Making a few crawfish traps
- JakeB
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Making a few crawfish traps
I made a few crawfish traps and figured I’d do a little write up on it. Someone may find it interesting. It’s a tradition down here, and makes for some fine eating and even a few extra dollars. I’m just a small time guy that does it in my free time, but we have full time guys with up to 1000-1500 traps out at a time!
The town I live in is a small place in the middle of the swamp. Basically when you think of Louisiana, that’s where I’m at. And if you have ever eaten non-pond raised crawfish there’s a very good chance it came from here.
What we lack in good deer hunting is made up for in world class seafood.
Anyway this is how I make traps. They are made from a roll of 3/4” coated mesh. I went with 4’ tall mesh so I’m able to get the top out of the water to let the crawfish breath if the water gets bad. It’s a little more expensive, but worth it.
I didn’t actually take a picture of the roll but it’s just 150’ roll of 3/4” mesh 4’ tall. Nothing special. The first step is cutting the mesh into sections 51” long like this
From 150’ I was able to get 35 sections with a very small useless piece left over.
Next you need to make your barrel. This is the biggest pain and most time consuming. I overlap 2 holes then twist the center wire with a 90* angled pick. I catch every cross on the ends then skip a few in the middle. It’s kind of a feel thing. It’s important though because with poor or not enough twist your trap can come apart on you.
When that’s done it’s shaped like.. a barrel
Next close in one end of the barrel keeping the seam in the middle, and crimp it together with hog rings.
After it’s crimped all the way across you cut the 2 wires directly below the crimp on the end to make a hole. And set the trap on your mold.
Then fold the hole in slightly.
Then using a bottle (usually have a few beer bottles laying around at this point) push the hole in to create a “flough” then repeat on the opposite side.
It should look like this
Put two more crimps on the opposite end and you are done.
Finish up the roll and you will have a pile like this laying around.
Ready to set them out, with just enough room for me to squeeze in.
Looks like a good spot to me.
I set them out and flagged about 30-50 yards apart through the swamp. I got them baited up with pogeys or menhaden. I picked up at the local bait store.
I traveled down an old pull boat road which is a line made years ago the old timers used to pull the giant cypress tress out of the swamp. They are pretty impressive and I can’t even fathom the amount of work that went into making them years ago. Here is a picture I took of another one a while back.
Just as straight as an arrow. They are good places because when the water level drops I won’t have to worry about cypress knees down them.
On the way out I stopped and checked my first trap and it already had 7 crawfish in it, which is a really good sign and has me excited to check them! (Hard to see in the picture and I was already home when I realized)
And that’s it, I’ll probably check them 2-3 times a week. As long as the water level stays up enough or until I get tired of it. I’ll likely catch anywhere from 1 40# sack up to 4-5 if it really starts running good. Going to boil up the first few catches for friends and family and then stock up my freezer. May sell a few when I don’t have time to mess with them.
I can add some pictures of me running them and my catch later on if people are interested.
The town I live in is a small place in the middle of the swamp. Basically when you think of Louisiana, that’s where I’m at. And if you have ever eaten non-pond raised crawfish there’s a very good chance it came from here.
What we lack in good deer hunting is made up for in world class seafood.
Anyway this is how I make traps. They are made from a roll of 3/4” coated mesh. I went with 4’ tall mesh so I’m able to get the top out of the water to let the crawfish breath if the water gets bad. It’s a little more expensive, but worth it.
I didn’t actually take a picture of the roll but it’s just 150’ roll of 3/4” mesh 4’ tall. Nothing special. The first step is cutting the mesh into sections 51” long like this
From 150’ I was able to get 35 sections with a very small useless piece left over.
Next you need to make your barrel. This is the biggest pain and most time consuming. I overlap 2 holes then twist the center wire with a 90* angled pick. I catch every cross on the ends then skip a few in the middle. It’s kind of a feel thing. It’s important though because with poor or not enough twist your trap can come apart on you.
When that’s done it’s shaped like.. a barrel
Next close in one end of the barrel keeping the seam in the middle, and crimp it together with hog rings.
After it’s crimped all the way across you cut the 2 wires directly below the crimp on the end to make a hole. And set the trap on your mold.
Then fold the hole in slightly.
Then using a bottle (usually have a few beer bottles laying around at this point) push the hole in to create a “flough” then repeat on the opposite side.
It should look like this
Put two more crimps on the opposite end and you are done.
Finish up the roll and you will have a pile like this laying around.
Ready to set them out, with just enough room for me to squeeze in.
Looks like a good spot to me.
I set them out and flagged about 30-50 yards apart through the swamp. I got them baited up with pogeys or menhaden. I picked up at the local bait store.
I traveled down an old pull boat road which is a line made years ago the old timers used to pull the giant cypress tress out of the swamp. They are pretty impressive and I can’t even fathom the amount of work that went into making them years ago. Here is a picture I took of another one a while back.
Just as straight as an arrow. They are good places because when the water level drops I won’t have to worry about cypress knees down them.
On the way out I stopped and checked my first trap and it already had 7 crawfish in it, which is a really good sign and has me excited to check them! (Hard to see in the picture and I was already home when I realized)
And that’s it, I’ll probably check them 2-3 times a week. As long as the water level stays up enough or until I get tired of it. I’ll likely catch anywhere from 1 40# sack up to 4-5 if it really starts running good. Going to boil up the first few catches for friends and family and then stock up my freezer. May sell a few when I don’t have time to mess with them.
I can add some pictures of me running them and my catch later on if people are interested.
