How to Make a Crawdad Trap
Crayfish, also called crawfish, crawdads and mudbugs, are considered a delicacy. In the U.S., fishers catch them mainly in the South, with a large percentage coming from the Honey-Island Swamp and Pearl River areas of Louisiana. They can easily be caught for recreation with simple made-at-home traps. Making a crawdad trap, using it, then eating your catch can be a great weekend activity.
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Things You'll Need
- Scissors
- 12-inch wire hoop
- 18-inch wire hoop
- 3/4-inch netting
- Roll of net twine
- Small float
- Soldering iron
Instructions
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Construction
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1
Spread out the netting---used or salvaged shrimp nets work well for this. Lay the large wire hoop down onto the net. Allow some extra net material or slack in the middle of this hoop to allow the trap to make a basket shape when lifted, then lace the netting to the hoop with the net twine. At this point it should resemble a basketball hoop and net with a bottom. Lash all the way around the hoop to give continuous support to the net. Cut off the end of the twine, then trim the excess netting off along the outside of the hoop. Make sure to trim it close along the outside rim of the hoop without cutting into the lashing.
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2
Lay down the large hoop and net assembly. Position the smaller hoop in the center of the assembly. Be sure to make the rings concentric by centering the small ring inside of the big ring or else you will have a lopsided trap that may spill when its recovered. Lace the smaller hoop to the trap's netting taking care to stretch the net tight inside the small hoop. This forms the bottom of the trap and should lie fairly flat. Now you have the trap.
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3
Cut two pieces of twine roughly 18 inches long. Tie one end of the first piece of twine at the 12 o'clock position on the outer hoop and the other end of it at 3 o'clock. Tie one end of the second string to the 6 o'clock position and the other end at 9 o'clock. Make sure that both strings are the same length before you tie off the last end. Make any adjustments needed to make it so that they are. Now you have the lifting bridle for the trap.
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4
Cut the twine for the float about 5 to 10 feet long, depending on the depth of the water in which you will be fishing. The float string should be long enough to allow the float to reach up to the surface without lifting the trap off the bottom. Tie one end of the float string to the bridle strings and the other end to the float. Tie a 6-inch piece of string in the middle of the trap to tie the bait with. It is advisable to make some sort of tag from plastic or metal to identify the trap as yours. Burning your name or boat number into the float with a soldering iron works well for this.
Fishing Technique
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5
Tie the bait to the middle of the trap with your bait ties. Fresh chicken works well as does any animal protein. The tougher the bait is, however, the longer it will last. Beef souse is good to use for a long day of fishing.
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6
Lower the trap into the water being careful to let it lay flat and not foul up. Both hoops should lay flat to the bottom.
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7
Let the trap "soak" and check it now and then by picking up the float line and the trap. The trap should naturally form a basket when retrieved, trapping any crawfish feeding on the bait. Check your trap frequently as the crawfish come and go until the net gets pulled up.
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Tips & Warnings
Odorous bait will attract more crawfish from farther away; however, avoid rancid bait. Soft baits will quickly get destroyed by the crawfish. Putting the bait into a mesh bag and tying it to the trap is one method to protect softer bait.
Caveat: Crawfish have very strong pincers. These pincers have scissorlike tips that can cut flesh. Try not to get pinched. If you do get pinched, try not to jerk away, because the pinchers will slice into your skin. The claws are covered in necrotic material that can cause almost immediate infection. Bacitracin, Neosporin and triple-antibiotic ointment are great for treating such wounds.
