Where Do You Catch Your Crawfish?

[Linhardt]

I see that a lot of people catch a lot of crawfish out of Table Rock in decent numbers and sizes. Since Jeff City is not very close to Table Rock, I was looking for other places to try my luck. Has anyone had any luck on other lake, rivers, or streams? Tell me your experience?

[Tim Smith]

For eating or bait?

Be sure not to transfer crayfish between drainages. That can lead to trouble. If you're going to release crayfish be sure they only go back into the system where you caught them.

[FishinCricket]

Check under rocks...

:devilish_grin:

[Linhardt]

The will be for eating.

[vacation]

Here is my dinner from the other night..hopes this motivates you!

[Mitch f]

If I need them I can get live crawfish from Seafood City in Chinatown St Louis

[DaddyO]

If I need them I can get live crawfish from Seafood City in Chinatown St Louis

Yes, but, where is the FUN in that?

[vacation]

And potential Mercury Posioning...alway beware of where your seafood comes from.

[Tim Smith]

And potential Mercury Posioning...alway beware of where your seafood comes from.

Farmed crayfish are among the healthiest seafoods you can eat (although don't eat any cooked crayfish with a straight tail because that means it was dead when it went in the pot and it may have bacterial issues).

A normal water body should have safe crayfish. A good rule of thumb is that you can find them in numbers where fish can't get at them.

Large cobble provides shelter for crayfish from predators and in clean water they will be there in high numbers, but may be a smaller average size than you like. A baited minnow trap can get a few at a time with minimal effort. You might want to open the entry hole a bit wider to let the larger individuals in. I've gotten up to 40 in an overnight set in a stream with a rusty crayfish invasion, but those aren't really in Missouri.

Red-swampers and White River crayfish and other species that favor soft bottomed systems tend to be targeted more often but again, the more fish that are present in the system the fewer crayfish you will find. You might do best if you can find a ditch that you know is clean and has abundant chimneys.

There are probably a lot of perched floodwaters near you somewhere now (oxbows or just flooded fields) that might be crawling with crayfish just now.

[Linhardt]

Thanks for the info Tim. I will have to look around at some of the flooded areas, oxbows, and blew holes. What type of crayfish are those that vacation posted above? I am assuming by his location in his profile he got them from Table Rock? Would those same species of crayfish be in the streams and rivers of central missouri or is that a different type around central missouri? Is there a preferred crayfish to eat in Missouri? Just trying to learn all I can. Thanks again to all for the info.