# Any where in Louisiana I can trap some craw fish ?



## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Thinking about buying some traps and making use of all the fish heads at the cleaning table.
Remember back in the 80's as a boy I use to pull up traps all along the banks of creeks in LA and there were lots of craw fish in it. Wasn't my traps thou. We threw them back in the water after looking because it wasn't ours. Just wanted to take a look. I'm talking three four five pounds per traps is what I saw..


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## molddaddy (Apr 27, 2010)

I 10 rest stop in Orange looks good at the moment....


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

Bruce, looking at the flooding those mudbugs might be spread all over the state. LOL
Most of the wild caught crawfish come from the Atchafalaya flood spillway which is roaring full right now. 
I would think that the banks of any waterway or bayou that you can get to will have enough for a big family boil. Any place east of the TX/LA state line should be good.
There might be some license requirements.


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Thanks Sun Beam. Finally got to meet you at the fish fry. Thanks for making an effort coming down all the way from Oklahoma. I figure with all this fish heads that I've been getting. Might as well make use of it. I'll give it a try soon as I get all my traps together. It'll be some thing fun and different.


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## fishinganimal (Mar 30, 2006)

$2 per pound at Boyds on the Texas City Dike is so much easier!!


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## redspeck (Jul 3, 2012)

I was there last Tuesday, bought 12 lb of cooked crawfish for $2.19 lb. Wife had 1 pound and I had eleven. My kind of wife!!


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

I'm shooting for 150 pounds 35/70 traps.LOL I'll be happy with 50lb. I got the boat and the fish heads. Now all I need is the traps. Gonna try to by the material and make it my self. Very do able. With all this water craw fish trapping been very gooood. You tube it and see for your self.


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## Jayco (Dec 28, 2015)

A friend of mine catches deep water crawfish in the Atchafalaya basin.

My dad has 75 acres of private ponds.

But with all the rain, and the cold snap this past weekend, prices are going to go up and supply is going to go down for a little while. I'd just buy some.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Bruce, I have 40 home made deep water nets I made and used when I was in college to make extra money. I have been trying to find a place here in Texas to use them. I fished in the swamps around New Orleans years ago. One place was the pearl river swamp. Its at the Louisiana / Miss state line. Almost every year you have people parked along I-10 catching bugs. All this water could make the bug population explode this year once it goes down. I heard of people catching them on the sabine river a few year back.

I actually caught 16 sacks in 5hrs one day years ago. I had to make (2) trips in my Peerow


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## Jayco (Dec 28, 2015)

Gofish2day said:


> I had to make (2) trips in my Peerow


LOL... pirogue


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

I figured with my son that's 70 traps allowed for two persons. That can do a lot of damage with plenty of fish heads leaved over night. Shad slinger always say. You never know unless you go. My little boy can eat 5lb by him self.


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Gofish2day said:


> Bruce, I have 40 home made deep water nets I made and used when I was in college to make extra money. I have been trying to find a place here in Texas to use them. I fished in the swamps around New Orleans years ago. One place was the pearl river swamp. Its at the Louisiana / Miss state line. Almost every year you have people parked along I-10 catching bugs. All this water could make the bug population explode this year once it goes down. I heard of people catching them on the sabine river a few year back.
> 
> I actually caught 16 sacks in 5hrs one day years ago. I had to make (2) trips in my Peerow


Now that's what I'm talking about. Think I'm gonna find a new sports during craw fish season. Catching mud bugs ha!! 
You know where I can buy some net material 3/4x 11/16 in size ?


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Found it Go fish. The fish net company got every thing I need.


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## TPerkins (Oct 23, 2012)

There's plenty in Texas just gotta be able to get to them.

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## texcajun (Feb 22, 2009)

All those fresh water sloughs near Orange, TX oughta be loaded with em. Never heard of anyone trapping in them. Too easy to do it in the rice fields, but swamp dads taste just as good as farm raised.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Thanks, Jayco

" pirogue" - I was too lazy to look up the correct spelling. That is what it is called.
Here in Texas its called a Peerow by everyone. I still have the boat. It went thru Katrina but a neighbors hot tube saved it for me. I call it my cajun Kayak and still fish with it.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Bruce,

Sure hope you find some crawfish.


