When we check out the middens (trash heaps) of ancient hunter-gatherers, we don’t find mostly deer bones and bear claws. Sure, those big kills provide quite a lot of meat; but they’re also dangerous and high failure rate hunts. What do we find most of in those middens? The remains of water-loving invertebrates. Our predecessors who specialized in forage ate massive piles of oysters, clams … and crayfish.
What’s a crayfish?
Crayfish go by many names crawdads around here, mudbugs or crawfish in Louisiana, freshwater shrimp in Florida, etc. Here’s what they look like, in case that didn’t hit any of your local names or you’ve never met one:
The crayfish are all this basic shape, but vary quite a bit in sizes and colors. *
Sizes and colors vary, since there are more than 300 species in North America alone. They live in a whole bunch of different habitats too; from ditches to clear rushing streams. If you ever notice a round hole about the size of a silver dollar with a mud heap beside it next to a stream, odds are good you’ve found a crayfish den. In rocky streams, they often live under the rocks.
Why would preppers care about crayfish?
Some people’s plans include foraging. Others might find foraging has to Become part of their plans. Fishermen might want them, as they make very good bait for many predator species of fish (bass love them). Still others might have bored kids to entertain. These are all fine reasons to go crayfish hunting.
Moreover, they’re easy to take. Collecting crayfish is child’s play. Very literally child’s play; I spent a good portion of my childhood happily calf-deep in creeks, turning over rocks or dangling bacon rind baits.
Collect a mess of them and you can have a Cajun-style crawfish boil. (They’re best with shrimp spice and new potatoes, in my opinion). Collect a half dozen and you have a morning’s worth of fish bait. Either way, you may end up with a good meat source that required very little danger and not a lot of time.
How can you collect crayfish?
In rocky-bottomed creeks, the crayfish often hang out under the rocks. My favorite collection method is to flip a rock, look for the crayfish, and put a net behind them. Wiggling something in front of them makes them scoot backwards, and they end up in the net. The net below will give you the design feel, though nobody in their right mind bugs out with That in their pack. A little netting weighs about zero and takes up barely any space though; and a frame can be jury-rigged easily.
Minnow nets have the right idea: Fine mesh nets that let water through easily so the crayfish doesn’t feel the water resistance behind it so it backs into the net.
A cup placed behind the crayfish works not quite as well as a net, but still pretty well. One can also dangle a bait (such as a snippet of meat) on a string and leave it at the opening of the den. Many crayfish will hang on so hard you just go back in the morning and pull on the string to extract the crayfish. Annoying the more aggressive species with a small stick can have the same effect.
Lacking all tools, sneaking up close behind one then making a quick grab to the solid part of the carapace behind the head works too. From that position, they can scrape the sides of their big claws along your fingers but don’t have the angle to clamp on.
If there’s a mess of things crawling on the underside of the tail, don’t freak and toss it away. Look closer. They’re likely to be baby crayfish. Momma holds the eggs with the little leggy things (swimmerets) on the underside of the tail, then holds the babies a bit longer after they hatch.
How do you use the crayfish?
If you’re hungry, your choices are to eat the crayfish directly or use them as bait. They’re good bait for bigger-mouthed predatory fish such as bass or catfish. Tear off the tail and run a hook through it, or just put a hook through the live crayfish and cast it that way so it will move more naturally. (I didn’t like that method, but that’s a matter of taste.)
The easiest way to cook them is to dump them whole in boiling water for awhile. You then peel and eat the tail. The claw meat is obviously small, but good. Creoles like to brag about how good it is to pull off the carapace and suck the brain out, but c’mon, they have like twelve brain cells. Not worth it.
Crayfish turn red when boiled.
Some people grill them. If you’re not down with grilling live organisms, putting a thumbnail under the back of the carapace and peeling it forward instantly removes the head too; a quick kill.
One significant caution
Feel free to lure the fish with raw crayfish — but absolutely don’t eat them raw yourself if there’s any choice. They carry a disgusting parasitic infection called lung flukes (1). These flatworms are killed by thorough cooking, which is really for the best unless you want some burrowing through your lungs. Similarly, you’ll want to boil the whole critters before you feed any parts to pets.
Bonus caution: Living off of foraging isn’t really going to be happening for most preppers. Salty and I talk about it here. Still, the ability to get some good food from your habitat is not an opportunity to let slide by due to ignorance. Besides … it really is fun to catch them.
1) Don’t Eat Raw Crayfish. (2011) Food Safety News. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/12/raw-crayfish-cause-rare-parasitic-disease/#.Wx2SYVMvz-Y
* By David Perez [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons