How to Trap Crawfish
There are multiple ways of catching Crawfish. You can use traps, a bait on a fishing line, or your hands! We’ll dive into these bits later down the article! However, depending on how you want to catch them, there will be different places for you to look into. When you’re trying to catch Crawfish, you want to ensure you don’t harm them in your pursuit of catching them. So, let’s look into the different ways of catching Crawfish!Open/Close Crawfish Traps:
When you’re trying to catch a ton of Crawfish, for a feast or to sell, this is the best method! Not to mention, you only put effort into placing the trap (which is very minimal), and then the trap does the rest. Traps will be laid out on the floor of whichever water body you are at, and more often than not, they will be left out for hours on end, and even throughout the night! Without going into the specifics of the traps, these work much better as they fall down to the surface of the ground, and you’ll have tons of bait out within the trap. The best thing to do with traps is to lay them out a bit deeper into the water body too allow most of the Crawfish to be attracted. Since Crawfish hide under rocks and are very alert, they will stay further away from the shore, so a trap is the best way to go! So, as the name suggests, there are two kinds of traps (open and closed traps). The open traps are straightforward and are as the name suggests. Its open on one side, allowing for the Crawfish to swim into the trap and then keeping them contained. The closed trap, however, is a bit more complicated in the fact that the end that allows the Crawfish to enter, disallows them from being able to leave. So, it provides a more subtle approach to trapping the fish. There are also different shapes in which the traps come. From square-shaped traps to conical or cylindrical. Now, why is the square-shaped one separated in this comparison? This stems from the fact that the square-shaped ones tend to be the most troublesome traps to use. These traps usually find themselves caught up on rocks at the bottom of the water body and are prone to breaking, rendering them useless. For crawfishing, you need to ensure that the traps are no more than 3 feet in height, length, and depth. So, once you have settled on the shape of the trap you are going to use, you need to set it up with bait. Some traps have it at the center of the trap, while others will warrant a need for bait boxes. So, pick out your traps and set it up with bait! These traps can be left out for hours on end, and if done correctly, yield great results! Even when left overnight, as long as the process is done right and you are at a prime location for Crawfish, you can catch almost two dozen pounds of Crawfish in one attempt! Whether you’re setting up a business or the whole family loves a crawfish feast, this is undoubtedly the best way to go!Tips for Using the Crawfish Traps
To have a better experience catching crawfish using crawfish traps, there are a few tips that you must keep in mind.These tips are often easy to work with and also quick to learn. They include the following: First, always look for the non-squared crawfish traps. This should be the round net-like traps. The reason for this is simple. Round crawfish traps won’t get caught on rocks that lie at the bottom of the seabed. However, squared crawfish traps have a tendency to be trapped between the rocks. Secondly, when using the best crawfish traps, you should always remember to place your crawfish trap bait inside the main cylindrical trap before you can place your crawfish traps into the water. Like the best fish baits, most of the best crawfish traps also have functional bait hooks that are placed inside the trap. These crawfish trap baits can be used to set your bait before you lower your trap into the water. Lastly, if your crawfish trap bait design comes in the form of a jar or box it is still okay. However, you should remember to always bait your crawfish trap before you set it up inside the water for your next big catch. NOTE: Using round, cylindrical and crawfish traps that are cone-shaped is the best option for any pro crawfish trapper or even a beginner. One disappointment that many people who use crawfish traps often come to is an empty net since they forgot to set in their bait in the crawfish trap.Crawfish on a pole:
The most common method tactic, and a very effective one at that!; using bait on a line and luring them into you! And don’t worry, it is as easy as we’ve just mentioned it to be. How this works is, you have to place some bait on the end of a fishing line and place it a couple of inches below the water surface. Here, you can use safety pins or fish hooks to keep the bait on the line, or artificial ones found in stores. You must ensure you stick the bait on properly to the line, to prevent the Crawfish from getting away. After you have placed the line a couple of inches under the water surface, wiggle it around to attract the attention of the Crawfish. Once you feel it pulling away at your line, slowly reel it back in until you can scoop it out of the water with your hand. Of course, some people prefer not to touch them, and in that case, you can use any netted scooper to get them out smoothly! Not only is this an efficient and calm way of acquiring some crawfish, but you can also make a day out of it and take the whole family fishing!How to Use a Fishing Pole to Catch Crawfish
Catching a crawfish using a fishing pole is no brainer – just like I had mentioned. To catch the crawfish using your fishing pole, here is what you must keep in mind. First, you should attach the crawfish bait to the main fishing string using your fish hook or even the safety pin. Next, you must make sure that the bait is connected securely. This is very important since it prevents the crawfish from getting away or slipping off once it is caught. Now put your crawfishing bait into the water and then wiggle your fishing pole to make sure that it is close to the bottom of the bed. You should keep wiggling until you finally feel some resistance onto the fishing string. If you realize that there is a resistance on your string, you should then pull the fishing line slowly up and towards you. Do this, until you see the trapped crawfish out and when you can get it within the reach of your arms. Once you can reach the crawfish, you can then gently take your crawfish out to the surface and then unhook it. Throw it into your fishing bucket and keep going until you are satisfied with your catch. NOTE: In case you don’t want to go the longer way, you can then prepare your fishnet and instead get your crawfish out only when your net is full and when you are on the shore of the sea or lake.Catching Crawfish with hands:
Not an option for everyone, but those who like to get in the thick of the action can enjoy this one! You can easily carry Crawfish out of the water as they tend to hide under rocks. A crawfish will generally make very rapid movements with their pincers and stir up the mud near them. General locations for them are small pools of water with a myriad of rocks around, to help them hide. Now getting back to it, if you gently lift up a rock and see that there’s a crawfish underneath it, you need first to make sure to know if it’s a fully grown crawfish or a young one. Young Crawfish are tiny, and you can put in your hand and cut them out of the water. However, if a crawfish is appropriately grown, it will end up having long pincer-like claws, and will cut you with their pinch if you’re not careful! In the case of these more abundant Crawfish, make sure to grab them by their midsection, which will be the area between their claws and tail (right above their hind legs). You’ll have to be going into the deeper side of water bodies. Wild animals can make it dangerous, so professional or licensed scuba divers should only attempt this. P.S. an essential thing to remember when you’re engaged in finding Crawfish, it is that since they tend to hide under rocks, the areas they are found in, tend to be filled with gravel and usually accommodate dangers to you and your traps! So, always be wary! Regardless of the not-so-good parts of catching crawfish by hand, let’s look at how the method really works. To catch your crawfish by hand, here are the tips that you need to keep in mind too. Method I- First, find a place that’s known to have a large population of crawfish
- Look to fins crawfish: most crawfish will be hiding under the rocks
- Look also under the underwater plants that lie near the shallowest ends
- Make sure your movement it quite stealth so that you don’t scare the fish away
- Once you see your crawfish underneath the water, rock, or next to the plant, pick it up gently by cupping it in your hands and then lifting it out.
- You can then put it inside your fishing basket and rinse it before you get back for the next
- Make as many trips as you want for a bigger feast of crawfish
If the crawfish is in any way bigger than your hand, you can also pinch it with the thumb of your hand and the index finger to pick it up. Nonetheless, you must be very careful with your crawfish as they can pinch you too.
NOTE: There are two downsides to rushing into the water when you want to catch crawfish. The first one will be to scare them away and the next will be to make the water dirty and to blur any form of vision.