# bait for crawfish traps



## OldGuyAl (Mar 1, 2008)

what do you use for bait for catching crawfish?

how long do you leave it before you come back and harvest or check the traps?

will they die if you leave them in the traps too long?

I really want to catch some to use as bait and to maybe start trying to raise a few on a small scale.


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## brett30030 (Mar 2, 2008)

dead fish, food scraps

24+ hours depending upon the size of your trap and location

yes


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## Hooked On Quack (Mar 2, 2008)

Punch holes in canned dog food.  I've caught some in the creek behind the house that looked like small lobsters and were almost black.


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## oaky-woods-8-pointer (Mar 2, 2008)

try hotdogs i catch em like that all the time three traps + two days = one good mess of mud bugs


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## Mak-n-Memories (Mar 2, 2008)

i have used chicken necks but i have better luck with a can of sardines. just barely crack the lid put it inside and check everyday. they will peel the top completely open.


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## fishnut (Mar 2, 2008)

Back home in Louisiana everyone uses salt pork.  You can get it in the meat section of most any grocery store for just a few bucks and it is tougher than shoe leather.


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## brunofishing (Mar 3, 2008)

fishnut said:


> Back home in Louisiana everyone uses salt pork.  You can get it in the meat section of most any grocery store for just a few bucks and it is tougher than shoe leather.



I have tried bacon and it works very good. Salt pork (or fat back) sounds like a great idea.


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## packrat (Mar 3, 2008)

*Crawdads*

I Catch All Mine On Fresh Dead Fish "any Kind" I Usually Wad A Dough Ball From Loaf And Keep It In The Trap To Lure In Small Fish, Kill Fish Put Back In Basket With Dough And The Crawdads Will Start Coming In. Check Every 2 Days Remove Crawdads And Repeat Process.  You Can Keep Crawdads In A Large Tub, But It Is Best To Aeriate The Water To Keep Them Active. You Must Feed Them A Fair Amount In Captivity Or They Will Become Cannibalistic And Eat The Smaller Or Weaker Ones.


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## gdaagent (Mar 3, 2008)

Bacon.

When I was a kid, I lived in Chalmett, LA. It is on the outskirts of New Orleans. We caught crawfish after school everyday. We ate them down there like most people eat chicken around here.

We baited traps with bacon strips. It may not be the cheapest way, but it worked. It was cheap back then.


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## How2fish (Mar 4, 2008)

Perhaps a dumb question but where do you buy traps?


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## brunofishing (Mar 4, 2008)

How2fish said:


> Perhaps a dumb question but where do you buy traps?



Wally world (WalMart)


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## Bush Wacker (Mar 4, 2008)

fishnut said:


> Back home in Louisiana everyone uses salt pork.  You can get it in the meat section of most any grocery store for just a few bucks and it is tougher than shoe leather.



I am also from Louisiana, salt pork does work, try chicken necks, and cow tongue...tough as nails.


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## dawg2 (Mar 4, 2008)

oaky-woods-8-pointer said:


> try hotdogs i catch em like that all the time three traps + two days = one good mess of mud bugs



Same here.  Hot dogs work good.


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## How2fish (Mar 4, 2008)

brunofishing said:


> Wally world (WalMart)



Thanks Bruno


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## hevishot (Mar 4, 2008)

Hooked On Quack said:


> Punch holes in canned dog food.  I've caught some in the creek behind the house that looked like small lobsters and were almost black.



I do alot of crawfish trapping and the above is the easiest and most productive method I have found. I sometimes run 25 or 30 traps at a time and you can buy the cheapest canned foods for next to nothing....Liver flavored has been the most productive for me but about any will catch crawfish. I set my traps and leave them out for a week....sometimes longer. Never had one die in a trap and they are so good to eat. The otters in the creek I trap in have figured out whats going on and I have had to change the way I build my traps. They will destroy the wal-mart traps if they catch on. Also can make alot of traps out of hardware cloth but if you have otters, they will destroy them.


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## packrat (Mar 4, 2008)

*traps*



brunofishing said:


> Wally world (WalMart)



And the minnow traps seem to work as well as the crawdad traps for me. I bought all mine off Ebay, but Wally World does carry them. I do like the coated metal ones the best. 


http://www.terrybullard.com/tips&tricks.html

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-MINNOW-TRAP-F...goryZ384QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


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## crackerdave (Mar 4, 2008)

I did a search on crawfish traps a while back,and there was a guy named Terry [can't remember last name] that builds and sells what he calls the BEST traps.They were kinda expensive,though!


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## packrat (Mar 4, 2008)

*Terry Bullard*



rangerdave said:


> I did a search on crawfish traps a while back,and there was a guy named Terry [can't remember last name] that builds and sells what he calls the BEST traps.They were kinda expensive,though!



YEP DAVE, THE GUYS NAME IS TERRY BULLARD & HE HAS SOME NICE BUT PRICEY TRAPS. HIS WEB PAGE IS SLAP FULL OF GREAT INFO.

http://www.terrybullard.com/


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## OldGuyAl (Mar 4, 2008)

I was planning to use a plastic minnow trap that I have had around for a number of years and a few crawfish have crawled into over night.  I used to use it on river trips and would just put Saltines or bread in it.

I'm not looking to catch a bunch - just a handful for bait and to check the current color so I'll be using the right jig/paca craw trailer combinations.

Thanks for all y'all's help!

Al


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## chiefsquirrel83 (Mar 4, 2008)

salt pork


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## j_seph (Mar 4, 2008)

we used to catch red eye bass up in tenn we would spend 1/2 the day in the creek turning over rocks and catching them by hand. In a good day we would catch 3 dozen like this. Then we would head on back into the mtns and get into a smaller creek and wear out the redeyes. Heck that was back when I was 14 and the catching crawdads were just as fun as the redeyes. Sure do miss those days


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## GAdeerhunter78 (Aug 19, 2011)

how deep do you put them and where?


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