Crawdads!

[ocean]

I guess this is the time of year for the crawdads to be caught! What are your favorite spots and techniques for catching those miniature lobsters?And is there a time of day thats better?
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[mikecromaine]

great question i just bought two traps i want to use
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[Troll]

It is a good Question. I have another, Where did you get your traps and how much were they.

What is the size of a keepable crawdad. I would think any less than 3" would be to small

I was camping at a place named Lake Wolcott, near Rupert Idaho this weekend ant it sure looked like a good place. There were lots of dead fronthalves in the water and at night if you shined a light in the water you could see lots of them.
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[mikecromaine]

i got my trap at garts for 6 bucks each and with the 10 bucks off 20 bucks cupoun well tha made it sweet i am sure sportsman has them
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[ocean]

I bought mine at sportsmans in provo for about $12.00
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[Cowmilker]

Back when I was in Scouts we had a camp at Scofield and we went down to the dam with flashlights and took a piece of beef liver tied on a piece of twine. You just put the liver down into the water and watch them crawl on and grab hold, then pull up the liver and put them into something (our leaders told us to use our nets but the crawdads would spread the netting appart and get away, so my buddy and I found a potatochip bag and used that, it worked better because you could put a little water in the bag and it kept the crawdads happy so they didn't want to get away), and afterwords we took them back to camp by the bucketful and boiled them up (probably was against the law to transport them even to the other side of the lake now that I think about it). I didn't even eat them but I will never forget how much fun it was to catch them.

Good luck, if you figure out a way to cook them that makes them taste good let us all know, I think that is why I have not caught any for such a long time is because I didn't like them.
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[One_eyed_jack]

The berry has tons of them. Hit the shore around the weeds/rock out croppings for the most "bang for the buck". Use chicken legs/livers/hotdogs/nightcrawlers wrapped in a cheese cloth for the best results. Take a cooler with you and as soon as you have all that you want,kill them and put them on mass amounts of ice since it is unlawful to remove them from the lake alive. Also be sure you will eat them very soon, within a few hours so they do not spoil.

I have just boiled them, just like a lobster and eaten them with lemon and butter; I will do that sometimes at the shoreline while still catching them. Also try boiling them in a "seafood boil" (can be purchased at local supermarket) them have them with butter. You could also scampi them or mix them into an alfredo. There are many ways to eat them.

You clean them, after cooking, by breaking off the tail and peel them and devain them much like you would do to a shrimp. Also if they are large enough you can crack open the claws.
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[deepcycle]

Strawberry And the Creek are the best places to go for time traveled and fast catching. Use chicken tied to a piece of string and your landing net to scoop up ones that fall off as you bring in the big A$$ ball of mudbugs.

Best time of day is just before dark and later it will just get better. Traps take way to long to use, nets (crawfish nets or umbrella nets) work much better 5 to 10 times faster. You can keep any size but bigger is always better. When it gets dark use a flashlight and walk around the bank and just pick them up with a landed net. hope this helps.
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[slayerace]

I hit Soldier Creek last week for three hours with my two kids. We caught over 400 from 9am to noon. We used both traps and a fishing pole. This is the thickest I have ever seen them anywhere, and I go for them every summer. I can only imagine how thick they are after dark. That is when I usually go because the bigger ones come out at night. If you use a landing net, the smaller ones will get through the holes, but the big males won't. Good luck!!

Slayerace
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[addicted2fishin]

You can catch them all day long at the Soldier Creek dam. Don't bother with the trap. I tried one and had faster luck with catching them by hand. As others have said, try meat tied to a string or in cheesecloth. You will lose a lot as you break the water with them. To avoid this, just pick up one of the cheaper small nets used on floattubes. They usually have a finer mesh. Scoop the crawdads just before you get to shore. You can catch several in each try.

Oh, and be careful if you are in the water with just sandals on. They like to come in and get your toes! But I guess that could be good bait.?.
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[aquaman]

are trying to say they like smelly bait ? LOL
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[fishnpro40]

I've used my cisco net to catch them. I just reach out about 8 to 10 feet then drag it back to the shore you can catch 6or 8 at a time.
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[mrs.ocean]

That sounds so good!!![] I need to try those ways to eat them! I love them with melted butter.
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[ocean]

Was there a specific spot you caught them at soldier creek?Or are they all over the place?
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[Hellsangler69]

They are all over the place at Soldier Creek .
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