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Gofish2day said:


> Bruce,
> 
> Sure hope you find some crawfish.


GoFish can I borrow some of your traps. I wanna try it before I go all out and invest in lots of traps. I'm sure it will pay for its self in time. I'll split you 50/50 on the catch if I get into them good. Seasons peaking real soon once the warm weather returned. Need to start planning and get on it fast. My plan is to drop them traps in deeper water away within reach of passer by. I'm not gonna set it where any one can just walk up and steal my catch and your traps. All traps set will be mark GPS so I know where to find them.


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## CroakerSpit (Feb 21, 2016)

I'm not sure about LA but we used to crawfish up and down the old hey 90 road between liberty and Beaumont lots of flooded fields out there lots of snakes too! Yikes


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Some thing like this would be nice.


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## TPerkins (Oct 23, 2012)

If your not in rice fields pillow traps like this work the best. If theirs current they can be submerged if not try need to have a small portion out of the water. Soft mushy bait is best. As long as they are eating they won't be crawling get the cage. Big numbers is the key, more traps more crawfish.

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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

TPerkins would the Atchafalaya between Lafeyett and Baton Rouge be a good location. That long bridge that goes thru a swamp. On the east side of the bridge there's seems to be a puplic boat ramp.
How deep should I be setting them traps.
Should I be scared of gators.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Bruce,

You can borrow my deep water crawfish nets. I will post up some pics today. Its all you will need to catch em. You will need a pole with a hook which I don't have. Beef melt is the best to go with to just catch a few sacks. Fish heads last longer but you get snakes in the net. You also get big big gators that take the nets. One night I was so scared I slept in the truck. Red eyes everywhere. A big one maybe 12-13ft decided he wanted my net. I was in a 14ft pirouge standing with the hook on the net. He was on the other end and would not let go. I went back cleaned out my pants and slept in the truck till morning to pick up my nets. Funny, I saw one gator putting the nets out in the dark. Picking them up for the first run they were everywhere. Red eyes about 8 inches apart is OK. Eyes that are more than 1 foot across are not OK. That means big. 
Oh, crawfishing is better at night. Great in the day but better at night.
Other times Push poling past gators that make your 14ft boat look small will make your hair stand up for sure. Mostly they just lay there in the sun. This all was about 20yrs ago.


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

I kinda expected that about the gators. They gonna be on the menu one of these days. I think LA parks and wild life has a lotto each year for people to get a chance to land them some gators. Since you brought up the subject about gators. Im gonna try and enter my self this year. Hope I did not miss the dead line. I eaten them before. Taste like chicken but better.
Dang it lottery only apply to LA residents.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

The Atchafalaya Basin down around Berwick and Morgan City has a lot of channels winding through it that are great for catching crawfish.
Take a gps and hit "man over board" when you launch, lol!
Once off of the main river it looks just it it did 50 yards back??? And the gators really look bigger!
Cool picture TPerkins, thanks for the info.


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Heck Loy if the Lakes are all mess up right now and heck who knows when it's gonna get back to normal.I'm gonna make me a plan C.

Go mud bugs hunting. Ha!! My son would get a KICK messing with those little critters.

Plan B would be Arkansas.


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Thanks!! Gofish !!


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Yeah Bruce the whole area is messed up muddy, I have been wracking my brain for places to fish. It is so bad you can drive well more than a couple hundred miles and not get out of flood waters.
I guess it's a cat fish hunt now.
Your boy would love to mess with some craw fish, I don't any boy who likes to fish who doesn't like to mess around with them. I still do.


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## texcajun (Feb 22, 2009)

As a youngster I ran traps throughout the Atchafalaya with my uncle. Did pretty good in the right places. That being said, I don't know why you would go all the way to LA to trap 'em. The swamp/marsh around Orange should be just as good, and you wouldn't have to travel as far. And like Karl says, beef melt is absolutely the best bait, but dead fish will work, too.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

*Crawfish NETS*

Bruce, Attached is the pic of my NETS. You mention traps but traps are set overnight. Crawfish get into them slowly. You want to get in and catch a mess of them quick. This is true since you have no private land to set the traps. These nets will catch all you want. They are deep water nets which are the same as crab nets but small mesh. The other nets are square and known as puddle nets. Puddle nets are used in very shallow water and are cheap to buy. All the commercial fisherman use the deep water nets I have. The call them mudbugs because in the spring with the right conditions they just explode in population. You can do a serious number on them with these nets.
When you get into them and pick up a net the sound is crazy. All the tails flapping at once. They also bite big time when first caught.