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Re: Making a few crawfish traps
Wow, that is awesome! Looks like a low country boil is in the works... Please post pics of when you get your haul in, I would love to see how many you end up rounding up
- Singing Bridge
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- Jackson Marsh
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Re: Making a few crawfish traps
That is super cool!!
Definitely post more pics if you can.
Definitely post more pics if you can.
- Boogieman1
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Re: Making a few crawfish traps
Awesome! I tried it several years ago with traps I purchased (not as nice as yours) the probs I had was low catch numbers and wide variety of sizes. Think it took me a lil over a week just to get about 15 lbs. Then the size varied so much when I cooked em the smaller ones were tough as leather and the grandes were not quite done. I don't live in a mudd bug rich environment so I found someone who did and offered a switcharoo for some crappie filets. Works out well for the both of us, but will say nothing is better that some groceries u get yourself. Just wish I had the know how
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- JakeB
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Re: Making a few crawfish traps
Boogieman1 wrote:Awesome! I tried it several years ago with traps I purchased (not as nice as yours) the probs I had was low catch numbers and wide variety of sizes. Think it took me a lil over a week just to get about 15 lbs. Then the size varied so much when I cooked em the smaller ones were tough as leather and the grandes were not quite done. I don't live in a mudd bug rich environment so I found someone who did and offered a switcharoo for some crappie filets. Works out well for the both of us, but will say nothing is better that some groceries u get yourself. Just wish I had the know how
Location is probably the biggest thing, like most wild things. They have to be there to get them. Earlier in the year they aren't as hungry as they are when it warms up real good either. Sounds like you ended up with a pretty good trade, got to capitalize on what nature provides in your area.
I'm heading out in the morning, hopefully I catch enough to boil them up for good friday with my family. May even run them sunday morning for easter. I'll update with some pictures of how it goes.
- Wetfoot
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- JakeB
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Re: Making a few crawfish traps
It’s been a busy weekend! Ran them Friday and almost made a whole sack. Had 1 area that really didn’t catch very good so I moved them and Sunday I ran again and made 1 1/2 sacks. Not to bad, that’s around what I expected at this time of year.
We boiled the sack Friday and boiled another sack Sunday and peeled the half of a sack I had left over for a stew. It was a great Easter weekend spent with family and food provided from the swamp.
Here’s a few pictures from the weekend
One of the better traps
Sunday’s catch
This is how I set the trap, it’s on an angle facing down current and the top I lean against the tree. This is why I went with 4’ wire. Any shorter and I wouldn’t have been able to touch the bottom and reach the surface so they can get some air.
I caught a ridiculous amount of these things.
They are a pain because they get in your trap, eat some crawfish and stop other crawfish from going into the trap. They look like eels, but I think they are some sort of salamander because they have these tiny little feet.
We just call them “congs”. They are great for snapping turtle bait though.
Almost ready to add the crawfish
Ready to pour on the table and chow down
Crawfish tails ready for a stew
We boiled the sack Friday and boiled another sack Sunday and peeled the half of a sack I had left over for a stew. It was a great Easter weekend spent with family and food provided from the swamp.
Here’s a few pictures from the weekend
One of the better traps
Sunday’s catch
This is how I set the trap, it’s on an angle facing down current and the top I lean against the tree. This is why I went with 4’ wire. Any shorter and I wouldn’t have been able to touch the bottom and reach the surface so they can get some air.
I caught a ridiculous amount of these things.
They are a pain because they get in your trap, eat some crawfish and stop other crawfish from going into the trap. They look like eels, but I think they are some sort of salamander because they have these tiny little feet.
We just call them “congs”. They are great for snapping turtle bait though.
Almost ready to add the crawfish
Ready to pour on the table and chow down
Crawfish tails ready for a stew
- Uncle Lou
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Re: Making a few crawfish traps
Now that is some clean living, thanks for sharing.
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Re: Making a few crawfish traps
JakeB wrote:It’s been a busy weekend! Ran them Friday and almost made a whole sack. Had 1 area that really didn’t catch very good so I moved them and Sunday I ran again and made 1 1/2 sacks. Not to bad, that’s around what I expected at this time of year.
We boiled the sack Friday and boiled another sack Sunday and peeled the half of a sack I had left over for a stew. It was a great Easter weekend spent with family and food provided from the swamp.
Here’s a few pictures from the weekend
One of the better traps
Sunday’s catch
This is how I set the trap, it’s on an angle facing down current and the top I lean against the tree. This is why I went with 4’ wire. Any shorter and I wouldn’t have been able to touch the bottom and reach the surface so they can get some air.
I caught a ridiculous amount of these things.
They are a pain because they get in your trap, eat some crawfish and stop other crawfish from going into the trap. They look like eels, but I think they are some sort of salamander because they have these tiny little feet.
We just call them “congs”. They are great for snapping turtle bait though.
Almost ready to add the crawfish
Ready to pour on the table and chow down
Crawfish tails ready for a stew
Pure awesomeness... Makes me want to give it a try. Thanks for sharing the pics
- Jackson Marsh
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Re: Making a few crawfish traps
Man that looks good
- 218er
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Re: Making a few crawfish traps
Those look awesome. My neighbor use to live in Louisiana and does a boil about once a year. It’s really an awesome experience.
Persistence is undefeated.
- ZSV
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Re: Making a few crawfish traps
Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
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Re: Making a few crawfish traps
Great post and I enjoyed the pictures and descriptions!
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- Sailfish_WC
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