Crawfish

[CF8889]

Been doing a bit of reading after hearing you can catch em out here in alberta. Was thinking of driving out to Nose Hill Creek and trying to catching some. I know I can't posess live crawfish, and I don't need a license to catch em with a net. But can't find an exact answer on traps. Anybody go after em? Tips or tricks? Ive eaten them down in Louisianna and loved it.

Thanks

[3blade]

You won't find an exact answer on traps. Basically they work great but f&w doesn't want to give anyone an incentive to do any more transplanting. However, if you happen to catch some in a properly licensed and labeled minnow trap, you are now in possession of crayfish and obligated to kill them immediately.

What I do is put a fingernail under the carapace and pull the head off, the guts come with. Then twist the center tail fin both ways and pull the gut out. Toss into a bucket with ice and repeat x a lot.

Boil with onion, lemon and old bay seasoning, shell, and dip in garlic butter. They are small but delicious. Like peanuts but made of meat.

[Isopod]

Hmm, I think you will find Alberta crayfish a sad comparison to Louisiana crawfish.

[goldscud]

Not sure Nose Hill creek is a place where you would want to eat anything. It is more like a drainage ditch

[fish99]

Been doing a bit of reading after hearing you can catch em out here in alberta. Was thinking of driving out to Nose Hill Creek and trying to catching some. I know I can't posess live crawfish, and I don't need a license to catch em with a net. But can't find an exact answer on traps. Anybody go after em? Tips or tricks? Ive eaten them down in Louisianna and loved it.

Thanks

take a 5 gal pail, drill 1/2 holes in bottom until it looks like cheese clothe . wade in flowing water, put pail in water just down stream of crayfish then poke them in the nose with a stick, they swim backwards into the pail and the water pressure keeps them in the pail. repeat until the bottom of the pail is close to plugging all the holes off. empty and repeat . used to do this on the Englishman river on Vancouver island , enjoy the feast

[winger7mm]

Hmm, I think you will find Alberta crayfish a sad comparison to Louisiana crawfish.

Why is that?? Water temps??

[TROLLER]

1: Size more than double the size of any you see around here

2: What they eat, most down south are raised so fed different diet which also leads to somewhat different taste.

3: Cannot get the proper Cajun spices around these parts in particular the large spice bag that goes in the pot with the bugs while cooking.

You can order up frozen craw dads from down south along with the spices but nothing is ever like getting them fresh at a Cajun crawfish boil.

[Isopod]

Similar to what TROLLER says, 88% of Lousiana crawfish are farm-raised so their diet can be somewhat controlled... you are what you eat, right? Compare that to wild Alberta crayfish that eat dead stuff and the slime that grows on the bottom of Alberta rivers, hmm, I know which source I'd choose...

Alberta crayfish are tiny compared to the big ones down south. Not really worth the bother preparing them for such a tiny amount of gamey-tasting meat.

But if you want to give it a shot, then go ahead, but please report back on this board about the experience and whether you would do it again or not.

[Looper]

Similar to what TROLLER says, 88% of Lousiana crawfish are farm-raised so their diet can be somewhat controlled... you are what you eat, right? Compare that to wild Alberta crayfish that eat dead stuff and the slime that grows on the bottom of Alberta rivers, hmm, I know which source I'd choose...

Alberta crayfish are tiny compared to the big ones down south. Not really worth the bother preparing them for such a tiny amount of gamey-tasting meat.

But if you want to give it a shot, then go ahead, but please report back on this board about the experience and whether you would do it again or not.

I question your logic on diet. Take chickens for example. Which tastes better? One fed a contolled diet or one that runs around eating bugs and dead stuff? It's the latter I asure you.

I know guys that dip net em and say they are great, though I havent tried myself. I do have a crayfish trap so I'm going to give it a go. Only thing is your supposed to put em in salt water to purge, so I would take that along with you. Purge em before you kill em or you'll be eating crayfish turd, which I hear is gritty.

