I have had one very successful crawdad meal during one of my trips in the BW's, and wanted to know how "ya'll" are catching them.
I'm not going to bring a dedicated trap, as I would rather use one of my seal-line roll-top dry bags.
Current method is to take a small piece of filleted fish carcass, and place it in the bottom of an empty dry bag. Walk out to 5' of water and place the bag on the lake floor held in place with rocks.
A piece of paracord tied to a tree keeps the bag from from wandering away.

Do you guys, sorry, *ya'll, have a method outside of a typically collapsible trap?

Looking forward to striking the crustacean mother load during my August trip.

I do not recommend collapsible type traps. Mine was destroyed the very first time I set it by a snapper.

If I were looking to get enough for a meal, hence bigger ones and a lot of them, I would likely bring a real wire crawfish tap. They don't weigh much, just strap to the top of a pack. Could be interesting........

You should use them for bait rather than eating them.........

QueticoMike: "You should use them for bait rather than eating them........."

SweetBerryWine,
My buddy and I are planning on trying for crayfish this time around, also in August. I just ordered a collapsible trap yesterday, so we will see how that goes. Hope a snapper doesn't get to it.

More important question, on your trip with the crayfish, how did you prepare them? We are planning on doing something like what SouthernExposure recommends in this thread: Crayfish

We have used a metal minnow trap to catch them. Just put some fish guts inside and toss it out. They are nothing to pack along. Stack together like paper cups and other gear fits inside.

Savage Voyageur: "We have used a metal minnow trap to catch them. Just put some fish guts inside and toss it out. They are nothing to pack along. Stack together like paper cups and other gear fits inside. "

While you may catch some with a wire minnow trap the real deal, especially if you seek to catch them in numbers for eating, would be a dedicated wire crawfish trap. Far superior in collecting dads than a minnow trap.

Minnesotian,

We typically boil them until red. Prior to this you will want to have started a fire. We add a fair amount of salt to the water as I have heard this helps purge them. Once red, we typically have fried them in butter, cayenne pepper, them finished with a spritz of lemon.
The meat usually breaks away from the rest of the body with little effort.

QueticoMike,

What type of rig do you use when hooking them? Just a plain hook? I feel like after a few casts they would tear themselves off. Seeing as you're the resident Bass guru, I'm assuming you would be using them for Bass?

There's no wrong way to hook/rig up a crayfish, and in my experience, you're likely to get a bite before making multiple casts. :)

Depending on the size of the 'dad, you'll want to use a bigger hook -- we hook ours through the tail, and there can be a lot of meat there, so you want a big enough hook to expose the point for better hooksets. Add enough split shot to get them to the bottom, and you're good.

Another option that we've used in the Mississippi River is a shaky head or stand-up jig. They usually have bigger hooks, and the way the jig settles to the bottom presents the 'dad in a "natural" way.

Honestly, you can't really go wrong in my experience. Crayfish are to smallmouth bass what a mini-Snickers is to me. I could've just eaten 17 lbs. of Alaskan crab at a buffet, followed by half a cheesecake, and if you suspended a mini-Snickers in front of me, I'd probably fight you for it.

SweetBerryWine: "QueticoMike,


What type of rig do you use when hooking them? Just a plain hook? I feel like after a few casts they would tear themselves off. Seeing as you're the resident Bass guru, I'm assuming you would be using them for Bass? "

Never used them up in Quetico ( not legal now ) but I used to use them a lot when I was kid fishing on the river. Yes, just a plain hook and a small split shot a few feet up the line. Craws will stay on the line for awhile, just run the hook through the underside of tail towards the top of the tail. Make sure you don't go any higher, that will kill the craw. You can also just peel the tails and string them on the hook. Just about everything would eat a craw tail.

QueticoMike: "You should use them for bait rather than eating them........."

This was my first thought as well. I have been on a couple of lakes however where dangling a fish carcass near camp would yield plenty of crawfish to feed a crew.

carmike: "Crayfish are to smallmouth bass what a mini-Snickers is to me. I could've just eaten 17 lbs. of Alaskan crab at a buffet, followed by half a cheesecake, and if you suspended a mini-Snickers in front of me, I'd probably fight you for it. "

^^ now that's funny, and I feel the same way! :-)

QueticoMike: "

SweetBerryWine: "QueticoMike,




Never used them up in Quetico ( not legal now )


Even if you catch them while up there?
I don't see the harm in that.
Back when I used to scuba dive here in Michigan we had some really great gravel pit lakes and we would catch crawdads and dive down and hold them out in our hands and the bass would snag them right out of our fingers! They are irresistible to them!

I love catching crawfish on my trips. I have had mixed luck getting enough for a full meal, but always catch enough for a snack or to use at bait.

My preferred approach is to use a trap and let it work overnight while I'm sleeping. Or to put it out in the morning and retrieve before dinner. I use this guy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EZ00MO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For just $20 it works like a champ and packs up super small. I've tried a bunch of bait, but now mostly just use dry dog food in the bait bag. It seems to hold up much longer than fish guts or other 'fresh' baits and the crawfish seem to love it. One small 'sandwich' sized ziplock bag of dog food is usually more bait than I need for a week trip.

As some others have mentioned, once you've caught your crawfish, its a good idea to put them in a bucket of salt water for 5-10 minutes, then move to fresh water for the boil. The salt makes them purge out most of their silt/poop and makes them easier to clean/tastier.

Good luck!