Crayfish

Few freshwater fish can resist a live crayfish (aka crawfish or crawdad). Smallmouth bass, walleyes, trout and even bluegills relish crayfish—especially in the small “soft-shell” stage of early summer. Streams throughout the nation’s midsection are often loaded with soft, green crayfish about 1 inch long during the month of June. At this time, seining is a highly effective method of catching them. Proceed in much the same way that you would for minnows, but do your seining in rocky riffles during low-light periods for the largely nocturnal crustacean.

At other times of the year, traps will catch crayfish of all sizes. The best traps are constructed from black netting or black rubber-coated wire. The black structure of the trap gives crayfish a sense of security by creating the illusion of overhead cover. Except for the color difference, crayfish traps look a lot like minnow traps. Use cut, oily fish such as shad, herring or the heads of cod or salmon as bait.