The Best Bait to Catch Crayfish! (Trapping Experiment!)

I figured out which of the three baits crayfish loved the most! I compared herring, mackerel, cat food, and cucumbers to see which one caught the most crayfish! The results were not what I was expecting...
Do you know of any good crayfish baits? Let me know if you have any good ideas!
Link to the traps I used in this video:
Gee's Minnow Trap: amzn.to/2yA8QzG
This video/description contains an affiliate link. If you purchase something with this link it doesn't cost you anything additional, but it provides me a small percentage of the sale. This helps support the channel and allows me to create more content like this video for you!

[@livefreefishmore1008]

There is an Amazon affiliate link to purchase the traps I used in this video in the description or right here: amzn.to/2yA8QzG Do you want to see more trapping videos? Shiners? Crayfish? Let me know down below! Thanks for watching!

[@samueljackson5279]

when's the crawfish boil?

[@xvrnxsxonyt4585]

Nice catch dude in total you got 312!

[@sortaforida718]

You think a can of tuna would work?

[@robertmartin265]

Nice video. Where do I get Herrin?

[@judemikolajczyk]

Deserved ree

[@yaninalanger1905]

My four yr old son loves the crayfish hiding in the cucumber! He loves to eat cucumbers himself. Thank you for making his day. He asks to see this video often. “The herring is loaded” loves repeating your words!! Thank you for keeping it family friendly.

[@TrackerScout]

Hint: cover cages with dark cloth, either top or all the way around. A pro crayfish catcher left cameras underwater, wondered why he didn't get much, saw them all around his traps but wouldn't go in because they felt unsafe from predators above. Got the idea to cover top of traps with dark cloth, then his catch tripled. The crayfish felt safe like they are going under rocks.

[@livefreefishmore1008]

I have heard of doing that with shiners with good success because they feel safe too. I'll have to give it a shot! Thanks for the tip!

[@TrackerScout]

@@livefreefishmore1008 Oh nice, makes sense too. It even reminds me that maybe it should be done with primitive traps too. In survival sometimes it can take a week before traps start producing. Now makes me wonder if full natural camo for traps is the way to go. Tie on vegetation, Leaves, etc. Thanks for your videos

[@redeyestones3738]

A five gallon bucket with a hole in the lid, and a conical filter grate works best in my experience. Put one slice of bacon, and a handful of dry dog kibble inside a tube sock, and tie a knot in the sock. Tie the sick to a rock or other weight so it sits at the bottom. Tie a cord to the handle of the bucket, and toss it in the water over night. I've tried 100s of methods dating back to around 1979. And the method I just described was always the most productive.

[@reedsutter8485]

100% agree. I run 3 traps that were all made the same, except I only had enough black mesh to wrap one of them. After 2 seasons of trapping, I was convinced to wrap the other two because the black wrapped trap outperformed the unwrapped traps nearly every time.

[@saltysailor141]

@@redeyestones3738good tip on the dry dog food…,ty!

[@oleksigoriachek7428]

Old/cheapest and one of the best ways to attract crawfish is small net bags with cut garlic. You will put couple of bags and they love it! You can reuse them as well! Great video BTW!

[@masteroogway3055]

Garlic work?

[@beebob1279]

I was routing for the herring. They are stinky. In my state 50 is the daily limit to keep. Also, your traps are what we used to use as minnow traps. A little bread and come back the next day and we had bait for the whole day. I still see this style trap around. I'll have to check our regulations in my state on catching crawfish. We aren't allowed to catch fresh water mussels or clams anymore. I've got some interesting places around me for catching crawfish next spring. I'll stock our pond with them for the bass. Thanks for the video. Very informative.

[@beebob1279]

@Taylor Furr I did check into my states regs. on crawfish. We can't catch and move them to other waterways due to the rusty crawfish. But if I catch one in the waters I'm fishing I can use them. If I choose to harvest them for eating, I have to dispatch them immediately where I'm harvesting.

