Crayfish

[Lucky77_]

Cought Lots of them, The largest was 9" nose to tail on the Pitt about 12 yrs ago. Fresh bait is KEY. I know it does not smell as well , but they prefer it to rotten. Also when you boil them add lots of salt or they will be bland, I mean LOTS, A half cup or so to a med pot. They live in fresh water and dont have the salt that crabs have. I generally dont keep anything under 3 inches . the tails have the most meat other than that the claws but they can be more work than it is worth. The claw meat is sweeter than the tail meat though if you can get a big enough one . the mushey stuff in the claws throw out its just mush with no flavor

[Livewire322]

I used to catch them at McIvor lake near Campbell river. I only ate a few though and found they tasted funny. But I used to put a piece of hotdog on a normal hook and gently pull them up to the surface. We used a trap once and got nearly 20 some were pretty big

[redthorn]

if you're flipping rocks, just move really slow and look for the small spot of white on the claws at the joint. most have that. then when you flip the rock, they will almost always head backwards, so just grab them. It's like hunting big game, if you're looking for the whole animal, it's hard, but pick an easy to see spot and you'll be good.

[proguide66]

Threads like this make HBC worth readin !

[huntinnewbie]

When we lived in Cloverdale, a long time ago, our neighbor had a small trout pond. One day his kids put a few crayfish in it.
Couple of years later there were so many that they were eroding the bank with their tunnels and making the water muddy for the trout.
So they drained the pond to try and eliminate the crayfish.
We filled one of the those kids turtle pools to the brim with crayfish.
I think the neighbors up and down the street were tired of seeing us coming with crayfish, trying to give them away.
We ate buckets of them.
Just boiled in salt water and dipped in butter. They were good but if your expecting lobster or crab they don't have that mush flavor. I think we should have added more salt as a previous poster stated.

[sarg]

i pretty excited about trying this out

[eastkoot]

I used to go to Mud Bay and catch what we called "bugs" for stealhead and salmon bait for the Fraser River runs. Are the the same thing?I used a pump I built out of a Pneumatic cylinder and when the tide was out we looked for the holes in the mud at low tide and actually sucked them from the mud. Never ate them but boiled them alive and they would turn a nice reddish pink and were great for stealhead.

[835]

Stamp river is loaded with them.
Mask, snorkle and a coleman stove on the beach. Thats the best way to get them. This is also why the wife doesnt swim in that river!

[steel_ram]

I used to go to Mud Bay and catch what we called "bugs" for stealhead and salmon bait for the Fraser River runs. Are the the same thing?I used a pump I built out of a Pneumatic cylinder and when the tide was out we looked for the holes in the mud at low tide and actually sucked them from the mud. Never ate them but boiled them alive and they would turn a nice reddish pink and were great for stealhead.

Those are ghost shrimp. Not sure if anyone eats them.

[SHAKER]

I hear they are in Skaha Lake in Penticton does anyone know where abouts and if there are any other lakes in the South Okanagan or the Similkameen?

Thanks

Yep most of them lakes that have Smallmouth bass have cray's. A favorite food of them buggers.