WaterfowlForum.Net

I've never eaten one and I better get busy. Heard they're better than shrimp. I have been to Arkansas too many times to NOT have eaten any crawdads. Someone steer me to the right place.
I hunt around Blytheville, Jonesboro, and Pocahontas. I get down by Stuttgart for a week or so each season if I can.

Eating mud bugs is on my bucket list. Not much of a list but what can I say?

They are everywhere, build a trap and throw it in a lake near you

jehler wrote:They are everywhere, build a trap and throw it in a lake near you

This^^^

They are big business around here. People lease farmers fields for crawfish rights. Market value moves between $8 and $12 a pound. I've see the market fisherman fight steal each others traps and even shoot at each other over crawfish.

It's big business for the Russians and Vietnamese.

Betty, there's several places you can order online and have them shipped live. And I'd be willing to bet there's places locally that have them as well.

Betty your missing out, take some chicken wire and make a pillow trap with throats on the corners and bait with the cheapest peice of meat with a bone it. Expired chicken wings are usually free and work great, just ask a local meat market or grocery store. Bootlip seriously $8-12/lb? WTF that is crazy. I bitch about $3/lb here, and refuse to buy them at that price. I catch my own from the swamps around here, nothing to fill up atleast 1 120qt ice chest in a day of big ones.

rebelp74 wrote:Betty your missing out, take some chicken wire and make a pillow trap with throats on the corners and bait with the cheapest peice of meat with a bone it. Expired chicken wings are usually free and work great, just ask a local meat market or grocery store. Bootlip seriously $8-12/lb? WTF that is crazy. I bitch about $3/lb here, and refuse to buy them at that price. I catch my own from the swamps around here, nothing to fill up atleast 1 120qt ice chest in a day of big ones.

I have one trap that I put in the ditches around here. Caught 3 big ones about 6" one day and thought I was doing good.

rebelp74 wrote:Betty your missing out, take some chicken wire and make a pillow trap with throats on the corners and bait with the cheapest peice of meat with a bone it. Expired chicken wings are usually free and work great, just ask a local meat market or grocery store. Bootlip seriously $8-12/lb? WTF that is crazy. I bitch about $3/lb here, and refuse to buy them at that price. I catch my own from the swamps around here, nothing to fill up atleast 1 120qt ice chest in a day of big ones.

That's what they get at the Bay Area markets. I would never pay for them. We catch them out of the river if we want some to eat for free.

The lakes around here are shad lakes. I have to travel about 100 miles south to get to where they have crawdads.
There are some teeny tiny ones in drainage ditches I've caught but they ain't big enuff for messing with.

Most of my friends from the south don't understand how the agriculture is backwards up here from there. (in general)
It's all about drainage here. Standing water kills corn and beans with a quickness. I guess y'all know that but can't imagine a whole county or state of nothing but corn and beans. Think about it.

NO lakes to speak of except man-made. 40 years ago if you said Lake and Illinois in the same sentence it meant you were talking about Lake Michigan. There were no lakes to speak of back then. Army Corps of Engineers built almost every lake in Illinois in the 60's and 70's.
Crawdads are not on the menu here. Hard to imagine ain't it?

Order some live ones and stock the nearest manmade lake

flight control wrote:Order some live ones and stock the nearest manmade lake

Make sure they are from here. The ones here are from portugal or france in our suprmarkets. So stupid.

I will admit, driving north to south through Western Illinois is worse than east to west through Nebraska, absolutely nothing but asshole drivers and corn fields

I can't imagine living your live and never eatting crawdads. I thought they were in every state. Hell, they have them in Canada.

QH's Paw wrote:I can't imagine living your live and never eatting crawdads. I thought they were in every state. Hell, they have them in Canada.

I've only ever found one, while smallmouth fishing. I named her pinchy and kept her in my fish tank until she moulted and the fish ate her.

But what we lack in crawfish, we make up for in lobsters.

QH's Paw wrote:I can't imagine living your live and never eatting crawdads. I thought they were in every state. Hell, they have them in Canada.

I've never eaten a crawdad. There I said it.

I'll take it one further- I don't like them.

assateague wrote:I'll take it one further- I don't like them.

Did you do it like a coonass and suck the juice out of the head?

About twice. Until I decided it was one of the dumber "traditions" I'd run across.

It's not so much tradition, just a way to give the tail some more spices.

If you guys would steam them instead of boiling, there'd be more spice to eat.

3legged_lab wrote:

QH's Paw wrote:I can't imagine living your live and never eatting crawdads. I thought they were in every state. Hell, they have them in Canada.

I've never eaten a crawdad. There I said it.

You shall be shunned.

assateague wrote:If you guys would steam them instead of boiling, there'd be more spice to eat.

I have no problems making them spicy. Boiling is the only way to go, all about what you put in the water. Plus nobody wants a dry crawdad.

Here we steam crabs and shrimp. They're caked with old bay out of the steamer, and never dry.

assateague wrote:I'll take it one further- I don't like them.

this furthers the argument that they are
Delicious

Old bay sucks.

rebelp74 wrote:Old bay sucks.

blasphemy

jehler wrote:

rebelp74 wrote:Old bay sucks.

blasphemy

I'm from La, we don't eat that bland shit.

rebelp74 wrote:

jehler wrote:

rebelp74 wrote:Old bay sucks.

blasphemy

I'm from La, we don't eat that bland shit.

your an idiot

jehler wrote:

rebelp74 wrote:

jehler wrote:

rebelp74 wrote:Old bay sucks.

blasphemy

I'm from La, we don't eat that bland shit.

your an idiot

Negative, Old Bay is pretty much cajun seasoning.

QH's Paw wrote:

3legged_lab wrote:

QH's Paw wrote:I can't imagine living your live and never eatting crawdads. I thought they were in every state. Hell, they have them in Canada.

I've never eaten a crawdad. There I said it.

You shall be shunned.

Not that I wouldn't, just never had the opportunity.

assateague wrote:I'll take it one further- I don't like them.

But you like muskrat! Opinion denied.