Crayfish Can Add

To Your Trout Fishing Expedition

 Crayfish can add another dimension to your trout-fishing experience, especially if you have youngsters, and harvesting these nonnative crustaceans helps our lakes and streams, advises the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

  “Crayfish are easy to catch. Your youngsters will even like preparing and eating them – they are multi-dimensional fun,” says Joe Janisch, information branch chief.

  Janisch, a renowned crayfish connoisseur, explains that crayfish are not native to Arizona and can destroy high country trout stream habitats, so you will be doing the environment a favor by catching and eating them.

  Just don’t transport them alive. The Arizona Game and Fish Commission has made it illegal to transport live crayfish in the state, with the exception of a small area around Yuma on the Colorado River. “The intent is to help prevent the spread of crayfish in Arizona,” Janisch points out.

  To catch crayfish, simply attach a piece of meat to a line or string. You don’t even need a hook, but a hook can help keep the meat from being stolen by these voracious crustaceans. A piece of bacon fat works exceptionally well. “I know one person who simply soaks a long string in bacon fat, then puts the string in the water, waits a dozen of so minutes, and pulls out the string. Many times, there are a dozen or so crayfish holding onto that string,” Janisch says.

  Youngsters, though, like to sight-fish for these clawed denizens of the rocky shorelines. “Crayfish like to hide under rocks, or in rocky areas,” says Janisch.

  To prepare crayfish, bring the water to a boil, take it off the heat, then add the crayfish, or the crayfish tails. When the shells turn bright red, the meat’s done. “I have heard people complain crayfish tasting like rubber. That’s because they overcook them. That’s why you don’t boil them, but add the crayfish to boiling water that has been taken off the heat,” Janisch explains.

  Most people just eat the crayfish tails in some hot butter. You might try adding some lemon juice or garlic to the butter. “If you want to get fancy, just look up a recipe calling for shrimp or lobster in your cookbook, and simply substitute crayfish. My favorite in camp is having crayfish to dip in hot butter, and corn on the cob to smother in butter as well. Add a couple of fresh rainbow trout, and you have a meal fit for an outdoor king,” Janisch claims.