# Annual Craw Hunt



## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Got out for our annual trip last night. Just me and the wife this time so we kept our 50 each. Took us about 2 hours. Caught 2 small green sunfish on flies right at dusk and used those for bait on a couple of my longer ice rods. Only walked about 20 yards up and down the bank at a favorite upground reservoir of mine. A lot of work for a little bite, but dang good stuff!


----------



## fshnfreak (Feb 24, 2007)

Attica do you purge them before you boil em up?


----------



## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

fshnfreak said:


> Attica do you purge them before you boil em up?


That's what he was doing putting them in clean water...


----------



## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

Well I can honestly say I’ve never had them but would like to try them. I wouldn’t even know how to begin to eat them. Do you eat just the tail?


----------



## DeathFromAbove (Oct 21, 2008)

Looks Fantastic. Those are better than lobster IMO


----------



## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> Well I can honestly say I’ve never had them but would like to try them. I wouldn’t even know how to begin to eat them. Do you eat just the tail?


I was introduced to cooked crayfish while in France forty five years ago. They were the very small young craws that were boiled and served prior to the main meal which were to provide some "roughage" and improve digestion. You ate the whole small craw which was fairly good tasting.
When I returned home I introduced this to my family members. Some would eat the small craws and some would not. I then decided to try the tails of the large craws that we normally released. Boiled the whole craw, broke off the tail and cleaned off the shell and it was FANTASTIC! Everyone in the family participated in the grthing og the craws, including the wife! Greats times back then.
We had a special spring fed stream in Carrollton, Ohio where we camped each month and the stream had a never ending supply of craws. As the children grew up and out camping trips ended the crawfish boils ended. 
I have not had boiled crawfish since the and new gave it much thought until i read this post. One problem I think about is where can I find a nice clean stream.


----------



## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

fshnfreak - When we bring them home, we put them in a large cooler with fresh cold water and a couple bubblers running. By morning, the water is so dirty that you can only see in about 3" or 4". Drain the water and spray them off with the hose. Sometimes i will drain and refill the water a couple times but these ones looked pretty clean so only changed the water once. Last year we changed the water 3 times because there was a ton of moss growing in the reservoir and the craws were covered with the stuff too.

STRONGPERSUADER - Only the tails on the smaller ones but some of the bigger ones have a piece of meat in the claws big enough to dig out. Cracking the shells takes a couple times to get a system. Pull the tail... suck the juice from the head (optional)... pull off the first section of tail shell with the bigger swimmerettes... crack the tail lengthwise... pull out the meat. My wife always de-veins hers once she gets the meat out but you don't really have to.

When they are fresh boiled, they are just as good (if not better) as any fresh ocean crab or lobster i've ever had. Granted, it is only a bite the size of a tablespoon or so, but it is delicious. We usually freeze the majority after it is cooked and the meat isn't quite as tender as it is fresh, but still every bit worth the work.

Shortdrift - I can't imagine eating the whole thing even if they were smaller. Haha, always interesting to hear what gets eaten in other places. My daughter likes them... but refuses to pull the head off.  You should watch at your local grocery store, sometime the meat counter at the Kroger store here has pre-cooked ones. I'm sure they have been frozen, but they are not too bad.


----------



## Bucket Mouth (Aug 13, 2007)

Do you use a small ice jig and a piece of cut fish? I'm guessing they grab on with their claws?


----------



## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Yep, cut fish on a jig hook. I don't use ice jigs because their hooks are just too small to be able to hook a piece of the fish skin. I tie my own flies and jigs and have a couple 1/16 heads tied with a chunk of yarn & wool. I think the yarn gives them something else to hold on to with the rest of their smaller legs. We pretty much spotlight them with headlamps and then dangle the cut fish in front till they grab hold. We each carry a small minnow bucket that we swing them up in to and then shake till they let go.


----------



## HamiltonKdog (Oct 15, 2014)

When I was in the South, I learned a lot about about crawfish boils and almost universally, folks use Zatarain's Crawfish, Shrimp and Crab Boil. It comes in both powdered and liquid forms and most folks use both.

As russ said flushing them out is necessary. Ive done many boils since leaving the South, but kinda miss being able to buy a 40# bag of craws and get to work.

Always used a wading pool for flushing them only a couple inches of water or they will drown.
After water is clear, spread them out and remove any dead ones. Can ruin a boil in a hurry.

The recipe I learned was fill a big pot with water, bring to a boil, add seasonings and mix in, add potatoes, then corn then smoked sausage, after about 5 minutes, dump in the crawfish. once water returns to a boil, kill the heat, let them steep in the hot bath for about 20 minutes. 
Dump out on a newspaper covered pick nick table and chow down. Goes well with beer, sweeet tea and lemonade.

Note: I seine my crawdads, only keep 3" or longer, trying to get 10# is a rough job. 10# is good for 6 to 8 people until they start liking them. but the potatoes, corn and sausage are always welcome.

This past memorial day, I wanted to do a real boil so bit the bullet and ordered 40#, for a family reunion. It was a hit, but I would not tell anyone it was almost $6 a pound including delivery.
I ordered the select size which is 12 - 14 per pound. Just glad none went to waste.

Local crawfish are good, but I can only get enough for appetizers, trying to catch a hundred is a chore, 400 I cannot imagine. Catch yourself a couple dozen and give it a go. You might be surprised at how good they are!!!!!

Good post Russ


----------



## Carpman (May 18, 2005)

Do you have any success during the day? Or is it usually a night operation?


----------



## HamiltonKdog (Oct 15, 2014)

Late morning early afternoon. Flip a lot of rocks


----------



## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Carpman said:


> Do you have any success during the day? Or is it usually a night operation?


We've caught them during the day in creeks by flipping rocks, but the numbers are pretty low doing it that way. Just flipping rocks at the reservoir i don't think would work..... i'm guessing they would go deeper down into the riprap and you would never be able to get a hold of them. I'm guessing a craw trap would work during the day though. I have a couple homemade chicken wire traps that i have used (after dark) in the past but it is just too much fun to catch them one by one. If you could get the traps out with cut bait and let them sit for a while i bet you would be able to catch some.


----------



## BFG (Mar 29, 2006)

It's great fun to take the kids along. We used to do it in Van Wert while growing up and it didn't take long to get 1/2 of a 5 gallon bucket full of them.


----------



## TClark (Apr 20, 2007)

Awesome thread!!
Been wanting to try this for years!! Now i got knee issues, (oldtimers) but I'm a gonna give er a shot soon!


----------

