Catching Crayfish?

[Squirrelhunter91]

How does everyone catch their crayfish? I am seeing alot of success on other message boards of people catching carp on crayfish. I have plenty of carp behind my house that I would like to catch and after seeing people use crayfish, I would like to give it a try. There is a stream that leads into the reservoir where I have overturned rocks before and seen crayfish, but just haven't ever caught them. What does everyone use? A net, by hand? Or what else???? Also, How do you rig the crayfish when casting? What kinds of hooks, etc?

[hutchies]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

When I was a kid we would tie a piece of bacon on string. Add a washer to it for wieght and drop it down by there hole. Once they latch on they won't let go and you can pull them up.

[257bob]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

I have always found a rocky bank and at night turn rocks over and find them with a flashlight. You can also use chicken liver to attract them.

As for carp, I have always used one of two baits.

1. Plain old canned corn on a small single hook.

2. Strawberry dough bait (cheap cornflakes and strawberry soda---mix just enough soda in cornflakes to make a sticky dough use on treble hook.

[monsterbucks1]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

cool idea i will have to try that. i am just use to using my hands.

[Guest Andrea]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

You can do it by hand but that's a slow process. My husband built a "rake" to scoop them up out of the drainage ditch in front of our family business. It was more or less a very long pole with a box on the end made of wire-screen. He would drag it through the ditch and scoop up the crawfish.

Don't ask me how to rig them on a hook though. I can't stand all that jumping around. I know that when he used them for catfishing it was hooked thru the tail.

[Jeramie]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

I have a couple of ways.

One do like hutch said. I use to rig up a small kids pole with bacon and a small weight. Just hook the bacon pretty good because they are pretty strong swimmers and can pull it loose.

The second way and id suggest using this only if you decide to eat the crawdads.

Take and old kitchen fork and smash it completely flat with a hammer. Get all the curve out of it. Now get any old fishing rod and break/ unscrew/ cut the handle out. On the fat end (where the handle use to be) split the rod about 6" up the center. Slip the fork into the rod and then tightly tape with the rod closed with electrical tape (the full length of the split). After you've finished that cut the string that binds the eyes on and remove the eyes from the rod.

Now you have a perfectly balanced gig. The fat end with the fork will slip through the water very easily. Just make sure you stab for the body and not the tail. You dont want to ruin any meat. I take the end of the fork and flip rocks over slowly and then harpoon the crawdads....

These things work great!

[Guest Andrea]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

Oh yeah, another method we use works pretty well. We sink a metal-mesh minnow trap baited with cut up fish or potatoes. ( This trap we bought at a local hardware store is cylindrical in shape and the "minnows" are supposed to enter thru a funnel shaped opening. ) We always catch more crawfish than minnows.

[jbeck]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

Flip over rock, watch crayfish swim alittle bit. Scoop him up in the net. tear the tail off, use it for bait. I seem to catch more on just the tail than the whole thing. GL

[rifleman25]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

I use a minnow trap or a crab trap like you can buy at academy. They are make of the same wire. I bait mine with left over catfish heads from the fish farm down the road. I sure wouldn't use my crawfish for bait though. I'd throw some Boudain on the pit and have me a crawfish boil.

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

Use a minnow seine and drag it through the ditches and small creeks where they live. Run your hook just under the largest shell plate where the tail meets the body.

Or use the corn flakes and Big Red soda mix on a treble hook. Much easier and you'll catch as many or more carp on it.

[Shaun_300]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

All I usually do is go out and flip rocks over and pick them up by hand.

[LifeNRA]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

We used to turn over rocks real gently. After the cloud disapears, we would alreay have a coffee can on the downstream side of the crawfish. Then take your hand and put it in front of the crawfish and push him into the can! You would never touch the crawfish, but since they swim backwards they have no idea they went right into the trap! Used to get dozens this way! Never used them for carp, on smallies!

[BamaTrophyHunter]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

i let my cousin catch them then we use any kind of bass hook. we get little rubber bands and put it around them and push the hook through the rubber so the hook is above the crayfish. that way he stays alive

[whttlbucksteve]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

I use a sein net to catch them but you need a couple guys.Try MC DONALDS fries the soft ones work well for carp.

[Palssonater]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

Use a minnow net. The square kind. This method will mess it up and it will only be good for crayfish after. lol.

I used to walk backwards upstream with the minnow net infront of me low. Then just kick the stones and they'll swim right into the net. Works like a charm.

If you are industrious your could make something stronger, but use the same method.

[johnf]

Re: Catching Crayfish?

I don't catch them much, but when I do, I just do it by hand and I only used them to catch bass or goggle eyes. If they are big enougt I break the tail off and strip it for the meat. If they are 1-2" I push the hook into their mouth and bring it out one section into the tail meat. You can do a Texas rig this way or use a bobber to suspend them. If they die I just crack the head a little and squeeze a little juice out.