Daily Herald | Posted: Monday, July 31, 2006 11:00 pm
Every couple of years, I'm contacted by enough readers with questions about catching crayfish (crawdads, mudbugs, freshwater lobsters) so as to warrant another column dedicated to the tasty little guys. Crayfish are plentiful in Utah, are easy to catch and eat -- if you know what you're doing.
Remember that you must have a valid fishing license to pursue crayfish. You may trap them, catch them on hand lines, use nets or even seines. There is no limit on crayfish.
I have caught them on Deer Creek, Scofield, Strawberry, Starvation, Flaming Gorge and Lake Powell, but my no means are these lakes the only places to catch our tasty little friends. Most area reservoirs with the exception of Jordanelle have sufficient numbers of crayfish to satisfy even the hungriest of anglers.
Crayfish live in rocky areas in less than 20 feet of water. That doesn't mean they can't survive deeper than that, but it becomes more difficult to catch them the deeper they are. I prefer using a combination of trapping and hand-lining crayfish, so the shallower the better. Crayfish traps can be purchased at any good sporting goods store for around $20 and hand lines can be made with a ball of twine.
Begin to look for crayfish near boat ramps on your favorite reservoir. They look like small lobsters and in the summertime appear dark brown or even red from above. Crayfish react to smell, so when experimenting to see if crayfish are around, give them time to find your bait. I employ the 20-minute rule. I use fried chicken in both traps and tied to a hand line. They will enter the trap or will attach themselves to the hand line.
You can catch crayfish any time, but I prefer the late afternoons because as soon as enough crayfish are caught, they can be included in a Cajun picnic. Add crayfish or crab seasoning mix to a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. Then add new potatoes and corn on the cob along with some smoked sausage. Once that mixture is strained and removed from the water, add the crayfish. Crayfish turn bright red as they cook and float up to the top when ready (from 5-7 minutes).
Spread out some old newspaper on the picnic table, remove the crayfish from the pot, make a pile in the center of the table, grab some French bread along with your new potatoes, sausage and corn on the cob, and enjoy. It's almost unfair to have such a succulent Cajun feast so far from Louisiana.
Don Allphin can be reached at remaxdoa@gmail.com.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page C2.