Cray fish in Carson lake?

opto55 · #1 07-31-2021, 11:22 AM

Our friends were at Carson lake last week and they caught many large Cray fish.
They were going to eat them but decided not to.
Is this a good idea?
What do you think?

Sundancefisher · #2 07-31-2021, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by opto55

Our friends were at Carson lake last week and they caught many large Cray fish.
They were going to eat them but decided not to.
Is this a good idea?
What do you think?

Catch a ton and eat them. Crayfish tails. Hope buckets stop moving them.

icecold · #3 07-31-2021, 12:04 PM

Good eating. Full a bucket and do a boil. MMM MMM good

freeride · #4 07-31-2021, 12:18 PM

I have never targeted them in the past just due to the fact you cant transport them back to your house alive to cook.

How do you go about killing them to transport them back?

Sundancefisher · #5 07-31-2021, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freeride

I have never targeted them in the past just due to the fact you cant transport them back to your house alive to cook.

How do you go about killing them to transport them back?

This works

https://youtu.be/jKWqJvxGIBA

Kill them, take out the vein. Then pack on ice and take home and then boil and eat. Really just the tail meat.

Some people just kill and rip the tail off.

It’s illegal to transport live crayfish.

happy honker · #6 07-31-2021, 12:56 PM

Like, how big?
I used to catch them all the time in Manitoba
I am a crayfish slayer. Seriously it’s a gift lol.
Good eating!

Red Bullets · #7 07-31-2021, 07:43 PM

It is best if you purge the crayfish for several hours too. I asked a F&W officer about this and was told that as long as you are at the location you caught them it is ok to keep them alive until purged. Not back at camp but right at the shoreline of the river, creek or lake they were caught at.

Rinse the crayfish and them put them in a cooler with water and ice. Most say to leave them in the water for 24 hours for the crayfish to purge their waste but even a couple hours would help. Then kill them like the video Sundancefisher added. Purging will improve the flavor.

freeride · #8 07-31-2021, 08:57 PM

Thanks for that video sundancefisher.
I know its illegal to transport these guys alive away from the water but didnt know of another way to dispatch besides the boiling water like a lobster so I have never kept any at all.
I may just have to try this...

sailor · #9 07-31-2021, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by opto55

Our friends were at Carson lake last week and they caught many large Cray fish.
They were going to eat them but decided not to.
Is this a good idea?
What do you think?

What bait they used to catch?
Their tails and claws is the best food with beer but you need a big box of beer and a big bucket full of crayfish.
When I was a kid we just dived without scuba- few meters and pick them up from bottom ...

TrapperMike · #10 07-31-2021, 09:31 PM

Check out “how to eat crayfish” on YouTube. Those guys down south have it down to a science.

sailor · #11 07-31-2021, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrapperMike

Check out “how to eat crayfish” on YouTube. Those guys down south have it down to a science.

No link unfortunately... but from your voice I am sure they can tell how they ate bats before covid19 too...ps. I am joking man

Sundancefisher · #12 08-01-2021, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailor

What bait they used to catch?
Their tails and claws is the best food with beer but you need a big box of beer and a big bucket full of crayfish.
When I was a kid we just dived without scuba- few meters and pick them up from bottom ...

Many people use a can of cat food. Puncture a few holes in the can and place in the trap..

cody j · #13 08-01-2021, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by opto55

Our friends were at Carson lake last week and they caught many large Cray fish.
They were going to eat them but decided not to.
Is this a good idea?
What do you think?

This is the lake by Whitecourt?

patrol1957 · #14 08-01-2021, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cody j

This is the lake by Whitecourt?

I Believe So

opto55 · #15 08-01-2021, 10:25 AM

Yes

cody j · #16 08-01-2021, 10:36 AM

I had no idea they could live that far north, but I know absolutely nothing about them

Fish along · #17 08-01-2021, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

Many people use a can of cat food. Puncture a few holes in the can and place in the trap..

A can of sardines would probably work as well just punch holes as you suggested.