Looper

[3blade]

I question your logic on diet. Take chickens for example. Which tastes better? One fed a contolled diet or one that runs around eating bugs and dead stuff? It's the latter I asure you.

I know guys that dip net em and say they are great, though I havent tried myself. I do have a crayfish trap so I'm going to give it a go. Only thing is your supposed to put em in salt water to purge, so I would take that along with you. Purge em before you kill em or you'll be eating crayfish turd, which I hear is gritty.

Looper

purging only works when they are alive. You have to kill them asap here. Thus the method I described of removing the guts.

[MrWestNotKanye]

In high school, we'd take football mesh jersey, the practice type that was all holes. Cut it into as big a piece as you can to build a net around an old fishing net. Find your spot in the creek, tie down a piece of chicken to the middle...come back in 1/2 an hour and you'll have a dozen or so chomping down.

[Looper]

purging only works when they are alive. You have to kill them asap here. Thus the method I described of removing the guts.


I would still purge em. Just make sure you kill before you leave the water body where you caught em.

Looper

[calgarychef]

Purging is probably preferable however....wild shrimp aren't purged we just remove the "vein" after cooking them. As far as farm raised crayfish over wild most of us have forgottennthentaste of wild shrimp over farmed ones...there's no comparison, same with farmed salmon. I wouldn't hesitate to eat them from clean waters.

[mapleleafman3]

I was at Bass Pro on the weekend and they had Crawfish traps. They were on an end self over by the reel section.

[the local angler]

the problem with BPS is they carry alot of stuff thats really not allowed here in alberta. for example gaffs, live minnow traps, crayfish traps, but the hard thing is its not exactly illegal that they are selling it cause they're not breaking the law with it per say but its the one who buys it an uses it for which it is intended. there is so much grey areas that i wish the regs would define better especially with the sudden drastic changes in the new regs.

[Looper]

the problem with BPS is they carry alot of stuff thats really not allowed here in alberta. for example gaffs, live minnow traps, crayfish traps, but the hard thing is its not exactly illegal that they are selling it cause they're not breaking the law with it per say but its the one who buys it an uses it for which it is intended. there is so much grey areas that i wish the regs would define better especially with the sudden drastic changes in the new regs.

Live minnow traps are legal are they not?

Would using a crayfish trap be considered angling?

Looper

[pinelakeperch]

Live minnow traps are legal are they not?

Would using a crayfish trap be considered angling?

Looper

I believe he's referring to live minnow buckets. If not, you are legally allowed to trap minnows with a minnow trap.

[Willowayin]

.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2778356/they-taste-like-lobster-calgarians-find-invasive-crayfish-flourishing-in-nose-creek/

I came across this story about crayfish in Nose Creek and me too was going to fill up my bucket, did research etc, these are all over the place and people are eating them, but I didn’t even get a chance to get my feet wet.
Then I came across link below, and said, nope, just can’t do it, :eek: not from Nose Creek anyways, which was very close to home and not far from that bridge….

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/eating-crayfish-calgary-1.3697115 :eek: :eek: :eek:

.

[the local angler]

ya i meant those yellow ones that you hang over the side of the boats i see on tv suppose to keep live minnow fresh and lively

[pinelakeperch]

ya i meant those yellow ones that you hang over the side of the boats i see on tv suppose to keep live minnow fresh and lively

They're only illegal if it contains live minnows :)

[the local angler]

but i can still keep my beers in it to stay cold right? :)

[burbotman]

Just got back from a feast...... I would not hesitate to boil up a batch from one of our southern reservoirs.

[Robmcleod82]

Ive caught some the size of my hand in Traverse. You can order the crawfish boil online. Was planning on buying a couple traps as well set em out and then have a boil on the beach. I have been told purging them twice is the ticket to happiness.

[mapleleafman3]

The BPS crawfish traps are the same as a minnow trap. One the website they are identical except the words minnow and crawfish.

