but the work better when they can still swim and crawl!

I also hook them in the very end of the tail or even through a claw.

There must be other ways that guys hook these critters.  Anyone else have any suggestions?

[reelcharacter]

Thanks for the tinker-er suggestions. I will likely try a couple of the ideas this April (weekend of the 24th - 25th) when our boy scout troop camps out to do community service in a local park for Earthday. I teach the fishing merit badge and get in a little afternoon and night fishing. The ideas will be good to show to the boys as something they could make.

I am thinking of a wire style trap with openings allowing crayfish to enter from all directions to enter the trap. Figure this will be an improvement over most trap styles I have seen. Plus, I will not have to put signs around the trap directing crayfish to the front door. 

-Reelcharacter

[Somers]

Reel, the wire traps are easy too.  You just need a piece to act as a ramp at a 45* angle to the opening heading inside and toward the top of the trap.  Once they fall inside they're baffled by the door.  I've made overnight blue claw crab traps the same way, just larger.

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.   

[TroutFishingBear]

set traps in a lake where there are a lot of rocks, dams are the best.

I swear by fried chicken for the bait for crayfish, they all fight to get to it and I will get a FULL trap.

I like using the tail only for catfish, works quite well.

I also have so many crayfish in the lakes around here that we can't put our fish on the stringer or it will be eaten within 15 minutes. Put the fish in the water, then pull it out, 5 crayfish are on it

FRIED CHICKEN IN TRAPS IN THE ROCKS OFF OF A DAM

[reelcharacter]

TroutFishingBear,

Whe're you from? From Central NY here.

-Reelcharacter

[got em]

  I wade a local stream and catch around 6 or 7 dz ..use them all on smallmouth in the mohawk...then go back to conroys and buy 5 more dz..go back and use them..fatty smallies forever..

[Jigwiggler]

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.   

Thanks for the tips !!

[howey1176]

To catch them I use a bait net and position it behind them. Give them a scare and they back right into it. I've never really been to successful while fishing with them.

[Doover]

The best bait ever for me was fudge cake topping I found in the cupboard.The Monster went nuts when she found it missing. At least the crawfish where happy with me. Great idea with those small rubber bands.

[WANNAKETCHUM]

I fish with crawfish on occasion for Smallmouths in rivers and have never tried them for Trout although I've caught a lot of Wild Brown trout on spinners whose stomachs were PACKED full of them, as many as 5 or 6. An Old Timer I knew showed me some hooks he made up just for fishing Crawfish. All he did was take a long shank hook and short length of fine uncoated copper electrical wire,(about 3" or so) and wrap it one time around the hook shank about midway and place a small drop of solder on top of the wire to hold it in place. Wrap the wire around the crawfish, give it a few twists and away you go! He would make up a dozen or so at a time and replace them as needed.  WK 

[Trapper Arne]

Hi Reel Character!
Experts on catching crayfish? How do you define an expert? I have caught 25,000 crayfish in Arizona over the years, but I doubt that makes me an expert. Talk to Terry Bullard. He is an expert over in WA.

But I have some advice. Some of my advice you can read on my web page, www.trapperarne.com.
But here is some immediate advice. Trapping catches much more than any other method I know of. Kids get a kick out of going along the shore with a pole, string and some bait. In a good lake, that will get you quite a few crayfish. But, believe me, if you want some quantity, you need traps. I seldom go out with less than 10 traps to keep myself supplied with crayfish for a few dinners each month. Last summer I spent three days - and nights - at a lake in the mountains and with ten traps I caught over one thousand large crayfish.

I make my own traps - and sell some too - and the best bait in  my opinion is some fish, preferably fat, oily fish like salmon of maybe mackerel. Although for years I was happy using chicken parts, wings, necks and such, with great success.

I have plenty of pictures of my traps on my web page, so look there for pictures of both my own traps and some I import from Sweden.

Good Luck to you Reel Character.

Trapper Arne

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

[fastribs85]

i just use a net or a paper cup and get behind them as i lift rocks in a few different streasm have a trap but havent used it yet  but i can never keep them alive for more then an hour or two no matter what i try someone told me damp moss and someone else said damp newspaper any suggestions
 

[Trophy Hunter639]

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?