I am taking a few kids to East Canyon Thursday afternoon to catch some trout and I thought it might be fun to try and catch some crawdads too. I've never done it before but have read about using chicken in traps, etc. Any help or advice on how to get started is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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You should try the south end of the lake where the stream comes in. I saw a bunch of dead crawdad stuff sitting in the rocks when I was bass fishing the other day. Here is the link to the map where we fished, so you can get an idea of where I'm talking about:
http://www.krakenbass.com/east-canyon-bass-fishing/
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Take some chicken legs and tie them on the end of their fishing lines, toss them out a few feet and let the crawdads grab hold. Lay a net on the bottom in the water (we just get the cheap butterfly nets from the dollar store, they work great) Slowly drag the chicken leg onto the net and lift them out. You can fill a 5 gallon bucket in an hour or to and the kids will have a blast.(though I haven't tried east canyon) Remember the more you fish for them the more they will come as the meat flavor gets in the water.
They are excellent to eat if you like lobster or shrimp. You can pull up video how to de vein them on youtube (it's a fast process once you get the hang of it. ) I just boil them until they turn red , crack the shells , dip them in melted butter , and wolf um down when I can get them away from my grand kids (they love to eat them.) good luck
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Doesn't have to be fishing line, yarn/strong thread, sisal rope all work. Sometimes a fatter string that is easier to see, and pull up. They will hold on, but they can also spook - and swim fast as heck backwards. Definitely want a fine mesh net.
You can use other chicken parts too- doesn't have to be legs, they are just convenient to tie, but backs and bits YOU might not want to eat work.
Traps too, but the round minnow ones aren't as good as the flatter ones with a slanted entry so they can get in easier. A can of cat food with a few puncture holes will seep well and 'encourage' them in.
But be aware - you can't transport crawdads away from the water alive. They get real uptight about that.
Some folks like to "purge" them - bucket of cold salt water, they change up the salt water a couple times - makes 'em puke up their guts pretty good. Then you can pack 'em on ice, and should be good to go if you're not going to boil them right there and then.
Another way is to go ahead and pinch off the tails and pack those on ice.
Get a packet of Zatarain's (or other brands) Crawfish, Shrimp, Crab boil in a bag. Here's a little Howdy Doody.
Pair of decent kitchen scissors and a fondue fork, you're in business.
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[#0000FF]Hey. I reckernize that diagram/writeup.
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I really appreciate all of your help. A couple of these kids are really getting into fishing but have had a run of unsuccessful trips. I'll be doing my best to break that streak and I think they will really enjoy catching a mess of crawdads on top of the trout (hopefully...). Thanks again
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How was the crawdad fishing? I used to go to East Canyon years ago. I thought they were more plentiful in Sept.
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I apoogize for the daelay - I have been tied up for a few days. We were trying for both trout and the crawdads but the trout took most of our limited time. We set up one one trap close to the docks but didn't get any that wanted to play. If we had more time I would have looked for a more likely area.
The trout fishing was pretty good though. We anchored and jigged for a while and caught our first fish fast. The wind was a battle but we managed a few more and missed probably double that. Some would hit like a freight train while others tapped like you just touched the bottom. We trolled for the last hour or so and that was pretty fast fishing using a variety of standard lures like needlefish, jakes, etc. The kids really had a blast with a number of doubles. I can give more detail if anyone is interested in getting up there.
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