Its too bad you can't transport them home. I wouldn't dare eat them without a purge or 2.

[lds]

Just spoke with f&w and you can not use nets or traps for crayfish

[mapleleafman3]

Just spoke with f&w and you can not use nets or traps for crayfish

Why can't they clearly state that in the regs? Oh right, government doc.

:bad_boys_20:

[WayneChristie]

Why can't they clearly state that in the regs? Oh right, government doc.

:bad_boys_20:

does clearly state that.
" Legal capture methods include angling (sportfishing regulations apply) or catching them by hand. No licence is required to capture crayfish by hand."

the southern biologists are thinking about changing this, maybe do a bunch of emailing and maybe you will be allowed to use nets and traps in a season or two

[Dale S]

does clearly state that.
" Legal capture methods include angling (sportfishing regulations apply) or catching them by hand. No licence is required to capture crayfish by hand."

the southern biologists are thinking about changing this, maybe do a bunch of emailing and maybe you will be allowed to use nets and traps in a season or two

He also said that they are classified as a fish. He said they need to change that.
Which brings up a point about setting bait out for crawfish(a fish) in minnow traps.
From the regs ; Set out or use bait to attract fish(crayfish) unless it is attached to a hook used in angling.

[the local angler]

there's way too much of these inconsistent loop holes in the regs, i think they need to really do a whole over haul of the regs.

[Looper]

does clearly state that.
" Legal capture methods include angling (sportfishing regulations apply) or catching them by hand. No licence is required to capture crayfish by hand."

the southern biologists are thinking about changing this, maybe do a bunch of emailing and maybe you will be allowed to use nets and traps in a season or two

So what does a guy do when a CO officer tells you something different then is stated in the guide?

Honestly, the way he explained it makes much more sense to me. I cant see a minnow trap being much use without bait.

We actually seine for minnows as its much more productive. Last time we caught a boatload of crayfish seining, but by the regs you wouldnt be able to keep those either.

You getting revved up for sturgeon fishing yet Wayne?

Looper

[the11fisherman]

For those of you that wish to send emails requesting for the rules on the methods of harvesting Crayfish changes, here is a site where you can find the appropriate emails:
http://aep.alberta.ca/about-us/contact-us/documents/ESRDContacts-FishWildlifeMgmtMap-Mar2015.pdf

Just click on your appropriate zone and find the email that you figure is the one that is most useful (aka possibly the head Biologist and other biologists).

[pikeman06]

Here we go again...it's an invasive species that's pretty well established in alberta and it's almost like they are protecting the stupid things...there are guys that have the knowledge and ambition to put them to good use and maybe even keep their numbers in check but no way. Let's regulate it to the point where no one can pursue the crustaceans and still be within the laws. What's next crawfish tags for 11 bux, 3 of which goes directly into fishery's and the rest goes into the government's jeans. They probably been stocking them themselves for ticket revenue.

[the11fisherman]

Here is the Reply I got back from Environment and Parks:

Sometimes, rules are in place in an effort to manage human behaviour. While Northern Crayfish are a species native to the Saskatchewan / Nelson river drainage and appear to be naturally extending their range upstream along the river system, it appears that human may also be moving them around. The motives for doing this are unclear, but may be related to a desire to establish more populations to create commercial harvest opportunities. The rules for capturing crayfish which prohibit the use of traps are designed to not promote unwanted relocations by only permitting legal capture methods which are relatively inefficient. Aside from prohibiting movement of live crayfish and only permitting inefficient capture techniques, there is no effort underway to control crayfish populations.

Thank you.

[pikeman06]

So they think albertans are planting these things to create a commercial fishery? But can't use them for bait or catch them in a trap and eat them and keep them under control somewhat. That's just ridiculous. What would be their method of control when they find out they are eating fish eggs or impacting native fish or river systems because they are invasive just like the Prussian carp and that's what invasive species do, they invade?