KGB · #18 08-01-2021, 11:24 AM

When I was a kid we were catching them by dozens a day for our dads to consume with beer in a summer, lol! Me personally - I never liked the taste but I don’t like lobster either….. As for the bait- we used the rotten piece of meat or fish. And I mean- ROTTEN!! It was so stinky that you would have a gag reflex tying it up to the trap net…

Fish along · #19 08-01-2021, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KGB

When I was a kid we were catching them by dozens a day for our dads to consume with beer in a summer, lol! Me personally - I never liked the taste but I don’t like lobster either….. As for the bait- we used the rotten piece of meat or fish. And I mean- ROTTEN!! It was so stinky that you would have a gag reflex tying it up to the trap net…

You are just the kind of people i like to have around when theres a lobster boil lol

Talking moose · #20 08-01-2021, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cody j

I had no idea they could live that far north, but I know absolutely nothing about them

The only native population of crayfish in Alberta are in the beaver river system. By cold lake.

vinny · #21 08-01-2021, 12:37 PM

They’re abundant in the Oldman near Monarch. Not really much size to them though. The ones in Henderson Lake in Lethbridge are huge but I’d never consume anything out of that slough!

KGB · #22 08-01-2021, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish along

You are just the kind of people i like to have around when theres a lobster boil lol

Lol, join the club pal- my friends say the same thing! Wife loves lobster and other shell fish and I don’t touch it. I eat fish, I don’t eat what fish eats, lol!
But lobster cooking is a fun event, usually 3-4 couples and lots of good wine! I usually get myself a good steak.

Red Bullets · #23 08-01-2021, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talking moose

The only native population of crayfish in Alberta are in the beaver river system. By cold lake.

I talked to the gal that is responsible for the invasive species monitoring program in Alberta and I found it odd what she told me.

She informed me that because crayfish are native to the Beaver river system in Alberta that no matter where we are finding them in Alberta they are not considered an invasive species in Alberta. They are native to Alberta.

I think this is a faulty way of thinking only because the crayfish are going to alter other native species habitats and also harm the native species themselves with food competition and also because the crayfish do eat species like minnows and other species in our water systems and water bodies.

All the more reason to go and catch all the crayfish you can, even if you aren't eating them. Pretty soon all we will have to eat from our waters are crayfish and carp.

This crayfish was in a NSR tributary and was about 7 inches long. Definitely big enough to eat. The crayfish start to stage in late September and gather in large numbers in October in deeper pools of the creeks. They breed in Late October and November under the ice. So it may be easier to catch many at when they are in rut and then breeding.

KGB · #24 08-01-2021, 03:28 PM

I am by any means no expert but as far as I know the cray fish doesn’t really compete with fish for food…. Cray fish is a scavenger, eats dead meat and fish. They were called the “cleaners of the rivers” back in Russia….

There was a good joke that I remember. So the head’s of a gang mother in law went missing after she decided to go for swim. The boss gathered his soldiers and ordered them to search for her. The soldiers came back to him a few days later and reported:
- hey Boss, we have a good news and we have a bad news.
- ok give me the bad news first
- we found your mother in law, she did drowned that day.
Ok so what’s the good news?
- there were 20 huge cray fish attached to her! So Ivan threw her back in to catch more for dinner!

Okotok · #25 08-01-2021, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KGB

I am by any means no expert but as far as I know the cray fish doesn’t really compete with fish for food…. Cray fish is a scavenger, eats dead meat and fish. They were called the “cleaners of the rivers” back in Russia….

There was a good joke that I remember. So the head’s of a gang mother in law went missing after she decided to go for swim. The boss gathered his soldiers and ordered them to search for her. The soldiers came back to him a few days later and reported:
- hey Boss, we have a good news and we have a bad news.
- ok give me the bad news first
- we found your mother in law, she did drowned that day.
Ok so what’s the good news?
- there were 20 huge cray fish attached to her! So Ivan threw her back in to catch more for dinner!

Same could be said for most similar shellfish. A crab will swim a mile to eat a turd or dead body. They sure taste great though!

3blade · #26 08-03-2021, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

It is best if you purge the crayfish for several hours too. I asked a F&W officer about this and was told that as long as you are at the location you caught them it is ok to keep them alive until purged. Not back at camp but right at the shoreline of the river, creek or lake they were caught at.

Rinse the crayfish and them put them in a cooler with water and ice. Most say to leave them in the water for 24 hours for the crayfish to purge their waste but even a couple hours would help. Then kill them like the video Sundancefisher added. Purging will improve the flavor.

I wouldn’t take that opinion as law. The F&W I talked to said kill em immediately after removing from the water. Possession is possession, regardless of where you are in relation to the water body

Also the purging is only necessary if you are going to cook them whole. Easiest thing I’ve found is to rip off the carapace (big middle section), twist out the center tail fin which removed the gut, and throw the tails on ice till i get home. Strip the shell off and cook like shrimp, delicious simmered in butter with Cajun spice mix. Don’t bother with the claws here in AB they don’t get big enough.