How to find Crawdads? 2024
little_stephen reply :
I tried to find this topic elsewhere, if i failed, sorry.
Crawdads, Crayfish, Crawfish........ what ever you call them...... I need to know how to find them.....
No where in my neck of the woods sells them. And I'd really like to figure out how to get some for bait. The lake id like to use them at is packed with them. But three problems exist:
1. I dont know where to look for them.
2. I dont know how to go about catching them.
3. I cant go wading around the lake (I dont own waders, and the rangers are sketchy about letting people into the lake for safety reasons.) (But i can get into some water on the far side of the lake.)
Help!?
In the combined infinite years of expierence we have here, I figured someone could shed light on the most productive way of getting my hands on some of these things!
Kowen117 reply :
Crawfish traps yes they sell them but i have caught some just by taking a net with fine mesh and digging it into the bottom a little and moving it along the bottom also i have been told that if you sting cans together then sink them the craws will live in them then just pull the sting of cans up and there you go but i have yet to try this
Red reply :
I always found them as a kid by just turning over rocks. The bigger the better.
acmaul13 reply :
My experience is streams and creeks but I'll assume it would be the same.
1st find shallow water with rocky bottom
2nd find rocks softball sized or larger
3rd slowly lift one side so you don't stir up silt or spook crayfish
4th come in from tail side with hand or small net and creep up to crayfish and either scoop or pinch and pin
on main body 8-)
Hope this helps ya,
ac
Paul Roberts reply :
QuoteI figured someone could shed light on the most productive way of getting my hands on some of these things!
1. Crawfish trap let soak overnight.
2. Try dip-netting using a flashlight at night along a cobbled shoreline, or stream. Seriously.
Catt reply :
Go on down to JT's seafood & order all ya want 
How to catch them depends on how serious you want to get, down here in Southwest Louisiana we have crayfish harvesting boats.
basspro215 reply :
i agree with all you but i used to go to this creek in Pa. it was loaded with them,we took a kids net and a bucket just put the net in the water behind them and wave your hand in front they will swim backwards right in
sleepman00 reply :
get a 2 liter bottle cut the top off about 2 or three inches down save it for later, put a rock, or half a brick in 2 liter and a couple of hot dogs, take the top you cut off and flip it around and stick it in the 2 liter spout side down and staple with a stapler, place around rocks and wood and let soak, you will have to put rocks on top of it so the raccoons will not get the hot dog, and so it will stay down where you need it, they crawl in to get the hot dog but cant crawl out
jb7725 reply :
i have caught many just by turning rocks over..they live underneath the rocks
urban_angler28 reply :
I use night crawlers rigged with a little weight around a rocky shallow area. You will feel a small tick and they will be holding on long enough to drop In a bucket.
Hinkle2891 reply :
Quoteget a 2 liter bottle cut the top off about 2 or three inches down save it for later, put a rock, or half a brick in 2 liter and a couple of hot dogs, take the top you cut off and flip it around and stick it in the 2 liter spout side down and staple with a stapler, place around rocks and wood and let soak, you will have to put rocks on top of it so the raccoons will not get the hot dog, and so it will stay down where you need it, they crawl in to get the hot dog but cant crawl out
that is absolutely INGENIOUS!
sleepman00 reply :
QuoteQuoteget a 2 liter bottle cut the top off about 2 or three inches down save it for later, put a rock, or half a brick in 2 liter and a couple of hot dogs, take the top you cut off and flip it around and stick it in the 2 liter spout side down and staple with a stapler, place around rocks and wood and let soak, you will have to put rocks on top of it so the raccoons will not get the hot dog, and so it will stay down where you need it, they crawl in to get the hot dog but cant crawl outthat is absolutely INGENIOUS!
thanks it really works around here in Alabama around rip rap, I catch them and fish them on a carolina rig on long points 
Catt reply :
Very interesting but over complecated
Attached is a link to Fishnet Co., they sell crayfish nets with nylon web
To use simply tie a food source of varying type to the center and place is an likely area then wait.
