Crawfish...Crayfish??

[T-Bone]

Anybody know where to buy then in Alberta?I would like to do a cajun style boil.Thanks in advance...T-Bone

[Alberta Bigbore]

Ive never seen them for sale.. Maybe check out Lucky 97 Asian market.

Or... the North Saskatchewan River has them...so does various other creeks and rivers in the area.

[greylynx]

Try the Asian places.

The NSR downstream from the sewer outlet has tons of them.

They go really well with mojjitos.

[KegRiver]

There is a lake my sister has been telling me about.
She says it is overrun with crayfish, and she brought home a couple to prove it.

Apparently they are a big problem and F&W want them gone. So no license, no limits, take all you can get.

A call to F&W in Edmonton ought to provide the details, if not let me know if you want to try catching your own and I'll get the lowdown from my sister.

[dale7637]

Carson Pegasus lake @ whitecourt is probably the lake she is talking about keg.
It was loaded with them the last time I was there. We had a gallon pail full in about 5 minutes.

[thunderheart]

mmmmm crawdads .....tasty little mini lobsters

[KegRiver]

Carson Pegasus lake @ whitecourt is probably the lake she is talking about keg.
It was loaded with them the last time I was there. We had a gallon pail full in about 5 minutes.

That sounds right. Thanks.


And I found this, written by; Dr. Joe Rasmussen, Professor, Biological Sciences and Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystems, University of Lethbridge

"And indeed, the Oldman River right now is being invaded by crayfish, which 20 years ago did not exist in Alberta anywhere except in the Beaver River in the north part of the province. And one of the reasons why it appears this is happening is possibly as a result of the dams. There’s less of a sediment pulse during the flood in the spring. And so the crayfish which don’t really seem to like the sediment too much are quite willing to shift upstream. We don’t know that this is the reason, but we speculate that this may be the cause. But at any rate, we do know that in 1980, the South Saskatchewan River system was completely free of crayfish. And crayfish didn’t much upstream of Saskatoon in the Saskatchewan River system. But now in that intervening period, they have reached all the way to here. Right now they seem to be at the weir and they haven’t managed to figured out how to get across the weir yet."

[greylynx]

That's what happens when you introduce foreign species from the fish tank.

There is one dugout near Grand Prairie that used to produce thousands, and that was 25 years ago.

Now we have coldwater carp in our fisheries system.

When are the snakeheads going to be introduced.

This is a federal goverment problem, and they have not done a darn thing.

Watch now how the dweebs on this forum call me a racist.

[Pioneer2]

Also in Magee Lake /southern most AKA[Chain Lake] NE of Lacombe...Harold

[omega50]

I used to buy them at Fins in Sherwood Park, but now it is a subsidiary of Sysco and so it might have changed.

Also read somewhere that someone found frozen crawfish meat at Ikea in Edmonton

[Pudelpointer]

That sounds right. Thanks.


And I found this, written by; Dr. Joe Rasmussen, Professor, Biological Sciences and Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystems, University of Lethbridge

"And indeed, the Oldman River right now is being invaded by crayfish, which 20 years ago did not exist in Alberta anywhere except in the Beaver River in the north part of the province. And one of the reasons why it appears this is happening is possibly as a result of the dams. There’s less of a sediment pulse during the flood in the spring. And so the crayfish which don’t really seem to like the sediment too much are quite willing to shift upstream. We don’t know that this is the reason, but we speculate that this may be the cause. But at any rate, we do know that in 1980, the South Saskatchewan River system was completely free of crayfish. And crayfish didn’t much upstream of Saskatoon in the Saskatchewan River system. But now in that intervening period, they have reached all the way to here. Right now they seem to be at the weir and they haven’t managed to figured out how to get across the weir yet."


Any idea when that was published Keg? Reason I ask is I found one in the StMary about 2/3 of the way to the dam from Lethbridge two years ago.

[avb3]

The Morinville pond has tons of them.

[uplander]

Lacombe park pond in St.Albert has tons really fun to catch on ultralight ice fishing rods.

[bessiedog]

Caught some with my kids in the OMR
About two mikes up from the weir.

I just wonder if they are up past ftMcleod.

[T-Bone]

Ikea sells food?? never knew this..Wow....

[avb3]

Lacombe park pond in St.Albert has tons really fun to catch on ultralight ice fishing rods.

What do you use for bait? Snell hook or??

[doetracks]

Can you trap them? I have a shrimp trap if someone's interested.. make me an offer :D

[greylynx]

minnow traps with fish for bait work well.

Dog food on a hook has little tikes screaming with fun.

An ordinary fish net with small enough mesh will catch them.

Crayfish is pretty popular in Sweden. It is grown commercially over there.

They are called Ditch Bugs down in the southern US and make up for some darn good Creole and Jambalaya when mixed with pork and deer sausage.

