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I just read this article and am glad to see there are many who are helping out those who need it most.
[url "http://www.harktheherald.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=64757"]http://www.harktheherald.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=64757[/url]
My question is how do the divers get these bugs? Do they grab them with their hands underwater? Or is there a more efficient method or device they use? Sounds like they were able to get enough food for everyone with ease.
If it's the case that divers just grab them with their hands, it seems to me that fish should be able to fill their tummies up just as easily. And if the fish can find them so easy as well it seems like there wouldn't be as many crawfish in the water. So are crawfish to fish the same as ramon noddles are to humans?
Perhaps fish don't eat them unless they are very hungry. If anyone knows for sure I'd love to hear how vast amounts of crawfish seem to live in many rivers and lakes when they seem to be so easy to catch.
Thanks
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[cool]If you've ever caught a big cut or 'bow out of Strawberry or Scofield and cut open their stomache to look at the contents, you have probably seen crawdads in their stomaches (sometimes even live ones from just getting eaten). I've seen it numorous times. Just a little FYI, crawdads at Strawberry is another reason why the smallmouth bass population is starting to take off.
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I've caught very small ones with my bare hands while snorkeling at Lake Powell.
I've also caught them at Deer Creek by turning over rocks and grabbing them before they scoot away under more rocks. This was done on the east end where the water was a bit shallower but there were still rocks along the shore.
I caught one the same way once at Scofield too. You gotta be careful and grab them right behind the head and claws or you're liable to have some very sore fingers from being pinched. Even then, sometimes they manage to get their claws around behind them and I've been pinched good a couple of times.[cool]
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[red][size 3]We take our snorkeling gear to the Gorge with us - what a blast. It's like an eerie underwater Zion's National Park experience - it's incredible. For a great day, take the boat out in the mornings and fish, head back to the campground in the afternoon when the wind comes up for a dive and a nap, back out in the boat for the evening and then around the campfire roasting small mouth and salmon, boiling crawdads, and telling stories. I have seen very few crawdads when we have dived and found it pretty tough to catch the ones that do venture out in the open in the middle of the afternoon. I imagine that would change if you dived at dusk using a light when they are more active but that is campfire time and the kids keep us in plenty of 'dads at that time checking their baits along the shoreline. It doesn't get much better than that. [/size][/red]
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[#ff0000][size 3]The crawdad catching must be a little easier diving Strawberry than the rocky cavernous bottom of Flaming Gorge. We'll have to try it. It's great they took a bunch of those hurricane-displaced folks up to Strawberry for a little fun. That kind of thing may be a good idea for BFT'rs to do as well. [/size][/#ff0000]
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[font "Viner Hand ITC"][#ff4040][size 3]We used to catch them at East Canyon too.... It was alot of fun especially for little kids.[/size][/#ff4040][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]I used to scuba dive a lot. I also used to harvest a lot of crawdads especially in Bear Lake. There used to be tons of them on the east side in the rocks. We just grabbed them. Here, in higher elevation lakes, divers wear neoprene gloves for warmth because the water temps can be quite cold at depth. Crawdads can grab you but they rarely can nip you through the gloves. [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]We also would do night dives with large handheld spotlights. The crawdads would be out in force. We'd just swim around and pick and chose. It doesn't take long for two divers to load up.[/size][/black][/font]
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Does anybody know how much longer would you be able to find active dads in the shallows of res like Strawberry? I know that they are active all year long, because I have caught them while jigging for cutts through the ice. I just would like to catch more than one big one at a time. Jake
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