These differences in technique may be adaptations to variations in habitat.
"Down South," when the mud holes dry up, the critters dig vertical holes
down to moisture or water; in New England and other places where they
inhabit perennial streams and lakes, perhaps they don't dig such holes. My
crayfish knowledge is significantly deficient, drawn from a childhood in
Hell, aka Texas. For some reason I've always been interested in life on the
margins, stress, and that sort of thing.
WT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kelly Stettner" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2010 7:12 AM
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Crayfish
Inigo; never having tried to noodle a crayfish out of his hole with bacon,
I'm intrigued by this approach! Here in Vermont, I deal mostly with river
and stream crayfish. I catch them by laying a net with a D-shaped frame on
the river bottom behind a particular rock, then 'startle' the critter out
from under the rock from the front. Since, like lobsters, crays flip their
tails to escape in backwards burst, this is usually pretty effective.
Another method I've helped with is to use minnow traps baited with a small
opened can of moist catfood. Leave it out overnight and you should have a
few 'mudbugs' by morning.
As far as wrangling the little beasts, I try not to. My daughter, however,
is adept at this: she slowly advances a hand toward the critter, thumb and
forefinger extended, then quickly and FIRMLY catches it in a pincher-hold
just behind the claws, sort of grabbing it in the armpits, so to speak. The
little guy can flip its tail and wave its claws, but neither is very
effective if you have a good hold. The claws usually end up extended up and
out, and you can get a nice view of its underside this way. You could visit
the seafood counter at your local grocer's to see how they handle the
lobsters, just for reference.
Cheers,
Kelly
Black River Action Team (BRAT)
45 Coolidge Road
Springfield, VT 05156
http://www.blackriveractionteam.org
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