Catctching Mud Bugs in a trap....What bait?

[thudpucker]

I see a guy on YouTube trying to catch mud bugs with a Dead Fish.
Maybe? Didn't work for him though.
I thought Mud Bugs were Vegetarians?
Bait should be Grass roots or something like that eh?
What do you guys use?
Cause I'll be Cat Fishing pretty soon....as soon as the Glaciers retreat back to Canada and Alaska.

 

[Paul Marx]

Bacon on a string . You're trying to catch Crayfish .

 

[thudpucker]

Bacon on a string? One Mud Bug at a time? :mrgreen:

Keep asking for me. There has to be some more efficient way?

 

[Loggerhead Mike]

Any kind of meat in a trap works up here

 

[zacksimpson]

I've used the cans of wet cat food in a trap before with pretty good luck.

 

[Fishigan]

Pretty much any kind of meat will get them. I have also heard of guys using fish carcasses, cat/dog food, and some guys even make up their own secret recipes.

This is a good site for some basic info: https://www.trapperarne.com/faq

 

[Captain Ahab]

I use old fish racks or some squashed sunfish

Key to catching them in a standard type trap is to make sure the entrance is at ground level (or close to it)


I do better tossing some fish parts along the shore and then just walking back and forth with a dip net - usually fill a bucket that way in a short time


Once they get the scent I will get three or four at a scoop off each bait pile

The lobster size ones keep dragging my bait to deeper water if I do not move fast enough !

 

[Lowe 2070 CC]

Gizzard Shad, Pogy's, Skipjack all work great. In warmer water commercial pellet baits last longer but they are more expensive. Then again we're catching crawfish to eat, not for bait!

 

[hoohoorjoo]

Bacon rolled up and tied with a string has always worked for me, too. Just drag it out ever so slowly every few minutes and dip-net the craws off of it. Once they start eating, they rarely let go of it.

 

[Paul Marx]

Hint # 2 crawfish come out at night.

 

[ccm]

Bacon! Bacon! Bacon! Buy the cheap fatty stuff; from my experience this has been the best bait by far. Worst case scenario if you don't catch any mud bugs, you still have bacon! :LOL2: A quicker way to catch them is to find a muddy creek ditch or slough either use a fine mesh dip net or get a buddy to help drag a minnow seine. My best method is to use a throw net. Throw the net out and retrieve with short jerks causing the crawfish to move to the upper portion of the net where they will be less likley to escape when you draw the net closed. Best of luck to you!

 

[Colbyt]

We always seined for them. Never thought about trying to trap them.