Catching bait?

Football Hunter

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Oct 22, 2007
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Wilson Co/Perry Co
Couple of friends caught some nice small mouth the other day at Center Hill on craw dads.They actually got bored and got out of the boat on the bank to stretch their legs and lucked into catching a few craw dads ,hooked em up,and it was on.
0807100844.jpg
I remebered I had 2 fish traps like these,put in a hot dog,some dog food,bread,crackers,went back to check this morning,NOTHING!I figured it would be like deadliest catch! :)I know there are craw dads in the creek.

Im thinking a dead fish for bait maybe?I hope this works,chasing them around the creek is hard on my knee right now.Any othr thoughts?
 

stik

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lenoir city,tn
i have never had any luck trapping crawdads. the only effective way i have found is turning over rocks with a dip net downstream.
 

trealtree

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Sep 29, 2004
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Middle Tennessee
You must use raw bacon, and it must be suspended inside the trap where they can not get to it through the cracks. Also I have never had much luck using a minnow trap for crawdads. the flat traps work better. Or a specialized crawfish trap.

I have this trap and it has worked for me.

http://terrybullard.com/
 

Football Hunter

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Wilson Co/Perry Co
trealtree said:
You must use raw bacon, and it must be suspended inside the trap where they can not get to it through the cracks. Also I have never had much luck using a minnow trap for crawdads. the flat traps work better. Or a specialized crawfish trap.

I have this trap and it has worked for me.

http://terrybullard.com/
Thought about bacon,thats some sacrifice right there :)
 

ShaneHallum

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Belk Tennessee
I ALWAYS get my trout net, and catch a small bluegill put it on the stringer. Lay the net in the edge of the water with the bluegill centered on the net. The crawfish will work up to the bluegill and start eating it. Once it's covered with them, raise the net up out of the water. You can get a bucket full in just a few short minutes.
 

AllOutdoors

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Nov 3, 2008
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Tennessee
I just bait my minnow trap with bread rolled tightly. once it fills with minnows they attract the crawfish I guess. usaually by the second day it will be full of crawfish and all the minnows will have been eaten.
 

Taylor

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Sep 10, 2007
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Brownsville, Tennessee
Folks here "rake" roadside ditches and mudholes for crawfish. Some of the mudbug rakes they make are pretty interesting. But that may just be a riverbottom thing...you may not have that option where you live. dunno.
 

B.D.

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Mar 24, 2008
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Hendersonville TN
I've always wanted to put out a bunch of crawdad traps on Old Hickory and go out in a jonboat to collect them in a storm and make a Youtube video called "Redneck Deadliest Catch." :)

bd
 

buckdead

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Nov 2, 2008
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southern middle tn
If you want to catch a lot of crawfish in just a few minutes get ya seine and kid that likes to kick rocks. youll have more crawdads in 5 minutes than youll know what to do with.
 

Crosshairy

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Aug 22, 2006
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Bartlett, TN
My dad and I used to seine small creeks with my uncle for trotline bait. You'd come up with about a 50/50 mix of creek minnows and crawdads if you had a creek with knee-deep water. Keep the water churned up by dragging your feet, and you'll catch quite a few. Keep a bucket nearby with water in it to dump your catch.

It's a LOT of fun to bring a youngster along, because of all the excitement over lifting the seine out of the water to see what you've caught.

I miss those times...and my uncle.
 

CATCHDAWG

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Apr 2, 2004
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Bradley co. TN
Never have a problem catching crawdads. I use the same traps as the one in the pic, baited with a hotdog.Location is critical, you have to put them near "crawdad country". I set mine beside submerged logs and undercut rocks.
 
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