Thread: Creek Trapping crawfish, minnows, sunfish

My best crawdad catches come from creeks with sandy bottoms.I set the traps just upstream of shallow sandy pools,my go to bait is a couple pieces of raw bacon tied inside the trap.Im not sure what size bluegill you are after,but the round 1” opening in a cylindrical trap is not ideal.
In my opinion,the clover leaf style traps are the way to go,providing your state allows them.Dog food is very good for attracting minnows,bacon for crawdads..IMHO.I personally do not fish with crawdads,I trap them for eating,after trial and error,bacon has put more crawdads im my belly than any other baits I’ve tried.....that is not an opinion,that is a fact....fish on!

Originally Posted by Yaker

My best crawdad catches come from creeks with sandy bottoms.I set the traps just upstream of shallow sandy pools,my go to bait is a couple pieces of raw bacon tied inside the trap.Im not sure what size bluegill you are after,but the round 1” opening in a cylindrical trap is not ideal.
In my opinion,the clover leaf style traps are the way to go,providing your state allows them.Dog food is very good for attracting minnows,bacon for crawdads..IMHO.I personally do not fish with crawdads,I trap them for eating,after trial and error,bacon has put more crawdads im my belly than any other baits I’ve tried.....that is not an opinion,that is a fact....fish on!

Thanks! I agree, I need to add another trap better suited for the bluegill. I'm after 3-4" ones to use for live flathead bait. I also want the crawfish for live bait as well, although I'm game for eating them if I can get enough at one time.

I have had my traps in a sandy bottom area so far but moved them just upstream of the rocks and a small shoal to try out. I'm about to go check them and see how they fared at this new location.

Regarding trapping regulations, I need to do some more digging on the laws. I believe this creek is considered private property vs public water since I would argue it is not a "navigable waterway" which is what I believe Alabama uses to define this. If it is private, there are no regulations, but if it is indeed public, I may have to release the bluegill and look into the type trap you mentioned.