The best part is to cook them on shore like a lobster, shuck their tails, and dip in hot sauce

The late Johnny Bright showed me how to shuck their tails with a flick of your thumb. Shucking with the thumb takes a little talent that is easily developed.

There is nothing better than sitting on the tailgate of the black dually, shucking crayfish, and drinking Asian green appled pineapple mojjitos all with extra mint.

Shawn: where is my TV?

[KegRiver]

Any idea when that was published Keg? Reason I ask is I found one in the StMary about 2/3 of the way to the dam from Lethbridge two years ago.



May 3, 2005

[KWO]

You can get frozen tail meat from Billingsgate. Great for etouffee, but not for a boil.

[Neil Waugh]

Keep in mind the regs on crayfish. Which are complicated and a little confusing. I think it means no traps. Which raises the question: Why not? If SRD reckons they are invasive and wants to get rid of them.



"Crayfish are native to the Beaver River system. However, they appear to have been illegally introduced into many Alberta waters and may be adversely affecting aquatic ecosystems.
Some people have expressed a desire to consume crayfish. In all waters other than the Beaver River, people may catch crayfish for consumption. Legal capture methods include angling (sportfishing regulations apply) or catching them by hand. No licence is required to capture crayfish by hand. The retention and transport of live crayfish is illegal and all retained crayfish must be immediately killed to prevent the spread of this species. Please help prevent the spread of invasive species."

So I guess you can't keep them alive for a boil.

[deanmc]

Can you trap them? I have a shrimp trap if someone's interested.. make me an offer :D

Call and be sure. i did last year and it was fine in Carson but i was told not to leave the trap unattended. which kind of defeats the purpose of using a trap.

And as was stated kill them immediately. They are not kidding and take that very seriously. Probably because they have been introduced into our waters illegally in so many lakes.

[NSRfishing]

the beaver river :sHa_shakeshout: http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk65/paparenis/old-english-800.jpg

[Lone_Wolf]

When I was a kid and would go swimming in the Beaver River there were lots of crayfish. I was always afraid they would attack me LOL. I have not gone swimming in the river for probably 10 years or more so I cannot say if they are still abundant in the area.

[Big Daddy Badger]

We used to jig em.
A stick a string and a piece of stewing meat...they grab on with a pincer and we'd haul em out before they let go.

You could get a couple hundred in an hour on a good day.

Used to jig crabs the same way.

[fed]

Any idea when that was published Keg? Reason I ask is I found one in the StMary about 2/3 of the way to the dam from Lethbridge two years ago.

See them at the forks all the time when there. Also have caught them in minnow traps in chin.

[couleefolk]

here in Manitoba, we have a problem with the rusty crayfish which are not native and apparently threaten our native crayfish. 2 years ago my dad's dugout on his yard became overrun with crayfish, and the crayfish dug up a lot of his yard, leaving mounds everywhere, especially around the light pole. we caught 40+ on his front yard in one afternoon. we used 15" needlenose pliers to pull some out of their holes, but some holes were to deep for that. when you walk along the edge of his dugout, you can see loads of them swimming deeper. not sure if you want to eat them though because we treat the pond to keep it clean.

[RobG10]

This is very Interesting. you will have to excuse me I'm still a new albertain so I don't know all these rivers and lakes your talking about. are they mostly in the south end off the province? someone said there are some around the Edmonton area? would there be any more north then that?

[pickrel pat]

This is very Interesting. you will have to excuse me I'm still a new albertain so I don't know all these rivers and lakes your talking about. are they mostly in the south end off the province? someone said there are some around the Edmonton area? would there be any more north then that?

i see your from ft. mac, yes, the only natural occuring population((historically) is the beaver river. thats just south of you in the cold lake-laclabiche area...

[vinny]

There are lots in Henderson Lake in Lethbridge and Loon Lake in BC.

[thumper]

If you're eating them, make sure they come from clean water. Like clams and mussels, crawfish tend to collect toxins in higher concentrations than fish from the same water- mainly from farm run-off or municipal outflows. As a kid a friend and I ended up in hospital from eating crawfish from a polluted creek (or it may have been the rusty tin-can we boiled them up in!)

[RobG10]

i see your from ft. mac, yes, the only natural occuring population((historically) is the beaver river. thats just south of you in the cold lake-laclabiche area...

Ok cool thanks! maybe I should have cracked the map before posting :P

[Toirtis]

So I guess you can't keep them alive for a boil.

Correct...do not even consider moving them away from where caught.

Nose Creek in Calgary is pretty choked with them, too.

[Jebus]

When I lived in kelowna we'd catch them all over the place. We would cook them in beer cans half full with dab of butter thrown in on the fire, darn tasty!

[Lornce]

When I lived in kelowna we'd catch them all over the place. We would cook them in beer cans half full with dab of butter thrown in on the fire, darn tasty!
yep grew up there to and we kids had many the feast.

[rwm1273]

This is making me hungry. When is the best time to try to catch them? Is there a best time of year when they are largest?