by Russell Roper

Created on: September 20, 2011   Last Updated: September 23, 2011

Crawfish, Crayfish, Crawdads, or Mudbugs, whatever you call them one thing is for sure; they make a great meal. Yes, you can buy them in the freezer section of many grocery stores, but why? One of the least expensive outdoor activities you can do with the greatest return is to catch your own.

There are numerous ways to catch crawdads, with the best being in traps made specifically for them. If you’re thinking about picking up a couple of these traps you may want to take a moment to consider building them yourself. The traps are simple to make, even fun, and twenty dollars will buy you enough materials to make several.

Once you have your traps ready it’s time to gather your bait. This is the simplest part – just grab something. When you consider the fact that crayfish are scavengers and opportunistic your choices become almost limitless.

The very first location to start looking for bait is in your own refrigerator. Your family’s leftovers almost always contain crawfish bait. Any leftover chicken leg can fill your trap in short time. That same chicken leg can provide enough bait for multiple sets if you check it regularly to keep them from eating it.

There are many other meat choices if you happen to be short on chicken legs. You can use link or polish sausage, raw bacon, liver, old lunch meat, and even soup bones with mere strands of meat. All you can find is a package of old ground beef from last year. Great, this will make an excellent bait. However, when using any ground meat you will need to place it into something like old nylons. Then snip a few small holes into it, place it inside your trap and secure it to the bottom.

If you happen to be out of meat don’t worry there are always other options. Grab a few slices of cheese, or better yet, some peanut butter. You can place the peanut butter into a Ziploc bag, if it is old, simply use the whole container. Punch some holes into the container, if it’s plastic, and remove the lid, then put the container in the trap and it doesn’t need to be tied in.

Another very popular bait for crawdads is canned dog food. Just like with the peanut butter, punch some holes in the can and put it in the bottom of your trap. This will also work with cat food. But, if for some reason you find yourself without any of the items listed, pick up your fishing pole and simply catch a few fish. You can freeze them whole and use them when needed. Simply cut the fish in half or up the belly, place it in the trap, and then wire it to the bottom. When using cut fish you should check your local regulations concerning which fish may be used and is legal.  

Using any one of these baits, or a combination of any of them, you should quickly fill your bucket. Hit a hot spot and you may need to trade your bucket in for a fifty quart ice chest. There is something you should keep in mind though, Crawdads are always best fresh. Just like any type of seafood, you should never eat any that are not alive and active. Also, be sure to check your catch, if you happen to catch females with eggs they should be released back into the water to ensure a healthy population for seasons to come.   

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