crayfish (non Yak)

Let's go!

I have been gone due to a broken foot, but I could do this! Mmmm..

Rick

Been doing this for 30 yrs. since 14 years old.  2 weeks before and after labor day.  or as soon as they start draining the water from the paddies.  It was actually a small catch.  On a good day, 2 garbage full is the norm.  No bait used.  just pick them up from top of the mud.  FOR SOME NCKA STICKERS I COULD GIVE THE SECRET LOCATION(S) ...SHOULD BE GOOD FOR ANOTHER 3 WEEKS.

PM me your address and I'll send you a couple w/out divulging your secret spot. Frank

NO, NO please divulge so we can devour.

 While some may have their special spots , crawdads are thick in all ricefields in the valley . As they drain the fields you will find them in the deeper areas , at the boxes between the checks are prime spots ! Get a long handled , smaller mesh net and you won't even have to get your feet wet .

Cooking suggestion if you get a truckload ; get a big bucket and fill part way with ice/water and break off the tails throwing them into the ice water , use gloves for the obvious reason ! This way you can cook most or all off them at one time , tails take up much less room in the pot than whole ones.

Also for some late season dading after the rice harvest , I've done this around pheasant season . Not sure if the harvesters hit the boxes between checks , but quite often they have been dislodged somewhat . Underneath them is thick plastic sheeting , pull that up and you will see a site like the back of that pickup bed . Last time I did that I just set my 60 qt. cooler on its side and scooped until it was full .

Just out of curiosity anyone here know if the use any kind of pesticides on rice ? Thought about that once or twice , but has not slowed me down much on eating those bugs !

thought about once or twice about pesticide myself...mmmm....

...break off the tails throwing them into the ice water , use gloves for the obvious reason ! This way you can cook most or all off them at one time , tails take up much less room in the pot than whole ones.

You gotta boil 'em whole or you can't suck the heads or enjoy the claws...yeah, the claws are more work for less meat than the tails but they're worth it when you start slowing down from too many tails.  And the fat in the heads soaks up lots of seasoning so they're packed with flavor!
 
Folks I know soak the entire live 'dad in water before cooking to help clean out the poop-track in the tails.
 
Gotta have some Zatarain's crab boil seasoning to do those right...and some small potatoes and half-ears of corn (both of those absorb excess seasoning as well so they're danged tasty).
 
Official recipe at:  http://www.zatarains.com/recipedetail.cfm?id=10426
 

Of course, if you use Rex Crab Boil instead, you won't have to put all the extra junk in with the bugs to absorb the skunky flavors. It's harder to find than it used to be, but it's still the best of the ready-made crab and shrimp boils. Some of my earliest happy memories were as a child in New Orleans sitting on the side porch steps with a big paper bag full of fresh boiled crawdads. Boiled in Rex, naturally.

Sucking the heads seem akin to eating crab butter , looks like entrails to me and I don't eat them . Yeah , I don't know what I'm missing out on , but I think I'll keep it that way ! I will pull the claws off any real big ones though !

On the pesticide thing, rice does use a moderate amount of herbicides, fungicides and pesticides.  Since HighTide has been doing this for 30 years and only glows periodically I think its OK.

Sort of thought so on the pesticides , lately I've only caught the brown variety that are in higher elevation lakes/streams . I got enough issues that age brings , I don't need to glow also !

Problem is you don't catch them by the bucket fulls in the Mts. , but enough  for a snack or to top a salad is always good .

I figure since I only go once a year for the truckload I cut back on the glow factor.  Just get enough to feed the neighborhood thereby we save electricity by using internal glow energy.     Frank said he's mailing me some coveted stickers so he should be lighting up soon.

 
nice one, Allan!
that makes a good block party!

 The Glow is what I have been after all my life! Bring it on- Bay
Fish or Delta Crays and I even got the Agent Orange thing from serving in south east asia. Hell crop dusters use to fly over the house spraying the field right next to us and look what it's done for me a ranting NCKA'er. Thanks for the info hightide

P.S. Oh yeah, Showed the better half the picture of your bed loaded with crays and she will be joining me Mon. to fill the GLOW.

Good Luck!

WOW...some look chartruse!?  WTH?!
thanks for the report.....I may have to get some of those for SMALLMOUTH bait up at BAMIV!
PULLINGupPLASTIC&seeingTHEgroundCRAWLisCREEPY, but kool!