Crawdads

[bigastrout]

i see people over here using cans of dog food as bait. they just punch a bunch of holes on the can and set it in the pot. crawdads absolutely love it.

What lakes are you talking about? Do those lakes have rocky bottoms?

[Heavy08]

I see people set traps a lot in lake Whatcom...

[Nik]

i see people over here using cans of dog food as bait. they just punch a bunch of holes on the can and set it in the pot. crawdads absolutely love it.

What lakes are you talking about? Do those lakes have rocky bottoms?

I see people doing it in the Spokane River, which is absolutely carpeted with them. They get huge too. Also i've seen a ton of them in Long lake, which makes sense because it's just an impoundment of the Spokane River. As for the rocky bottoms i would say absolutely that is where you will find crawdads, anywhere there are rocks big enough for them to hide under in the Spokane you will find them.

[Fish-or-man?]

If any of you are from down south, or enjoy that down south crawdad cookery, there are Louisiana red swamp crawdads in Pine Lake. Here's the Seattle Times article about it. They're invasive up here of course, and outcompeting the native crawdads. So you'd be doing the environment and yourself a delicious favor if you were to catch and eat some of them!

[A9]

I might have to go to Pine Lake and figure that out...That could be fun to try and get some of those red crawdads...

[gpc]

When I was at pine last weekend I caught (in a clump of weeds) a single crawdad claw. It was all red. I never seen one like that before but now it makes sense

[Smalma]

At one time there were a ton of crawdads in most western Washington lowlands. It was straight forward to catch a "mess" any time you wanted to once the water warmed up. Just one example is Flowing lake out of Snohomish. the docks at the County park used to be lined with kids catching them with strings and pieces of meat, chicken, bacon or fish. Of course since the illegal introduction of bass in the lake (and most of rest of western Washington lakes) those fisheries have ended. While it still possible to catch some "dads" they are not nearly as common as they once were.

Tgiht lines
Curt

[A9]

Yea that does make sense Smalma...Bass would just overrun the crawdads...

[bigastrout]

Does any one know if your allowed to through out crawdad pots in selctive gear waters

WDFW got back to me today on the crawfish rules. Selective Gear Rules Do Not Apply to Crawfish. Here is the response I got back.

There is no restriction on using recreational crawfish gear in any water, whether or not it has selective gear rules. The reason is that crawfish are designated as "shellfish" per WAC 220-12-020 , and the selective gear rules at WAC 220-56-100 apply to WAC 232-28-619 - Washington food fish and game fish ß Freshwater exceptions to statewide rules".

Following is a brief summary of the sport crawfishing rules.

Crawfish Sport Rules



Licenses

No license is needed to harvest crawfish for personal use in the State of Washington.



Season

The season is open from the first Monday in May through the month of October.



Open Waters

All waters are open. A person must have permission to trespass on private property. Local jurisdictions (Cities, Counties, State or National Parks, etc.) may restrict harvest on their properties.



Daily Limit

Ten (10) pounds of crawfish in the shell.



The minimum crawfish size is 3-1/4 inches in length from the tip of the rostrum (nose) to the tip of the tail and all undersize crawfish and female crawfish with eggs or young attached to the abdomen must be immediately returned unharmed to the waters from which taken. Fishermen must sort and return illegal crawfish to the waters from which taken immediately after the crawfish are removed from the shellfish pot.



Gear

One trap, ring net, or pot is considered one unit of gear. For crawfish, a person may fish two units of gear at any one time.



Crawfish may be taken for personal use by hand or with hand dip nets, ring nets, shellfish pots, and any hand-operated instrument that will not penetrate the shell.



Every shellfish pot, ring net, or star trap left unattended in Washington waters must have its own buoy line and a separate buoy that is permanently and legibly marked with the operatorß s first name, last name, and permanent address (telephone number is voluntary). It is illegal to pull unattended shellfish gear with a buoy that does not have your name on it, and only one name and address may appear on each buoy. Any angler may assist the person whose name is on the buoy while he or she is pulling the pot.



