A Very Simple Guide to Catching Crawdads

I caught Crawdads when I was a youngster using a homemade cage made of window screen.

While I lived along the Snake River, there were numerous Crawdads to be caught with little work involved.

I would build the trap which was 10 inches square by 2 feet long and at one end I would make a funnel like a juicer with the small end left open for the crawdad to crawl through.

 Once the crawdad entered the trap it couldn't find its way back out.

You need a door on top to get the crawdads out of your trap also.

I would place chicken livers or some kind of smelly meat inside the trap to entice the crawdads to enter.

I would either wade out in the stream and place the trap on the bottom or tie a rope on it and toss it out in deeper waters.

Crawdads like rocky areas, so they can hide from larger fish.

You can also find crawdads by flipping rocks over and grabbing them with a pair of gloves on.

Grab the crawdads and place them in a bucket and keep fresh water on them as the day passes to keep them alive.

Although they can be found in rivers throughout the country, they are very popular in the Southern states, and they can make an excellent meal if you are willing to do a bit of work.

To cook and clean your crawdads is really quite easy. They cook much like crabs. You need to place them in salted boiling water for about 20 minutes. Their color will change from a dull orange to a bright red.

The majority of the meat is in the tail and all you need to do is bend the tail outward to expose the meat. Many people like to break off the heads and then just suck out the insides, and the taste is sweet and very close to that of a lobster.

How to Build a Crab Pot for Cooking the Crawdads You Captured

It is not hard to build your own crab pot, as I will explain the directions here;

You need to cut a piece of 1 inch chicken wire into 4 ea. 12" wide x 24" long pieces.

Two ends 12" square.

You can tie the ends to the long pieces with baling wire.

Now you need to cut a six inch square opening in the top, around the middle of cage.

Now you need to build a funnel in the opening, so the crawdad can't escape.

For the bait holder, use a sock and fill with chicken livers.

Put a 10 foot x 1/4 inch nylon rope on one end to lower and raise into the water.

Let set for 2 or more hours before checking.

Good Luck and good eating!