Columbia crawdads

[Ifishforfood]

im going out to get a bucket of crawdaddies this thursday, but it would be nice if someone could tell me some traps i could make to catch'em. I went out on sunday and flipped rocks, but the outcome was pretty disapointing. I think one factor was that it was shallow water i was in, and they like the deep water near drop offs. i know this since one of my fishing spots is a deep and rocky area crawling with 'dads. any info would be great.


-nick

 

[halibuthitman]

Do not eat crawdads out of the columbia

 

[Thuggin4Life]

Do not eat crawdads out of the columbia

Not even if you were starving and homeless.

 

[fishtales]

Too funny. I was wondering about that. I have seen some monsters in the Willamette and wondered the same thing.

I picked up a few inexpensive bait traps a few years back and they seem to work pretty good for me. Cheddar is pretty much all I use as bait.

I'm pretty sure it is illegal to use live crawdads for bait but once they are dead you can use them all ya want some places.

 

[kirkster]

I believe the regs changed in the last couple years. You can use crawdads as bait. but the change was you can only use crawdads in the body of water in which they were caught. In other words if you caught them in the willamette thats the only body of water you can use them.

 

[waco]

Do not eat crawdads out of the columbia

why??? why not eat them???

 

[kirkster]

I think its because of the mercury levels but im not 100% sure. It does have info in the reg book about it.

 

[Raincatcher]

Ewwww,why would you want to eat them? In fact,is there anything to actually eat? Not putting it down,just don't understand it.

 

[kirkster]

Ewwww,why would you want to eat them? In fact,is there anything to actually eat? Not putting it down,just don't understand it.

Actualy they are very tastey boiled in some pickling spice.

 

[brandon4455]

Actualy they are very tastey boiled in some pickling spice.

bingo. we use to sell them to my neighbor and he would do that. during the summer you could snorkel in the creek and fill a bucket up and he would give me 10$ xD

 

[Bass Ackwards]

Shoot, They taste like little lobster to me. I luv me some crawdad!!

 

[Phil_Bud]

Red lobster? idk just a thought....MERCURY FREE!
Endless shrimp right now...go for it.

 

[fisherwilly]

I love to eat crawdads also. Just go to BI-Mart and get a commercially made trap. I have made my own from rolling wire mesh and then making two cones, but they never turn out right. For $10 you can catch tons of crawdads and the commercial ones hold up longer than ones I have made.

Also page 18 in the fishing regs. I know that you "Fish for food" but becoming a mad hatter from too much mercury or getting a liver transplant from the other chemicals would not be fun. It looks like crawdads shouldn't be eaten out of the lower Columbia or lower Willamette. All resident species should not be eaten out of those zones. Seriously I would only eat migratory fish from those areas due to the PCBs, Dioxins, and Pesticides. Maybe the Clack or other rivers. I have had the most luck catching crawdads out of coastal streams than any other place I have tried in OR. I think the rotting salmon make them Huge.

Be Safe with your food,
Fisherwilly

 

[Ifishforfood]

great to see people replying to this thread! never new so many people felt this way over crawdads. thanks for all the tips and suggestions!

 

[BATTLE SKIFF]

Hey guys, i just wanted to make it known that the areas of coal creek slough,fisher island slough,and the backsides of all the islands from longview to cathlamet will be heavily concentrated with mine and my partner boats commercial crawfish longlines out to 15ft at low tide in those areas as of april 1st 2013. Im posting this to try to lessen the chances of you or anyone else snagging up and losing gear on our lines. If you do hang up on us,cut your line.Its not worth attemting to grab ahold of a commercial longline in river currents to try to save your tackle and wind up swamping your boat and possibly drowning.Think safety for yourself and others.

 

[Ifishforfood]

wow, i never knew commercial crawfishing was allowed in the columbia! thats crazy, crazy awesome that is! i was thinking a lot about doing that, very cool. hey skiff, where do you sell your 'daddys too? ive tried to find buyers in the area and had no such luck. PM me if you can spare any info. thanks.

 

[BATTLE SKIFF]

Hey guys,I launched BATTLE SKIFF today and ran sea trials around willow grove and the backside of walker island.I'm letting everyone know that as of april 1st I will be pounding the crap out of walker island slough.I will try to be cool and bouy my lower ends so the sturgeon fishermen can anchor just down stream of those strings of gear,and probably have great results due to my bait drift.The first time there is any monkey buisness,I will just say that I am an old school coastal crabber of 25yrs that is no stranger to defending my gear. On that note BATTLE SKIFF is a custom commercial duty skiff that does an agressive 31mph and packs enough fuel to run wide open for 36hrs.I'm not the one anyone wants after them on the water.

 

[Ifishforfood]

sounds good skiffy.