Despite fishing becoming accessible hundreds of years ago, it’s become more and more prevalent these days. Especially as a means of earning, and we know you’ve come here to enlighten yourself with the knowledge of traps and Where to Set Crawfish Traps.
Now, of course, you’ll need to know about Crawfish first! We’ve all heard about lobsters and how they can vary in size. But did you know that small lobsters are known as Crawfish? Crawfish makes them a delicacy and rare.
So, if you’re looking to fish and make some money, you’re doing it right! Knowing how to differentiate between the traps you’ll need is key; however, we are going to primarily focus on where to set Crawfish traps!
Where to set Crawfish traps
The most crucial bit about trap is to know where to place them. Sometimes, the hanging trap is good, but does not last long.
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Now, we want to focus a lot more on the people looking for traps and how to set them up! We’ll dive into some depth on traps and how you ought to set them up for the best results.
Considering we’ve already discussed that these fish are easily frightened and scurry away at the sight of a predator, you’ll need to be extra careful how you deal with them. Based on this, you’re sure to find Crawfish trotting about in shallow pools of water. This can range from small river streams to lakes. This even includes eddies of water in pools!
As for the traps, you’ll need to be careful when using them as well. Once you’ve acquired the perfect bait, and have your trap already, find one of these shallow pools of water. You’ll need to ensure that the trap reaches the bottom of the water body properly.
Since crawfish are very timid, they tend to hide under rocks that cover them up. Once you’ve found your spot, and it doesn’t do well, don’t give up!
Fishing has more trial and error attached to it than most other activities! If your preferred spot hasn’t yielded the result you wished for, then try still looking nearby. Maybe just 10 feet away, you’ll find fish to be more prevalent.
This not only helps the number of fish you get but also saves you the effort of seeking out a new area.
However, if all of these seem a bit too perplexing, consult with a few fishkeepers in your area (preferably in your local fish stores), and they’ll be sure to advise you on the best spots in your area.
On the other hand, this information should be more than enough for you to find a sufficient amount of crawfish! Just look for shallow pools of water, whether it be a lake, river, or stream, and you’re good to go!
The first thing you need to know about crawfish is that they are freshwater crustaceans. This automatically means that finding them in the sea is out of the questions. This is what spikes their rarity above any other type of lobsters!
So, if you’re looking for crawfish, you should go looking in relatively small water bodies ranging from lakes, river streams, and ponds. No matter which of these water bodies you find yourself in looking for crawfish, you must keep in mind that these are scavenger fish.
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This means, more often than not, you’ll find them scurrying about under rocks. This means that more often than not, they’ll be found on the floor of any of the mentioned water bodies here.
How to fish for them properly:
Crawfishing requires a lot of factors to coincide and it’s up to you to ensure everything is lined up perfectly. From the best bait to making sure you’re out at the best time for fishing, a perfect sequence of factors create the best yield! Let us delve into these factors to assure you can attain the highest amount of crawfish, everytime you attempt it!
1. When and Where to go Crawfishing:
Now, onto one of the most important topics for catching crawfish at optimum levels! Just like most animals and fish, crawfish are more active during certain parts of the year at specific temperatures.
In this instance, it is during the warmer times of the year, so in general; from April till October. You can definitely still find them during the colder seasons, however don’t get your hopes too high on the yield.
Locations are definitely one of the prime factors in catching crawfish too. You don’t expect to find kangaroos in the United States of America! Jokes aside, crawfish tend to make shallow bodies of water their nesting ground.
Lakes, ponds and streams of rivers tend to be the most common. However, pools of water around bedrock can also be a great place. Remember from before? They tend to be attracted to rocks.
Them seeking shelter around rocks also leads to another observation. Since they’re usually very small, they need to be around still or slow moving water. Otherwise, they’ll just get washed up by the water currents. So, make sure you’re searching in these types of locations when searching for these crustaceans.
Along with knowing the proper months to go fishing for crawfish, there are also prime times within the day that you can find them, or rather; at night! That’s right, these fish are at their optimum working capacity at night, AKA: nocturnal. This brings to light the importance of using traps and leaving them overnight even more! You won’t always be around throughout the night.
Just make sure you know where your traps are at night and allow yourself some assistance by creating an easy way to find them in the morning! You’ll save yourself a lot of effort and find a lot of crawfish to be caught!
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2. Acquiring the correct bait and using it properly:
If you were to assume that settling on crawfish bait was easy, think again. While there is a diverse variety of meat that crawfish will jump towards, there are also a lot of different foods that they will steer clear of.
They usually respond well to bait like salmon, herring, carp, trout and etc. These are fish that can be found near their residences. Since these are the foods they are attracted to, they will jump the gun at free food floundering in front of them! However, fish like sardines, squid, clams, eels, etc, will not attract them at all.
You can also use fowl meat such as chicken, and pork as bait. Although disagreed by some crawfish experts, people have said that cat food (primarily fish based) can also attract crawfish. However, no matter what the bait is, you must always make sure that the meat is fresh. Crawfish are only attracted to fresh meat and will not give spoiled meat a second look!
