Northwest Fishing Reports

I am a local and my daughter and I want to trap crawdad. I know lake wa is full of them but I don't have a boat and the shore is covered with houses. I want to learn how to id the best locations from the shore to throw my traps. (Don't want to steal yours just learn to find my own)
Thank you for your help Marie.

buy a trap or two. You can get them at sports stores like Sportsmans Warehouse or Bass Pro or order a couple from Terry Bullard in Moses Lake like I did. Put a dark color black or dark green 100 foot length of paracord onto the trap so it won't come undone. You can use chicken livers or fish heads or carcasses for bait. you are supposed to have ID on the trap if I'm not mistaken. We just toss them off the bank and tie off to a thin tree or large weed and try to keep the cord kind of out of sight of would-be thieves. You can leave the traps in place several hours or overnight. Pay attention to where you leave your traps so you can find them again. Season runs first Monday in May until Oct. 31st. Must be minimum 3.25 inches long, return to water any with eggs attached to underside. Limit 10 pounds per day per person

I sent a quote request to Terry Bullard about this time last year and never heard back. See his website claims shipping traps as of 9/19 so will try again.

I got a quick response from him when I bought traps from him but that was a couple years ago

Try looking for fallen trees, lots of limbs, or rocks. Crawdad love hiding under that stuff. I usually use a couple handfuls of cheap dog food and a couple cheap hot dogs in my traps but I'll tie in a chicken thigh with the dog food if its gonna soak overnight. Bait is more of a personal preference imo, you can ask 20 people what bait to use and get 20 answers

Just to follow up, I was able to contact Terry Bullard yesterday and he replied to my quote request. Order made and processed for a pair of Sportsman Plus traps.

Ive always wondered if my cheap traps were part of my crawfish catching problem. Let us know how they catch!

Will do Sideburns and am hoping to get a couple opportunities before the season closes.

To clarify regulatory requirements covered on pgs 130 and 135 in the current Sport Regs Pamphlet:

The 3 1/4" size restriction and 10lb "in the shell" daily limit only applies to native Signal crayfish which are also the only crayfish that can be removed alive from the immediate vicinity of the water harvested from.

Non-native species have no daily limit, size, or sex restrictions, BUT, they MUST be dead before removing from the immediate vicinity of the water from which they were harvested and MUST must be kept in a separate container.

Anglers are allowed 5 units of gear per person, one unit is defined as one trap, pot, etc.

ALL crayfish traps used must comply with WA Gear Rules found on pg 135, in particular and quoted for accuracy:

Every shellfish pot, ring net, or star trap left unattended in Washington waters must have its own buoy line and a separate buoy that is permanently and legibly marked with the owner’s first name, last name, and permanent address (telephone number is voluntary).

Buoys must be constructed of durable material (no bleach, antifreeze, detergent bottles, paint cans, etc.) and must be visible on the surface at all times except during extreme tidal conditions.

Buoy lines must be weighted sufficiently to prevent them from floating on the surface.

All crab, shrimp, and crawfish pots must be equipped with a biodegradable device (rot/escape cord) and shall include one or more of the following:

(1) securing the pot lid hook or tie down strap with a single loop of cord; or
(2) sewing a 3" by 5" escape panel in the upper half of pot closed with cord; or
(3) attaching the pot lid or one pot side (serving as a pot lid) with no more than three single loops of cord.

Cord used must be untreated 100% cotton or other natural fiber no larger than thread size 120 (⅛"). This cord, when attached as described above,
must be able to rot away and allow crab, shrimp, crawfish and fish to escape freely if the pot is lost. A derelict crab pot without proper escape cord
can attract and kill crabs for years after the pot has been lost.

There is a warning at the top of pg 135 advising anglers not all traps sold in WA actually comply with WA rules (I can attest to this) so responsibility is on the angler to ensure any trap used fully complies with WA law.

A few years ago my wife came home with a couple small basket traps, no buoys, no escape hatch, not even close to legal. She had good intentions but had no clue the "traps" couldn't be used and simply assumed since they were sold in WA they were ok. Don't let it happen to you!

tie the two halves of your basket traps (minnow traps) together with cotton rot cord..... all good? That's what I do.