A day in the life of a crawfisher man

Crawfish (Procambarus clarkii), crayfish, mud bugs or fish bait. To some, crawfishing is a way of life, a tradition and a way to support their families. Up before dawn with their boats ready, traps loaded and after a stop at their local bait store there ready to go. They arrive at their territory by daylight. These areas have been handed down for one generation to the next. Their families have fished and trap the same area for years and are very protective of them. They make a living fishing (crawfish, crabs and catfish) and trapping these areas. Most of the fishermen use two boats to crawfish. One they use for their main transportation fishing and hunting. The other one is called a pirogue. It’s a small narrow boat that comes to a point on each end. It’s used to work the shallow water maneuvering around trees and brush in the swamp. The traps are constructed out of what I call chicken wire with ľ to 1-inch mesh holes. The traps are rectangular in shape with a funnel type throat on one end with the other end flattened down and bent over. This flattened end is used to open and empty the crawfish trap. The bait is suspended from the middle of the trap with wire. The funnel end of the trap is faced down stream. This way the scent of the bait is carried along with the water current and attracts crawfish back to the trap. The fisherman moves along the traps line removing crawfish, re-baiting and re-positioning the trap either at the same location if it had harvested a good catch or in a new location further away. Sometimes you get to a trap and there will be a water moccasin trapped inside. The snakes don’t have a problem getting into the traps with the openings in the side of the traps being ľ to 1 inch in diameter, but after they gorge them selves with crawfish, they can’t get out. By the time the fisherman gets there the snake is pretty mad. I have had as many as two snakes in the same trap. A whack with the machete resolves this problem. The crawfish are placed in onion sacks averaging 30 to 40 pounds each and headed to the market. A good cooking pot will hold a sack of crawfish and all the trimmings.