Like I mentioned in a previous post. I caught many many sacks with these same nets.

I have heard of people catching them off the Sabine river in the swamps and canals. Trouble is you can go now and catch zero. In two weeks you can go and there will be a bug explosion with crawfish everywhere.
Hard to track em down unless you are local and know someone who is checking the water. Just like fishing.


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Karl is does these net meet the regulation requirements for LA. I look it up on the internet and says has to be 3/4 x 11/16. Don't want all your net consficated by game warden.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Yes, they are good to go. That is the webbing size. Must have LA Fishing lic

A bit more info.....bait em up. Put em out. Stir the mud. Come back in 15min. Pick up net, Put bugs in tub. Repeat.....Sooner if crawfish are eating your bait. Great fun. Kids make it better.

I can tell your when they are catching them in the New Orleans area but that is a 6hr ride.

Just bought a sack for $1.97 a pound at HEB. Field run so a little small but beats a 6hr drive.

No Matt your not invited


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Thanks Karl. Going up to Arkansas this evening to do some fly fishing for trout and hopefully get my fish heads. Can you give me an idea how much each net cost so if a gator gets any of your net I will pay you to replace it. Thanks!! BTW I'm in it for the thrill of catching those mud suckers. Give me some thing to do when the fishing gets slow. 

Another question. The Atchafalaya is all fresh water ? Is the water corrosive to trailer and engine like salt water ?


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Atchafalaya is not corrosive. Finding crawfish there on a whim is pretty hard. Not worried if you lose a net or two.


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Karl i need those net. Guess I need to go to Mississippi. 
Found this good article on them bugs.

http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=3917


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Guess this look like what you describe your self when you were catching them bugs. You know where this place is Karl. I want to go here.


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Getting ready to head to the swamp. Heard they got Shell crackers and Sac-a-lait too .
Hoping to Sack a lot a few of those too!!


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

That vid shows catching crawfish. Good luck Bruce and keep the gators away from my nets.


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## SwampRat (Jul 30, 2004)

Any results?


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## catfishinbeerdrinkin (May 3, 2011)

Been following waiting to see results 


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Mud bugs are great, but shell crackers are just about as good as crappie.
A Burkes lures black plastic ant on a fly rod is good medicine for them.
Hope you did good.


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Loy all this water mess up even the swamp in LA. I showed up and there were twenty boat in the river and not the swamp. Ask a few of the guys why they aren't fishing the swamp and they said the swamp is flooded really bad. No one was catching fish where they were suppose to. One guy told me he usually catch 30 or 40 crappies and only had 9 in the live well. Talk to a few more guys and it was same results. Didn't catch a single craw fish. Throw out 6 net all along hydrillas and grass in 3fow nothing. Didn't see a single alligator or any snakes at all. Only me and a few guys I seen catching a few fish were small shell crackers. I must of jig every single tree stump sticking out of the water within the bridge on I-10 and nothing. Just small shell crackers. Up here in LA if you ask where to catch crappies, no one has the slightness clue. But refer to a Sac-a-Lait they describe it to be a crappy. Might have to go further all the way to Orleans near the spill way to find my wild caught craw fish. It was fun thou. I'm always open for new and interesting places to go sight seeing and maybe get lucky and catch some thing out of the ordinary.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Better luck next time. Keep trying. Remember, crawfish are on for about the next few weeks only. Get em while its time.


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## SwampRat (Jul 30, 2004)

Wow, I was expecting another super catch....Yet more evidence of why they call it 'fishing' and not 'catching.'

Follow the river levels online... it shouldn't be too long before the fish, crawfish and snakes are cooperating.

http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=lix&gage=blrl1


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Good try Bruce, you never know unless you go!


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