[@MountainStateAngler]

Catfish food nuff said! Either Fancy Feast or Frisky's. Fancy Feast with gravy got me 1,000 in 1 hour. :) Nice video and those oily fish definitely smell from miles away. Great choices.

[@cleonRIP]

He found a crayfish literally chilling like a cucumber 🤣

[@emilbang-berthelsen472]

Jordan Utl

[@lowkey903]

Its "cool as a cucumber" you had one job and you f***ed it up talkin bout "chilling like a cucumber"

[@reptilekeepers.7848]

I'm pretty sure that crawdad in the cucumber was a blue crawdad that it hasn't won in a million chance of existing so the cucumber trap worked

[@georgewashington5746]

@@reptilekeepers.7848 no it needs to be bright blue

[@stevenwalker9013]

He backed in there to be protected and to fight of the rest

[@wandawstone3447]

Great job kiddo thanks sharing it a great video I do a lot of commercial fishing myself. The earlier the fish the more the Crawfish like the bait. The earlier any kind of food you put in there get a tracks dim a lot quicker God bless you son and keep the good videos coming

[@elirocha8548]

Caught 3 crawfish my first use.1 Can of catfood caught 3 healthy crawfish. Very sturdy trap. Quickly becoming my favorite trap.

[@carfvallrightsreservedwith6649]

Creek chub works good too. It's oily like mackeral and herring.

[@alistairclark6814]

I absolutely love the experemental aspect of crawhunting on your channel! It's incredibly informative! You have a new subscriber. 😁

[@chodemckenzie4179]

Fresh caught bluegill is the best bait I have used. Catch a blue hill, slit its throat and put it in the trap. Leave for about 30 hours and your trap will be so full its hard to pull out.

[@elijahjohnson5872]

“Slit it’s throat” 😂

[@caseycool101]

@@elijahjohnson5872 😂😂😂

[@kingdeweybeatz6127]

Facts I actually flay the bluegill and put it in

[@tjs323626]

The spleen from cattle is good. It is also known as melt. Almost any kind of fish also works well.

[@shawnbaraw2637]

Thanks for teaching me in a old school country boy way I appreciate it keep up the good work man

[@rustyshackleford3278]

Hello from Vermont - thank you for the helpful info! I got one for you: Bananas. Sounds crazy but there is a Crawfishing organization in England that did an experiment and their traps were loaded. Who knew?

[@heatherreadsreddit8579]

Did they open the bananas, or keep them whole?

[@rustyshackleford3278]

@@heatherreadsreddit8579 They were kept whole and secured with a small piece of twine. I have also seen videos from Louisiana where they toss in half a corn cob. Good luck!

[@sharonwelbourne3403]

Thanks for this! I’m trying sausage slices and haven’t caught one. Surprised about the cucumber’s success! 😀

[@livefreefishmore1008]

I was too!

[@dickfitswell3437]

Bro Crawdads don't like Sausage with cheese and jalapeno. They like normal sausage, maybe grilled. Lol jk. We use few strips of fatty bacon, raw.

[@jimmytwinsburg4734]

Very good presentation comparing the different baits. I'm going to try trapping in my cr hopefully I'll be able to find some herring ! Keep up the good work!

[@kenneth9874]

Shad work really well

[@fox8340]

I really appreciate this video. I’m going to try to do trap them tomorrow for the first time. North Carolina

[@livefreefishmore1008]

Hope you get them!

[@jessbubb6339]

so my three year old daughter was like "Dad... that guy don't got a clue! use cat food for catfish and crayons for crayfish duh!"

[@malcaniscsm5184]

We can't fight logic that strong

[@The_Emptiness_of_Space]

Crayons will kill the crayfish

[@stephanieakittayviveiros6935]

"theres always a fishing line in these fish, makes no sense to me" -throws fish with line back in water Lol

[@emilbang-berthelsen472]

Steph Akittay true

[@whiteking4895]

theres so much of it now a days i dont even pick it up anymore, i used too.... but now a days i dont wanna be carrying a shit ton of garabage and fishing line when i go out in the boons

[@dickfitswell3437]

@@whiteking4895 its not fishing line. Its basically a equivalent to our spinal cord but its the fishes spinal cord

[@Brickcityluv]

Hey follow me and I'll follow y'all! Much fishing luck to all my friends from Boston!🤙🤙🎣

[@PopPopJoe]

Did you enlarge the openings on the minnow traps so the crawdads can enter trap ?

