Use Live Crawfish as Fishing Bait and Go Fishing

Fishing with Crawfish

Okay, crawfish, crayfish, whatever you want to call them.  The are amazing little creatures that swim the opposite direction you think they should, by propelling themselves backwards with their tale.

Some are quiet beautiful in coloring, being, red, gray and sometimes blue.  They have strong little pinchers that can hurt pretty bad.  The best way to handle this guys is holding them just behind their head and on top of their head, this way those pinchers can't get you.

Find them First

I always thought, and still do, that half the fun of fishing is catching or finding bait. In order for us to fish with crawfish, we first have to find the little suckers!

They are many ways to find and catch them.

One way is to trap them in a crawfish trap.  You can make one, or purchase them as well.  With these you simply find some shallow water, that is deep enough to house your trap.  Tie raw bacon or other bait to the bottom of the trap and leave it out for several hours or over night.  Check in the morning and you should have a nice catch of crawfish.

The other way is to hand catch them.  You can also use a net.  Remember they are fast and that they swim in the opposite direction you think they should go.

You will find crawfish in shallow water, such as streams, creeks, and constantly we ditch areas.  Be cautious of snakes however.

Look at the edges of the water and out into the depths, turning over rocks as you go.  You'll find them!

Now Fish with Them!

Once you have caught them, you are ready to fish!  Some people remove their claws/pinchers before fishing with them, to prevent hang ups, or to prevent the crawfish from cutting the line or tangling in it.

To hook a crawfish, start inserting the hook under his body just below the body cavity into the tail.

Here's a great video by Anglers Escape on how to hook a crawfish, errrr crawdad as he says.

And there you have, how to find and how to fish with crayfish / crawfish / crawdad's!