Here's two secrets all Cajuns know
First tie a length of highly visible material to the top of the net so it can be spotted from a distance. Second obtain a length of round wood stock lie a broom handle or PVC, insert a screw an 1" back from the end, now you can lift the net with out scaring the mudbugs.
http://www.fishnetco.com/crayfish.htm
Luke at Gouldsboro reply :
traps work, and looking under rocks works also. In some lakes there are weeds that have died and they float on the surface, and the crayfish like to go in that because minnows get stuck and die ( easy meal for them)
simplejoe reply :
QuoteI always found them as a kid by just turning over rocks. The bigger the better.
x2
I check a couple times year to see what colors they are for the different seasons, then I make my jigs or craws to match.
bobbyc reply :
Down the throat, and in the belly of most any LM.
Red Bear reply :
when i was a kid we used to catch them from the small creek behind the house with plastic cups and a stick. put the cup behind them and put the stick in front of their face and they shoot right back into the cup.
1inStripes reply :
I have a trap, but never had any luck with it. In a creek that runs beside our garden, I have caught plenty by using an aquarium net and turning over rocks and "encouraging" them into the net. Also have used a seine net on poles to poke into creek banks and once again "encourage" them into the net.
WRB reply :
Buy the book "In pursuit of Giant Bass" by Bill Murphy.
Bill explains how to find and catch crawdads and how and where to fish them. You can also Google "how to make a crayfish trap".
WRB
brushhoggin reply :
i caught them when i was a kid just by scraping a net through some mud in a ditch in front of my house, after a heavy rain. i would get some that looked like baby lobsters. unfortunately, it was before i fished for bass religiously.
Captain Shane Procell reply :
Down here in the glades we just walk the edges of the flag ponds and gator holes. I use a flashlight and barehand them. Gotta be quick and have eyes in back of your head. Back in La. where i was raised we used regular crawdad nets and bacon or turkey necks tied in the middle.
IwillChooseFreeWill reply :
Quoteget a 2 liter bottle cut the top off about 2 or three inches down save it for later, put a rock, or half a brick in 2 liter and a couple of hot dogs, take the top you cut off and flip it around and stick it in the 2 liter spout side down and staple with a stapler, place around rocks and wood and let soak, you will have to put rocks on top of it so the raccoons will not get the hot dog, and so it will stay down where you need it, they crawl in to get the hot dog but cant crawl out
I remember doing the exact same thing growing up in SD. It also works with some minnows to.
NeedAnewScreenName-587943 reply :
right around this time of year (late winter/early spring) I've hit the jackpot! A big female laden with eggs. They burrow into shallow rocky creak bottomes.
Put her in a 30 gal tank and grow the 50-100 fry to bait size for a couple bucks in electricity and food scraps. They like lettuce, bits of old lunchmeat, all fish food, etc. A single powerhead with an undergravel filter is easiest, room temp is fine. I also downsize the aquarium bulb to save electricity and to get them active. They're fun to watch.
flyboy reply :
Anybody know anything about crayfish in Central Florida lakes? I used to see them in lakes up in Georgia, Texas and Louisiana but I have never seen any in Florida. They have to be here if they live way up in the Louisiana swamps.
Taylor Fishin 4 life reply :
turning over rocks and being a man using my hand
TheSickdrift reply :
like the guy above said, turn them rocks over man! they should be there.
IwillChooseFreeWill reply :
QuoteAnybody know anything about crayfish in Central Florida lakes? I used to see them in lakes up in Georgia, Texas and Louisiana but I have never seen any in Florida. They have to be here if they live way up in the Louisiana swamps.
here in FL, they dig into the sand and muck and small branches and logs in the water so they are much harder to find
lightsout reply :
A simple minnow trap in any branch that has craws is all you need. We put a peice of bread in for the minnows and the craws follow em in. I usually pull them out by the dozen, once in a while there will even be the occasional water snake. It's really neat to see how many diffrent types of fish can be in a branch thats 4' wide. You pull some WEIRD lookin' critters out.
airborne_angler reply :
On a pond I used to fish as a kid,the water dropped and all along the bank(out of the water) would be quarter size holes that still had water in them. You could always find some good size ones in those holes.