[@GurrasGarage]

Makrell is delicious food, I wouldn't waste them as bait :) I use anything from boiled potatoes to any whitefish in my pond when i trap crayfish.

[@deppy_logs]

*I T ' S* *N O T* *W A S T I N G* *W H E N* *Y O U R* *C A T C H I N G*

[@Treasuremonk]

I like the waterproof bag!

[@icebergo6]

I don't know if anyone else said already but using cucumber as bait might be good for pre cleaning them because if they're eating that it might speed up digestion and make it faster to clean and purge them

[@redeyestones3738]

Or just use a better attractant, then dunk em in milk for a few minutes before cooking em. They are extremely allergic to milk, and will completely void their bowels, leaving the insides clean of all poop.

[@Tony53177]

I've had good success using catfish and carp flesh as bait. I suspended the fish though because a lot of them were just eating it through the holes.

[@Tony53177]

Great haul! Honestly, I'm more impressed that your traps weren't stolen. I just had two traps stolen a couple weeks ago. Pissed! 😤

[@livefreefishmore1008]

me too!!

[@Tony53177]

@@livefreefishmore1008 never mess with another's craws! 😄

[@slingshoter8783]

Gators like traps full about that size i bet lol

[@texastony74]

I've been fishing crawfish in Louisiana for 25 years. cut fish is our #1 bait.

[@AnnaDavis-zr9bx]

Where do you buy those traps or do you know of any diys, and WOW Herring huh I usually use chicken liver and or chicken gizzaerd.

[@markpinther9296]

I wonder if stuffing cat food into a nylon stocking with the end tied off would work?

[@ClintonRoen]

The only spot I'm trying right now is a river... I'll get 6 at most... Are lakes better?

[@AkshaySKumar-cn8iw]

In my opinion hard dog food and canned tuna work the best, also bluegill cut into pieces are a cheap alternative you can catch tons of bluegill with a cast net after chumming the water with dog food pellets

[@petebradt]

The guts left over from cleaning a trout are GREAT bait.

[@anthonycamouse9127]

How come you arent getting as many small fish? I would think some minnows or more baby bluegills would be present. Are the holes just too big and they swim out as soon as you pull the trap?

[@JETTIEROCKSFISHINGwithMIKED]

Great video man

[@livefreefishmore1008]

Thanks Mike!

[@wellthomychannel]

Good trapping expriment bro..

[@morganemmel1224]

I have questions! 1. How long can the crayfish sit in the bucket without water/oxygen? 2. how do you transport them from the shoreline to your cooler?

[@xanderphipps181]

he uses his legs to walk while he uses his hand to hold the bucket

[@grungeboy1752]

My dude, crayfish are awesome bass n catfish bait and there good eating jambalaya styled, I caught some big channel catfish on crays and peaple always told me to put canned catfood in the minnow traps Wich works fairly but dam dude from what I saw in this video they love mackerel and herring, I'ma try it soon when the weather warms up man 🤘🏻🎣

[@angelheart4498]

Chicken livers left out in the hot sun for 1-2hrs also works really well.

[@dtwjohn6378]

do you think combining bait like if i throw in some hotdogs with catfood would improve the numbers or should i still only use catfood for best results

[@fallows4life]

Caling makrile nasty is a chrime where i am from they are commonly eating, one of the best eating fish.

[@FeddyTheHusky]

Nice video! Definitely inspired to make a crawfish video.

[@bruce-z9p]

When I was a kid I used bacon. Man, it worked great

[@lsj1]

I used the rind from slab bacon. It was very effective.