Buoys must be constructed of durable material (no bleach, antifreeze, detergent bottles, paint cans, etc.) and must be visible on the surface at all times except during extreme tidal conditions. Personal flags and staff, if attached to buoys, can be of any color. Buoy lines must be weighted sufficiently to prevent them from floating on the surface.



All crawfish pots must be equipped with a biodegradable device (rot/escape cord) and shall include one or more of the following:



(1) securing the pot lid hook or tie down strap with a single loop of cord; or



(2) sewing a 3" by 5" escape panel in the upper half of pot closed with cord; or



(3) attaching the pot lid or one pot side (serving as a pot lid) with no more than three single loops of cord.



Cord used must be untreated 100% cotton or other natural fiber no larger than thread size 120 or ?". This cord, when attached as described above, must be able to rot away and allow crawfish and fish to escape freely if the pot is lost. A derelict crawfish pot without proper escape cord can attract and kill crawfish for years after the pot has been lost.

[gpc]

Thanks bigastrout. Thats everything I needed and it will be very helpful for everyone else who is intrested in crawdads =d> =d>

[bigastrout]

I am struggling with the biodegradable devise rule. I don't think this crawfish trap meets the requirement as it is seen here in stock condition?

[gpc]

I am struggling with the biodegradable devise rule. I don't think this crawfish trap meets the requirement as it is seen here in stock condition?

Yea I was wondering the same thing. Mine snaps together in the middle of the pot, thers no bands for anything. Not only that but it dosnt look like there is a way to modifie it to make it have biodegrable straps. But I didnt see anything about this in the rules and regs pamplet. Did you? Because if its not in the book what could they say? I doubt they can fine you for an unwritten rule

[bigastrout]

I am struggling with the biodegradable devise rule. I don't think this crawfish trap meets the requirement as it is seen here in stock condition?

Yea I was wondering the same thing. Mine snaps together in the middle of the pot, thers no bands for anything. Not only that but it dosnt look like there is a way to modifie it to make it have biodegrable straps. But I didnt see anything about this in the rules and regs pamplet. Did you? Because if its not in the book what could they say? I doubt they can fine you for an unwritten rule

The rule is on page 137 of the regs. Do you have the same trap?

[gpc]

[/quote]

The rule is on page 137 of the regs. Do you have the same trap?

[/quote]

I do have the same pot and I was checking it out last night and the little metal clip could be replaced with a biodegradale piece of rope. I think. What do you think?

[bigastrout]

I do have the same pot and I was checking it out last night and the little metal clip could be replaced with a biodegradale piece of rope. I think. What do you think?

I think that the third example is the one that applys to us

"(3) attaching the pot lid or one side (serving as a pot lid) with no more than three single loops of cord."


I think we meet the requirement if we put the metal snap clasp on one side only and then tie the pot shut with no more than three loops of cord. I went to the butcher and got some butchers twine its cotton and untreated and it meets the 1/8" max cord size requirement. Any butcher at any supermarket will give you the twine for free.

I will post some pics of this later

[gpc]

I dont see why that wouldnt work. But Im curios to see what the final product looks like so a picture would be really appreciated. THANKS

[A9]

I'm gonna try and throw out a pot tomorrow if I can and see what comes up...
Would love to get a few nice trout and a couple crawdads for a lunchtime meal...

[Palmer]

In Lake Washington the craw fish have had soft shells this time of year so I snorkle for them later in the summer. However, I've stopped due to concerns over the pollution in the water. When they issued an advisory on eating fish out of Lake Washington I figured any bottom fish or shellfish must be affected. I used to get 10 lbs in an hour or 2. There are tons of clam shells in Lake Washington too but I've heard they're inedible and will make you sick. Many tributaries into Lake Washington have crawfish but I would stay away from old developments; for example, the old sewage treatment plant near Nathan Hale along Thorton Creek which is now a park.

Conconully Lake near Omak has crawfish under every rock.

[gpc]

Does anybody know if Quincy has crawdads?

[bigastrout]

Hey Palmer thanks for the tip on Conconully. I go up there every year. I will make sure to take the crawfish pots this year.

GPC here are the pics


Put snap clip on one side then tie closed with butchers twine


Tied closed with 3 loops of cord



What do you think? Does it meet the requirements?