Hunting Washington Forum

Other Activities => Fishing => Topic started by: buddhaz on August 30, 2011, 09:11:29 AM

Title: crawfsh
Post by: buddhaz on August 30, 2011, 09:11:29 AM: Just wondering if there are any good spots in eastern Washington to catch a mess of crawdads if done great in oregon, good in western wa. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: h20hunter on August 30, 2011, 09:16:09 AM: there has been plenty of chat in the past. just search crawdad or crawfish and check the other threads.
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: GoldTip on August 30, 2011, 09:22:27 AM: I've done well around 8-10 years ago on the Little Spokane between Long Lake and the fish hatchery.
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: goosegetter79 on August 30, 2011, 09:48:21 AM: Never done it myself but seen people doing it on the snake river around wawawai boat launch. Don't know how they did but seen a few different people over the years.
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: trippledigitss on August 30, 2011, 10:24:33 AM: How do you prepare & eat them? There is a crick behind our house and my son has found a bunch of fat little crawdads in there - but I didnt know what to do with them? I boiled one for him when I was cooking some crab but he chickened out and didnt eat it. Do you just eat the tail or what?
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: superdown on August 30, 2011, 10:30:47 AM: yeah just eat the tail it's just a miniature fresh water lobster :drool: jimmy mac's has a pretty good crawfish chowder you could try before you cook them yourself :dunno:
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: trippledigitss on August 30, 2011, 12:27:01 PM: OK thanks! Jimmy Macs? IS that a restaurant or prepared food in a can? I saw an ad for a place in Seatlle call Crawfish Kings or something like that, think I might check it out one of these days. :dunno:
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: trippledigitss on August 30, 2011, 12:27:59 PM: Oh and this crawdad my boy brought home was small, about the size of a large prawn maybe. Are the eating ones usually bigger, like 4in long and an inch or two wide?
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: jackmaster on August 30, 2011, 12:30:27 PM: light salt water boil and a little cajun pepper dip them little fellers in a little hot garlic butter with the cajun pepper and they are damn fine but it takes a mess of them to get full but they are damn fine
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: d-rock on August 30, 2011, 12:37:02 PM: I've gotten a bit into crayfish this year. Lots of good info on the web as to how and why. Recipe is key to great tasting crawdads, otherwise they are just pretty good. I heard eastern WA has tons of them everywhere Moses lake, all the big rivers, etc. Half the fun is finding new honey holes.

I have caught them out of the little creek in my backyard and have pulled well over a couple hundred out this year. I use them in my seafood/Crab boil dishes.

Cabela's has an inexpensive collapsible mesh and wire trap that I have had great success with, fresh fish carcasses and placing them in deeper, sheltered pools in the smaller creeks and you will have some nice ones. Check the fishing regs because there are rules and restrictions.

Here's one I caught last night, sorry its a little fuzzy.
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: superdown on August 30, 2011, 12:43:05 PM: Quote from: trippledigitss on August 30, 2011, 12:27:01 PM
OK thanks! Jimmy Macs? IS that a restaurant or prepared food in a can? I saw an ad for a place in Seattle call Crawfish Kings or something like that, think I might check it out one of these days. :dunno:
yeah it's a restaurant they play loud country music and give you peanuts and you just throw the shells on the floor
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: trippledigitss on August 30, 2011, 01:30:05 PM: That looks a bit bigger than the one I saw. I'll have to go down there and see if I can pull anymore out. Thanks guys!
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: sirfunkeybut on August 30, 2011, 02:06:41 PM: heres a big one i caught a couple weeks ago. its the biggest one ive ever seen
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: jackmaster on August 30, 2011, 02:08:52 PM: if any of you guys get out to ft lewis, muck creek that runs through east ft lewis is flat loaded with crawdads, you will have to hide your pot or camo it from passerbys so they dont walk off with it, but i have also had alot of luck using bacon and put it in a little bait box so them little dude cant walk off with your bait
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: Tony on August 30, 2011, 02:18:40 PM: When we are over hunting during Archery season we usually go back behind Whistling Jacks on the Naches river for a hour or so and catch 100-150 between 4 or 5 of us. These are nothing to big but fun to do with the kids.
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: CMG on August 30, 2011, 02:58:48 PM: They are great fun for the kids to catch! We just tie bacon (Or any left over meat) on the end of a fishing line, drop in and wait. Once you have a few on the end, pull the line up gently. The crawdads won't let go until they get close to the surface. once they are close use a coffee can (Or bucket) slip the can behind them underwater. pull them up and they let go and swim backwards in to the can.
I know there are better ways........this is juist more fun for the kids, and easy.
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: robescc on August 31, 2011, 02:48:51 PM: We caugh a couple hundred of them out of Pearrygin this last weekend.
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: HuntNFish on September 04, 2011, 12:13:48 PM: Finally got into a lake that has some. Good eats :drool:
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: C-Money on September 05, 2011, 12:29:50 PM: I have a shrimp allergy and was a little reluctant to try crawfish. My Captain brought some to work he caught in Moses Lake and we had some for lunch. They were very good! I am hooked and no violent vomiting 1 - 2hrs after eating! :tup:
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: buckhorn2 on September 05, 2011, 02:37:05 PM: They have a vein that runs down the top of the tail that most people scrape out but if you just get ahold of the middle tail segment and turn it over and pull the vein will pull right out helps save cleaning time.
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: trippledigitss on September 06, 2011, 08:37:25 AM: I want to try some of those little suckers! :drool:

HuntNFish - that 1st pic looks sweet! Nice little lake there. Where do they usually hang out in lakes, cricks, etc? Like what part of the water, out of the current, under rocks??
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: jackmaster on September 06, 2011, 10:04:47 AM: crawdads really like deep pools at the end of a fast current where dead fish and such might settle in, if your familiar with mineral lake there is some good crawdadn there it actually use to get comercially crawdaded back in the day.
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: Kola16 on September 06, 2011, 10:19:44 AM: I have had great success in martha lake (the one that is a part of the seven lakes). I also read an article about crawfish lake in Okanagan county. It said that there are tons, hence the name :chuckle:
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: HuntNFish on September 07, 2011, 05:23:07 PM: Quote from: trippledigitss on September 06, 2011, 08:37:25 AM
I want to try some of those little suckers! :drool:

HuntNFish - that 1st pic looks sweet! Nice little lake there. Where do they usually hang out in lakes, cricks, etc? Like what part of the water, out of the current, under rocks??

Like said, deeper area in a Lake, under rocks/ logs. Anything to provide shelter. But they do come up to the sun in the shallows as well. We caught some with bacon tied to, than tossed out on a fishing line in the shallows. Watched many of them coming from the deep areas to get some sun and bacon. Once they get a claw on it they wont let go for anything. Just pull them in and drop in the bucket. And the crawdads were yummy....
Title: Re: crawfsh
Post by: gotshot on September 10, 2011, 10:06:59 AM: Quote from: HuntNFish on September 04, 2011, 12:13:48 PM
Finally got into a lake that has some. Good eats :drool:
Looks like Snyder lake above Packwood.