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Does anybody crayfish trap around here for food? I was thinking of trying lake marburg first. Any suggestions? Thanks
Crayfish trapping
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Actually i tried my hand at this few years back and sad to say pa makes this a bit of a pain.
Traps cant have holes bigger then 1" for trapping bait fish which keeps out an fair size crayfish from getting into the trap, and some streams like the yellow breeches doesnt even allow you to remove 'baitfish' from the water way. As far as the lake goes cant really weight in on tht. Might be able to place traps with floats overnight but all traps must have information just like a crab trap in the Chesapeake. The dozen or so i caught on my try i put into a fish tank for a day or two with pump to allow them to flush out their 'system' then cooked them they werent bad but small, like less then pop corn shrimp.
Traps cant have holes bigger then 1" for trapping bait fish which keeps out an fair size crayfish from getting into the trap, and some streams like the yellow breeches doesnt even allow you to remove 'baitfish' from the water way. As far as the lake goes cant really weight in on tht. Might be able to place traps with floats overnight but all traps must have information just like a crab trap in the Chesapeake. The dozen or so i caught on my try i put into a fish tank for a day or two with pump to allow them to flush out their 'system' then cooked them they werent bad but small, like less then pop corn shrimp.
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Yeah I have found some nice crayfish traps and plan on putting that out the next tum that I am out for white perch. What bait did you use for crayfish? I will do some research with the fish and boat about crayfish traps.
I don't think you are allowed to leave ANY waterway in PA with live crayfish anymore. You can only keep them alive while you are using them for bait in the same waters that you caught them. Any that you take home must be dead ,with the head removed.
Bob
Bob
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See that is a problem because if you intend to eat the crayfish you must cook them alive just like crabs you dont cook the dead ones unless you want to be very sick. I understand the whole not taking one species and moving it to another body of water but as for fishing reason am i to get up at 2am to set a trap in a lake and hour away an hope by 7am i have enough crayfish to use for bait? I just dont get the thought behind some of the regulations some times. How long til we cant use worms from out of state lol. As for cray fish bait i found fish scrapes work best if you intend to try i guess you can set traps over night an hope you caught enough for the next day.
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That figures. PA has things so messed up. I might take a chance since the need to be alive to cook. Maybe if a officer stops me he would understand. Lol. I hope.
A police officer won't know.Keep them in the trunk in a cooler or back seat in a cooler.When they open it and find crayfish instead of beer you will be good to go.They will go to their car and chuckle.Big bust.The police would be embarrassed to say I caught a guy with a crayfish."Kids are killing kids with heroin" and you bring in this crayfish trafficker?Won't happen unless a game law officer gets you.I'm a person that abides laws but a crawfish for consumption being illegal.You need a million for a good meal.That all being said I'm gearing up for turtle soup.
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Yeah we like to do shrimp boils and I want to try a crayfish boil. Yeah I'm ready for turtle season too.
So my understanding is its illegal to trap bluegills but is the trap automatically illegal once a bluegill swims into it since they are trapped technically? Or is it only illegal when the intent is to use them for bait? I like the idea of setting a couple traps overnight at a local lake.
The Delaware has some big crawfish and they are easy to catch by hand in the shallow parts. No need for a trap just a butterfly net. If you flip 50 rocks you will find 50 crawfish. At least that's how it is in the northern part of the river between NY and PA.
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cant transfer crayfish from this pond to that one but it is perfectly legal to order a 50lb bag from companies in the south tht ship live crawdads up on ice to cook.
The red swamp crayfish is the variety most commonly raised for the commercial market. They are not native to Pa and are an invasive species. They are in the Delaware and you'd being doing the state a favor by catching them. Learn to identify different species and target the right ones.
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