[@afreakingcat]

10:21 "Hungry little critters" sounds like fishing Jack Black

[@200sinko]

thanks for this test. now i know what i have to do

[@vartanmouradikian6045]

Thank you for the herring idea! Do you know what is the best bait for a minnow trap? Good luck!

[@keystonedcannabisreview4851]

Bread, dogfood, leftover carp dough balls.

[@mattkent655]

Also where abouts regionally are you? Southern US? Midwest? Canada?

[@hunterstinson7224]

Where do you get your herring and mackerel?

[@thatmustardhurt7341]

Thanks that is very helpful I found Macrel worked best for me

[@peacely191]

I honestly thought the cucumber trap was gonna win 🤣

[@davidpickens6916]

I’ll have to try herrings.

[@andrewdejulio]

Thank you! Gonna use your advice.

[@tashawithrow9263]

Do you have a video on how to keep crayfish alive. I need some for my puffer fish and need to keep them alive. Especially for winter months here

[@frankiepoprocks]

Could the fishing line be in the fish's stomach and once they get eaten it's exposed

[@soloshooter2235]

Great work 🎉

[@Horizon344]

Good film, thx, but Mackerel are delicious when smoked & grilled.

[@mikey6071]

How did they taste?

[@briantalbot1452]

Use a cricket tube, with rye bread in it works awesome

[@dianewillson3261]

Fun experiment

[@petetrout2442]

Realy liked the video! Just one thing dont throw the fishing line back in the water, take with you.

[@cowyscow7303]

What do u do with those crayfish?

[@OngoGablogian185]

What sort of nutcase describes mackerel as 'nasty' and uses it as bait? haha. It's wildly popular and tastes great barbequed.

[@experimentalsurvival7142]

Amazing video! Will be using this knowledge very soon :D

[@charleskuntz1393]

I use canned dog food. Beef and Liver flavor. Fills my traps with mudbugs better than any other bait I have tried so far.

[@justinabar3969]

That's gotta be a nice fishing spot!

[@228TY]

Watermelon rinds with a little red on the is a good bait for craws and crabs

[@Soundofwindonsand]

Great experiment, I bet the fresh fish oil was overwhelming the cat food, if you go back with only catfood I sure your results will be better

[@1william89]

Going to try a cocktail mix of raw bacon and sardines see what happens!

[@tightlineswithtony4443]

At what depth do you usually set your traps? Great video btw!

[@jeffreytaylor4464]

I am curious did you use the crawdads for bait or eat them? Maybe you let them back into the water.

[@livefreefishmore1008]

I think I ate these ones

[@benj597]

wicked video mate

[@slavatko]

Thanks man, like from me, what time is the best to set the trap and how soon after that you pick up the catch?

[@livefreefishmore1008]

I'd say you can set it anytime, but you want it in the water at night. That's when they're most active. I usaully pick it up the next morning. Thanks for watching!

[@tylercarlson1634]

I live in middle Tennessee and I’ve seen crayfish in my creek but 8 days in a row I’ve thrown Vienna sausages, salmon cat food, canned tuna, and not a single crayfish, it also has been colder and just snowed so maybe that had something to do with it? I was placing it in a place where I found 4 crayfish within 4 square feet.

[@dabeast987]

I wonder if canned sardines or herring would work just as good

[@Kiwionwing]

Do you eat them this size

[@giveitaswingoutdoorswithsm2901]

Hello there! Herring is a top bait but if you get Any rainbow Trout Skeletons try Them! Mega good bait 😃🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞

[@livefreefishmore1008]

I bet they'd love that!

[@u7617]

Can someone explain to me how they get inside the basket when it is shut? I don't understand. Thanks in advance

[@acousticfrag1060]

They crawl in from the sides. You can see the cone-like shape that makes it impossible for them to walk out.

[@fig816]

Try a can of Alpo Dog food. Works like a champ and it is cheap. Just poke 5-6 holes in the can with a screwdriver.

