Crawfish fishing?

[Alex]

Me and my buddy want to take our kids crawfish/crawdad fishing somewhere close to SLC area. Any ideas on the lakes/spots you'd recommend?

Thanks

PS: We are planning on going this Thursday

[Jaxx]

I have never actually done it but my Dad and Brothers caught a bunch at Strawberry. Hope that helps.

[Alex]

I have never actually done it but my Dad and Brothers caught a bunch at Strawberry. Hope that helps.

Do you know where exactly?

[icthys]

I have never actually done it but my Dad and Brothers caught a bunch at Strawberry. Hope that helps.

Do you know where exactly?

We took scouts up to Haw's Point a couple weeks ago. We used chicken and bacon and caught over 100 dad's.

[waltny]

Caught enough to fill up a 5 gallon bucket over 1/2 way at strawberry 2 weeks ago over by the marina. Chicken breast on a string.

[fishhawk]

It doesn't really matter where you go at Strawberry, they are everywhere. Although going to the marina is a bit more family convenient. Just get some chicken, a rope or crawdad trap, and a bucket and you're all set.

[Jaxx]

I have never actually done it but my Dad and Brothers caught a bunch at Strawberry. Hope that helps.

Do you know where exactly?

Mud creek on North west end of Strawberry

[LOAH]

Lost Creek has Crayfish. It won't take you as long to drive to as Strawberry.

[waltny]

Lost Creek has Crayfish. It won't take you as long to drive to as Strawberry.

Are they as big and abundant as Strawberry?

[Jaxx]

How do you guys cook the crayfish. Do you boil them whole. I have had people tell me that they taste really gross if you do this. Whats the trick

[chuckmiester]

we ripped off the tails and claws that were big enough to eat and threw those in the pot to boil. then we dipped the meat in melted butter and ate them. they were really good. ive never cooked them whole before because of the size of the pots i was using but boiling just the tails is very good.

[LOAH]

Lost Creek has Crayfish. It won't take you as long to drive to as Strawberry.

Are they as big and abundant as Strawberry?

The ones I saw were decent. I saw a bunch of little ones and a bunch of big ones. They had a lighter color than the berry craws.

[rockgremlin]

How do you guys cook the crayfish. Do you boil them whole. I have had people tell me that they taste really gross if you do this. Whats the trick

Several years ago, I befriended a guy from Texas who had moved here to Utah just recently. He was very much Texan - with the quick wit and the southern drawl. He was also a very avid outdoorsman. I put this question to him back in the day, and he told me the trick to making the Dads taste better was to drop them alive into salty water for 5-10 minutes, then fresh water, then salty, then fresh. Back and forth like that. He says when they're dropped into salty water, they will expel a murky liquid. It's that murky liquid that gives them a bad flavor, so you have to keep purging them in salt water until they don't emit that crap anymore -- and then boil them immediately afterwards.

I've never tried it, but his advice always stuck. Hope this helps.

[Jaxx]

Thanks Rock. I will have to try that.

[donny h]

Mmmmmmmmmmmm... crawfish.

Repeated dunking in salt water is the hot tip, it works.

I make a quikie dipping sauce out of packets of honey mixed with packets of lemon juice, and maybe add in butter buds with a touch of cayenne.

Flaming Gorge craws, big and tasty, using canned cat food for bait:

[Alex]

Looks yum!