xlang74x

My buddies and I go to school at UW-Platteville in Wisconsin and decided we are gonna give crawfish trapping a try. Problem is, we have no clue how, where, what to use for bait, etc.Do these little buggers even taste good? There are several small rivers and streams around so we were hoping they would be productive. Anyways, any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!!!

indianahunter83

punch a couple holes in some canned cat food and put them in your trap. Make sure the streams you are trapping are not polluted or you might get more than you are bargaining for. Its a pretty big deal down south to eat crawfish gumbo, or any other way they cook it... the one time I had it I wasn't very impressed but give ti a try!

m.t.hands

i would just buy them

but here are some pointers

How to peel
& eat crawfish
Step 1
Gently twist the head apart from the tail and set the head aside.

Step 2
Peel away 2 to 3 segments of shell from the tail to expose more meat.

Step 3
Pinch the bottom end of the tail while carefully pulling the meat out of the shell.

Step 4
For an extra mouthful of flavor, gently suck the seasoned juices out of the head, or insert a finger into the cavity and scoop out the golden “fat”.

if you decide to go ahead and catch them follow the below directions

KEEPING YOUR CRAWFISH ALIVE UPON ARRIVAL If you receive your crawfish the day before your boil, simply take your crawfish, hose them down and place them back in a cooler with a bag of ice. Keep them in a cool place and out of the heat. Your garage is the perfect spot until you're ready to boil.

HOW TO PURGE YOUR CRAWFISH 1. Hose crawfish sack with water thoroughly. 2. Empty one sack (or ½) in cooler (ice-chest or tub) and rinse again (keep drain hole open). 3. Close drain hole, sprinkle 1 (16oz.) can of table salt over one sack and add enough water to cover crawfish to purge. 4. Let stand for 8 to 10 minutes. 5. Drain and repeat above process (1x or 2x).

HOW TO BOIL YOUR CRAWFISH 1. Fill large pot with enough water to cover seafood. 2. Add our LOUISIANA FISH FRY Crawfish and Crab seasoning mix and bring to a rolling boil. 3. Add crawfish. Return to a rolling boil. Boil crawfish 5 minutes. 4. Turn fire off and let crawfish soak for 15 to 25 minutes (to you desired spice level). 5. Peel um while they're hot and enjoy......

HOW TO STEAM YOUR CRAWFISH 1. Pot should have a raised rack 2" high. Add water to pot just below level of rack. 2. Bring to a boil. DO NOT ADD SEASONING. 3. Cover tightly. When steam escapes, add your crawfish. 4. Cover tightly and when steam escapes again, steam crawfish for 10 to 12 minutes. 5. In a styrofoam chest, layer crawfish, sprinkling each layer with our LOUISIANA FISH FRY Crawfish and Crab seasoning mix. Continue layering until all crawfish is used. Cover tightly and let stand for 12 minutes. 6. Peel um while they're hot and enjoy.......Oh, be sure to include cold beer.


part two above is very important, i have heard processors use some special salt to completley clean out their "mud bugs" as far as the crawdads i love'em, but i buy all mine from a seafood shop, they get them from bon secour seafoods, they are already prepped and seasoned, all you got to do is put them in a little crab boil for a few minutes, we pay around 3.50-4 a pound


enjoy

Phil from Maine

Here you can not buy them, (I do not know about Wisconsin ) but the only way we can get them is with our hands and maybe a few in a bait trap. Thanks for the pointers though they may come in handy if I figure out how to catch a mess of them. For now though what few I can catch I use for bait on bass and white perch. I am thinking trout may eat them also but have never tried them on them.

Thanks indianahunter, I may try this, this summer.

xlang74x

Thanks for the great advice!!!
I don't think you can buy them many places in wisconsin either...haven't really looked to hard though i guess. As far as the traps are concerned, we were probably gonna put them in small rivers. Where is a good place to place them in the stream, and what type of structure should we look for?? I shoot alot of carp so do you think carp heads would be a decent bait?? Is it worth trying to catch any this time of the year or is it too cold??? its about 45 degrees out during the day and all the snow is melting.

LEGACY45

Mmmmmm. crawfish ,beer, taters,beer, cornit is about that time againBut In Texas we just go and buy them they are good eating

Lanse couche couche

It will take a lot of northern crawfish to make a good meal. You will need good large traps to catch them in bulk. You can order crawfish traps, both mesh metal and net traps, from Louisiana. Can't think of a company right now, but you can do a google search. Bait them with carp heads and put them in dead water like a slough or pond. Bonne chance...

Rebel Hog

Central Florida's 18th Annual Rajuncajun Crawfish Festival

Phil from Maine

That looks like a great time they are all having down there Rebel !

childers

bait trap wiht meat in it