Crawdad Help

[icewoman]

I told the kids I would take them Crawdad fishing tomorrow. I have no idea where to go or if this is a good time of year. I went about 10 years ago up to East Canyon and caught about 20-25. I live in Ogden and am not excited about driving too far. Does anyone have any suggestions on places about an hour drive from Ogden.
THANKS
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[wiperhunter2]

Hi Lareen, all the lakes in this area have Crawdads but Strawberry is one of the best. I'm sure you can catch them at East canyon though. Do you have a trap to catch them or are you just going to use a chicken leg on a piece of string? I think the kids will need a license if they are over a certain age. Remember most docks are not for fishing, so find a rocky area and you should be able to catch them in those locations. Good luck hope you find a good spot and please let us know how you do.
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[icewoman]

Thanks Wiperhunter2. I am not sure when they are active. Would it be better to wait for a few weeks? I remember going in Sept. back 10 years ago.
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[Utcatman]

Lost creek or EC plenty of em..
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[wiperhunter2]

Crawfish are active all the time during warm weather months, so there should be no difference if you go this month or next month. During one of the DAV events a few years back in Aug one of the DAV's caught over 500 at the Solder creek side of the Berry, so I'm sure you would do fine now.
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[kramer_]

Since you can't transport your catch alive, whats the best way to get them from the water to your home. I guess some big ziploc bags so they aren't swimming in ice cold water. Are you guys just keeping the tail, or killing them and transporting them whole?
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[wiperhunter2]

Yes, since they must be dead before you transport them, we usually just take the tails and devein them at the same time, then throw the tails on ice. I suppose you could put them in a Ziploc bag and keep them on ice if you have a ways to go before you get home but they will go bad fairly quick if they aren't kept cold.
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[CoyoteSpinner]

I posted one of [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=893271;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;page=unread#unread"]TDs ptutorials[/url] (YES it's from TD, don't know if he drew it or scanned it from some book. Didn't know his "art" went beyond perch-patterns! []) with a couple of my own pennies dropped in.

So you do need a fishing license to collect dads. Couldn't remember. Think that makes 14 the mark.

So crawdadding off a dock is a NO-ner too? Hmm, so all those stringers I saw at Strawberry shouldn't have been there? Interesting (more lack of enforcement). I think a lot of folks don't realize the courtesy BOAT docks are for the benefit of boats, not footdanglers, divers, and firepits.

Should be lots at Willard too, they love all them rocks and hard-places. Night time can be an especially good time to collect. But when they're active, they're active.

[TubeDude]

"Should be lots at Willard too, they love all them rocks and hard-places. Night time can be an especially good time to collect. But when they're active, they're active."

[#0000ff]Very rare to see a 'dad at Willard. However, we do occasionally find one in a cat, wiper or even a walleye. During the first few months of each year all the predators have to live off crawdads and other goodies until the shad spawn and reach eatable size.

There is very little cover for crawdads in Willard when the water level is down below the rocks so the population drops to almost nothing. Some survive in the few submerged rockpiles and sparse weed beds. But any that venture out of cover become menu items.

Edit: That info you referred to...and I have attached here...was from my old timey book. And yes, I did make the original sketches.
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[CoyoteSpinner]

Hope I weren't stepping on no toes to share that. It's a nice simple writeup, didn't realize you were such the sketcher.

Stand keerected on the Willard treatise. BUT I can say that Hyrum has 'em, and that's about within an hour of Ogden.

You would know better than I, UL has some dads don't it? I know I've seen some along the Bear river, but usually thought Cutler was too muddy and murky for their preference. Even if some do call them mudbugs.

So that book is out of print if I recollect. Wonder - did you ever make an electronic-able version of it? I'd love to see more of them old-timey recipes.

[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Yes, there are crawdads in UL. They are everywhere, but not always in numbers. UL is also a big shallow bowl with minimal structure...especially during low water years. But even with higher water the munching species keep them thinned out or out of view. Have never been able to get any in traps there but have found remnants in fish innards.

I have scanned the various chapters of the old (1984) book on Fetchin and Fixin the Fishes of Utah. Send me your email address and I'll get some to ya. Our PM function still doesn't work for sending files.
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[midget777]

Anyone have any suggestions on where to try for crawdads at East Canyon. The kids want to try their luck.
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