Now that we have discussed the types of bait that should be used, let us delve into the idea of how they can be set up. It is of utmost importance to make sure that the bait is secured tightly on your traps or reel lines, otherwise the smallest bite or wiggle could lose you the bait! That’s just a hinderance nobody wants.
There are a few different ways to keep the bait useful for longer hours, which comes in handy when you have left the traps out throughout the night. Using bait boxes is a prime example, as it will attract numerous crawfish and allow the scent of the bait to spread.
Not to mention, it will take longer to finish causing the crawfish to stick around longer. This also works for bait jars, however, it is slightly more efficient as the scent can spread out faster!
The best way would be to fill up a bait box and let it rest in the middle of the trap to ensure the crawfish have to fully get inside the trap to get to the food fully! This goes for the bags and jars as well!
Crawfish traps Details
When you’re trying to find Crawfish, you want to ensure you don’t harm them in your pursuit of catching them (or yourself!).
Now, we won’t be diving into the topic of specific traps; however, we’ll make sure you leave here knowing how to pick out the perfect traps.
1. The shape of the trap:
One of the critical things when searching for the perfect trap; its to know the lay of the land. If you’re fishing in a water body with a very rugged surface, then make sure to avoid box (square) traps. They can get caught up on the ground and give you and the trap a rough time.
For these areas, you can arrange to obtain conical or round-shaped traps that can easily survive the terrain. However, in instances where the ground is flat, a box trap should be your go-to trap!
2. Type of Trap:
As a fisherman, you are liable to occasionally having to travel to get the best yield of fish. As such, you can always ensure you acquire a collapsible fishing trap. One such example can be the Goture Portable Folded Fishing Net Trap Automatic. Like every trap, it’ll have its positives and negatives; however, as a portable trap, it doesn’t get much better.
For instance, the trap mentioned here has a plastic handle, which will make it a bit more flimsy compared to steel or metal traps. However, collapsible traps require certain traits to enable their perks. Furthermore you can use as well as a homemade crawfish trap.
3. Tensile Strength and Turgidity:
Going off of that comment about the plastic, another key factor to take into account for fishing traps, are their strength. Whether it be their tensile strength for the netting, to the rigidity of the actual trap itself, you’ll need to make sure that they don’t give way to the pressures of the fish or the current of the water itself.
The tensile strength of the netting will provide you the relaxation of knowing that the trap can handle itself when Crawfish start bombarding the trap. This also brings into attention the strength of the trap, because it needs to be able to hold still and ensure that the Crawfish don’t get spooked by the trap and its movements (which should be minimal).
4. The efficiency of the Trap:
While all of these points loosely move around the idea of the trap’s effectiveness, how the trap’s openings are designed determines how effective it will be. On top of this, the capacity of the mainframe of the trap also affects this.
The openings of the traps should mainly be as small as possible (since Crawfish are very rarely more substantial than 5 inches), but also large enough to allow them to enter freely. Considering how elusive they are, the smallest setback can deter them from entering any certain area.
On the contrary, the actual capacity of the traps should be much larger than the opening, so its able to house numerous Crawfish at the same time. The main purpose of these traps is to allow you to capture a large amount each time successfully, so getting the sizes of traps correct is a necessity.
5. The Trap’s Appearance:
A very stylish trap may look appealing and catch your fancy, but the importance of the appearance of the trap comes into play when it’s underwater (don’t worry, the good ones also look stylish)! How a trap appears underwater is very important when catching any fish.
They can’t look like they are out of place, or else the fish will be prone to avoiding them. It’s remarkable how much difference a few bits of color can make the trap effective, but it’s best not to take a risk on that. Your trap must be able to blend in with the land to ensure the best capture rate.
These are some of the essential bits of knowledge when it comes to catching fish, especially Crawfish. So, when you’re looking for your traps, make sure they don’t get spooked off by anything untoward and that your trap is in an optimal spot to get the optimal yield! These fish are rare and hard to catch, but the wait is definitely worth it with their market price.
Fishing License
This isn’t just a necessity for crawfishing, but for catching any fish! Just attaining a fishing license can ensure your ability to be able to fish throughout the year!
You can also obtain family fishing licenses that allow any member of your family to join in on the fun and avoid any trouble! Always make sure that your traps also have the essential information labeled or engraved on them, so as to avoid suspicion or problems!
FAQs!
Now, despite all the information laid out, there’s bound to be some questions from everybody! We have meticulously researched some of the most common ones and dug up the answers for them as well!
1. What is the best bait for catching Crawfish?
Answer: Despite people having success with numerous types of bait, hotdog slices have managed to be one of the most popular ones!
2. How does a crawfish act when it is angry or mad?
Answer: Nothing to be ashamed of, it is important information for you to know in order to avoid pinches and bleeding fingers! A crawfish will jump back, and the claws spread apart. This mostly acts as a defence mechanism for when they feel threatened.
3. How big is Crawfish usually?
Answer: Crawfish are generally within 3 inches in length, but some can grow up to 4.5/5 inches!
We hope this article proves useful to you and can aid you in your hunt for Crawfish/Crayfish! Make sure to be up to date on all the knowledge required to experience the thrill of fishing for them at an optimal rate! Enjoy, and have a great day!