A couple of years ago on another body of water I fish,the water level went way up flooding the trees along the bank. I pitched Baby Brush Hogs for the first time at the base of that timber and about every bass I caught was puking up remnants of crawdads.
So it seems to me the crawdads had taken to hanging out at the base of the trees and and the bass were having a feast.
My point ? Maybe try at the base of flooded trees with a trap.
Id also like to add that from my experience,Crawdads are mostly active at night.Ive gone catfishing at night with chicken livers and had all sorts of "Tugs" on my line,only to find its about 3 very large crawdads fighting over my bait when I reel it up.
Another good bait to use is Raw Chicken Hearts and Gizzards(VERY CHEAP) The meat is tough and will stay on a hook very well,if you decide to fish close to the bank in a rocky area for them.
The idea isnt to "hook" the crawdads,but to drag em up to the bank while they are still working on getting your bait off the hook.. At night be careful with white lights,as the crawdads tend to spook really easily in the dark when light is shone on them.
If you are walking the bank during the day,look under other things in the water. They do like rocks(boulders) but will hang out under boards/pallets,Large tree limbs,and any other place they can hide.Never really hurts to turn things over,there maybe more than 1 Craw living under the item.
If you find any submerged items that have been there awhile like Beer Bottles,Soda cans,Tin cans,even car tires.Pull the items out of the water carefully,not allowing the water to dump out. Pour the water out in your "bait bucket" and see what may be inside. Sometimes small Bluegill like to hide inside thise type things.
Ive pulled a car tire out of a creek and the water was very muddy inside,all I could see was a pair of antennae moving around,I dumped the tire on the bank and there was a HUGE Crawdad living inside that tire.
Catt reply :
When using traps or net you must first add food
WRB reply :
Cajun stew, lots of spicy crawdads.
WRB
yendor reply :
my son gets most of our 'zarigani' from rice paddies here in the neighborhood
sleepmanOO 8-)
might cut the bottom, slide 2 bottles together, tops in both ends, fix a line, punch holes, bait it!
years ago we rolled chicken wire, rolled cones for the ends, cut a door on the top
FishChris had a lot of good information on his site.
Nitro 882 reply :
I usually find a bunch of them at the end of the day in the bottom of my live-well>
Bassnajr reply :
First you need to buy a Crawfish whistle........ 
flyboy reply :
QuoteFirst you need to buy a Crawfish whistle........
I have a crawfish whistle around somewhere, but I can't find it. Wife says it's probably out in the shed with my snipe hunting gear.
ROCbass reply :
Usually I just turn over rocks and pick them up with my hands. If I need a lot or am in a hurry though, I have a wire mesh basket mounted on a handle that is probably 10-12 feet long. Throwing the basket out and dragging it back along the stream bottom usually will get 5-6 per throw in a good area.
airborne_angler reply :
QuoteQuoteFirst you need to buy a Crawfish whistle........I have a crawfish whistle around somewhere, but I can't find it. Wife says it's probably out in the shed with my snipe hunting gear.
Not to Hijack this thread,but Snipe can be hunted...Its a bird
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipe
mudkart reply :
QuoteBuy the book "In pursuit of Giant Bass" by Bill Murphy.Bill explains how to find and catch crawdads and how and where to fish them. You can also Google "how to make a crayfish trap".
WRB
This was going to be my suggestion. You'll also learn alot more from this book than crawdad behavior, etc.
To illustrate the level of Murphy's dedication (obsession?), he also describes how to prepare your very own crawdad garden in your backyard so as to eliminate the need to buy or catch craws for bait.
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