Utilizing Pillow Traps to Catch Crawfish

We’ve all skilled that feeling after we study that we’ve been doing one thing fallacious our entire life. I not too long ago had that feeling after I was humbled by a gentleman who is aware of so much about catching crawfish.

CJ Mayeux was born in Bunkie, LA. That’s the place he discovered to run crawfish traps as a industrial fisherman. Now Mayeux is retired however he nonetheless likes to go crawfishing. I joined Mayeux on a visit to the Honey Island Swamp to study extra about how he catches these “mudbugs.”

We began our day in Indian Village which is positioned on the West Pearl River positioned on the MS/LA border. After launching his 19-foot custom-made aluminum crawfish boat into the river, we headed to the swamp. The boat was loaded down with pillow traps. I truly personal a few of these traps, however I informed Mayeux that I don’t like them as a result of I by no means catch a number of crawfish with them. His reply to that assertion was “Properly you’re both crawfishing within the fallacious place or setting the lure fallacious.” I shrugged it off and we entered the swamp. That’s the place Mayeux grabbed his first lure and began baiting it. He opened the primary lure and tossed in some lower pogey (Menhaden). Then he secured it with a easy clothespin. Subsequent, he tied the road to a cypress tree and positioned the lure within the water. However as an alternative of inserting the lure horizontally on the swamp backside, the lure was set at a 45-degree angle.

That’s after I discovered that I had been doing all of it fallacious all this time.“These traps aren’t made to put horizontal,” he stated. “In case you lay pillow traps flat, the crawfish aren’t in a position to get in as a result of the openings are about 3 inches off of the underside. When the lure is positioned at a 45-degree angle, the ramps to the openings contact the underside and the crawfish are in a position to climb up the ramp and enter the lure.” This could clarify why I had by no means had a lot luck utilizing these traps – the crawfish merely couldn’t get into the lure. Mayeux continued to set the remainder of the 30 traps in his boat. “I normally allow them to soak for a day or two – so about each different day I empty and rebait them,” he stated.  March kicks off the crawfish season for Mayeux. The Cajun veteran stated he has been catching 6-9 sacks of crawfish, working 100 traps each different day.

Keith Lusher

Keith Lusher is an award profitable outside journalist that resides in Covington, Louisiana. He owns and operates NorthshoreFishingReport.com and writes a weekly outside column for the Slidell Impartial Newspaper. He additionally writes for the St.Tammany Parish Tourism Fee’s VisitTheNorthshore.com. He’s the previous host of The Northshore Fishing Report Radio Present and is on the board of the Louisiana Outside Writers Affiliation. Keith contributes to quite a few publications each on-line and in print and prides himself on selling South Louisiana’s distinctive fishery. To contact Keith e mail: keithlusherjr@gmail.com