[triton man]

I would like some .information concerning themolting of the crawdads and the color changes they make and what time of year what color they are at that time

This post has been edited by triton man: 29 July 2010 - 08:25 PM

[macon123]

triton man, on 29 July 2010 - 08:16 PM, said:

I would like some .information concerning themolting of the crawdads and the color changes they make and what time of year what color they are at that time

As for molting.....same color, but faded quite a bit. If a craw is green when molting, goes to a lighter green gray tone. As for colors, just have to observe the local craws.
Take a two liter coke bottle and cut off the top where it becomes the largest diameter of the rest of the bottle.....then reverse it so the mouth sticks into the bottle and use a strip of duct tape to fasten it in. Looks like a minnow trap. Now drill some eighth inch holde all around the bottle at random and then drill though the bottom and side to tie on a mason twine (nylon) cord. Toss in a few stones for weight and then bait it with a can of fish based cat food from Dollar General..One can wil bait a number of "traps".....By leaving a few "traps" here and there, you should have some craws to study by the next day......best catching them overnight. Since you are catching a creature that comes in 300 species, trapping is the best way to match the hatch.....then letting them go after study.

A lot of research indicates you don't have to match the hatch, but this is a good way if you like the purist approach. I'd use a permanent marker on the line to camoflage the string when setting them out, less visible and would consider tying them off on branches if near the bank. If you can find rocky areas having rocks from baseball size to grapefruit size, I've heard that's ideal for drawing craws........carrion falls between the rocks and craws can get to it;......

This post has been edited by macon123: 04 September 2010 - 06:35 AM