How to Build a Crawdad Trap

Crawdads are a popular Southern meal.

Crawdad, also known as crawfish, are small crustaceans that resemble miniature lobsters. Crawdads live in fresh water, and you can easily build a trap at home for catching them. Once you have the trap in the water, you do not need to monitor it. You can leave the trap overnight and come back to check it and harvest your catch. Crawdad traps are simple, and only consist of an entrance, a body, and a removable back door.

Things You'll Need

• 4 feet of gutter guard mesh, 5-6 inches wide
• Wire cutters
• 6 zip ties
• 6 inches wire
• Rope
• Bait

Instructions

1. Cut the mesh for the trap with the wire cutters. You need two pieces 7 inches long, one piece 3 inches long, and one piece 2 feet long.

2. Use the wire cutters to cut a hole in the middle of one of the 7 inch pieces. Make the hole 2 inches in diameter.

3. Hold the 2 foot long piece by both ends, and pull the ends together so you create a tube. Overlap the ends by 1 inch. Insert a zip tie through the mesh, one on each side, and secure both ties. This keeps the tube together. Use the wire cutters to snip off the excess tie. This is the body of the trap.

4. Pick up the 3 inch piece and roll it into a cone with a 1/2 inch opening in the bottom. Leave a 1/2 inch overlap. Insert one zip tie through the middle of the overlap and secure it. Cut off the excess with the wire cutters. Cut slits into the bottom of the cone so the mesh is flexible.

5. Insert the cone through the hole in the 7 inch piece. Insert the cone into the hole 1 inch, so the other 4 inches is on the other side of the hole. Secure the cone to the 7 inch piece with a piece of wire.

6. Lower the bottom side of the cone into the body of the trap. The 7 inch piece should cover the entire opening of the body of the trap. The large portion of the cone that protrudes is the entrance to the trap. Once the crawdads crawl through the cone and into the trap, they will not be able to get back out through the bottom of the cone.

7. Cover the other end of the body of the trap with the remaining 7 inch piece of mesh. Use one zip tie to secure the mesh in place. This is the back door of the trap. Once you insert bait through the back door, you will secure the other side of the door with another zip tie. Cut the zip tie to open the back door and harvest your catch.

8. Tie the end of a piece of rope or fishing wire to one of the zip ties. Cut the length of rope to match the depth of your fishing ground.

Tips & Warnings

• If your trap won't sink from the weight of the mesh, insert a rock through the cone and into the body of the trap for weight.

References

• Wut2C: How to make a Crawdad Trap