Originally Posted by
your_comforting_company
We just dip-net them. no bait. But we don't eat them either. They live in roadside ditches that collect runoff from fields (and God knows where else..). We use them to catch bass which trumps bacon and kippers any day.. unless you're gonna wrap the bacon and kippers around the bass!!
One of my favorite places to get crawdads was by some woods not far from here.. but the woods got knocked down last year and we haven't had enough rain to fill any ditches. There are places where Spring Creek isn't even running water anymore. Those pools would be great places to get crawfish, but then you'd have to walk a LONG way to get to the fishes. I'm seeing the compound effects of massive farming initiatives cause major changes in our ecosystems. Before there were 10 center-pivot irrigations per square mile with 6" wells, the creeks rarely ever got this low. Several people have had to put in deeper wells this year as the water table has dropped that far.
Sorry, went off on a tangent there.
I've never used bait to catch crawdads. just speed and a net. I've caught them several times while fishing using the same dip net I use in the ditches. they like to gather up in eddies and shallows where the water is running, but not too swift. Been going to try to make one of those nifty traps, but just haven't had time this year to even think about it. If you're trying to get them out of the holes they live in, you can just stick any small stick or piece of fishing line.. literally anything.. in the hole, and when they grab hold, give a good yank. Those are usually the eating size ones.