[@davidpickens6916]

Walmart $1.00 pkg hot dogs… works for me. About 2 hotdogs sliced up in 3/4 size in each trap… (I have a box suspended in the middle of the trap so they have to go into the trap and not able eat it from the outside)

[@ollelarsson451]

you should try surströmming it is a cam full off fermented fish

[@earlsizeless3286]

I've seen the videos of people eating it I couldn't even get past touching it 😂

[@72oldscutlasssupreme]

it's about $18 a can, kinda spendy!!

[@Sprixx3D]

Crawfish are too good for bait😋

[@williammaduli3261]

how many minutes do you wait?

[@Astrareturns]

What do you do with the crawfish when you catch them

[@travisyoutube456]

You eat them

[@Astrareturns]

Ok do they taste like lobster

[@singwithmychannel1704]

Where do you get herring?

[@nathankean7968]

I was thinking maybe the fishing line is from when the mackerel were caught? Maybe they swallowed a hook with line? Depends on where you got them and how they were caught I guess

[@livefreefishmore1008]

Could be!

[@johnyyang9965]

sooooooo what state were you at for this video?

[@davidlyall7346]

Very interesting. Thanks.

[@OldHoboManYouTube]

Crawfish are living in my yard and I have no water around. Are these a different species of crawfish or do they tend to live in water and land too?

[@livefreefishmore1008]

Most likely a different species. To my knowledge these ones don't burrow out of the water.

[@jooshoutdoors8501]

Where did you get the fish?

[@lauriebyfield3710]

Well done what country r u in

[@livefreefishmore1008]

USA

[@jmvfishing]

I will definitely have to try those baits!!

[@moedog5087]

I soaked my traps over night. About 18 hours. I came back to one trap full of dead bullheads. The other trap was emptied of my bait? Should I decrease time in the water? Change locations? Newto this.

[@moedog5087]

bait was a couple of hot dogs and a chunk of frozen chicken

[@livefreefishmore1008]

I'd change location. That bait should of shown some results if they were in there. I'm surprised the bullheads were dead - they are able to live in very low oxygenated waters.

[@moedog5087]

@@livefreefishmore1008 I was too. It was only like 12 hours

[@Linny14]

Can you please name one Popop? After my late grandfather we used to fish together all the time!

[@mrpickles8242]

I heard squash works too

[@dioxidez]

I once found one that’s blue idk what it is but it looked awesome I let it back in the water tho after

[@outdoorairsoft6250]

As known as AKA It’s a very rare Crayfish I think. Good Job.

[@darylchase2450]

There actually not that rare depending on where your at but still really cool to find.

[@thomasroth4695]

For speed just weigh them all at once for each group. Neat experiment

[@sschrader2002]

How deep can you find crayfish and where is that located

[@walterschaaf605]

Herring is the best bait for shellfish with a close second being Menhaden. Won’t last long so always put a chicken back or neck in there.

[@LetYourLightSoShine144]

What state are you in? And where do you get herring from? I'm from columbus IN.

[@beegd00kie10]

here in the pnw they are sold frozen in gas stations/sporting goods stores with other fishing bait. About as easy to find as nightcrawlers.

[@terrytibbs6029]

Do you guys purge in the state 🇬🇧

[@petebradt]

Um, yeah. Eating shit isn't my idea of a good meal.

[@stewmalkowski1260]

The sting was probably from getting hooked or just eating it. The fish i mean. . either that or the crawfish get them tangled

[@johnlshilling1446]

It only took me one try to find out that cat food as a bait is extremely over rated. The same with canned tuna, bacon, fat back, chicken, turkey, beef, etc. You need to try what the Cajuns call "melt". It is the spleen from cattle, sometimes pork. Imagine that a bloody liver mated with a sponge and wrapped the baby in a tough membrane. Every time a crayfish/crawfish pinches or bites it, fresh blood is released. Because of the membrane and the sponge-like interior, it lasts easily for 24 hours. Have your butcher talk to the custom slaughter man if there are no retail sources. You'll be amazed.