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Author Topic: Wisconsin Crayfish  (Read 2418 times)

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Offline banen

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Wisconsin Crayfish
« on: January 14, 2007, 03:32:26 PM »

Anyone here catch and eat northern wisconsin crayfish?  I have heard of people doing this and wanted to try it for years.  Are they any good?  I could do the catching part.  How do you cook them?  There are a gazillion of them in my lake, both types but would rather do what ever I can to get rid of the intruder Rusties, they have been havok on the weedbeds over the last 10 years and the musky fishing has suffered.  Good news is we have some real hoss smallies now.  One thing is for sure, natures sure is cyclic. 
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Offline 379 Peterbilt

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Re: Wisconsin Crayfish
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2007, 03:36:09 PM »
Never had the desire to eat them, myself. I do know they have become quite intrusive in many of our Vilas county lakes. You aint a kidding about the lack of weedbeds - the cabbage is virtualy nonexistant in many of these ecosystems. IIRC, the DNR has done two things to fight this rustic crayfish problem - (1) they have contracted to have them trapped & removed, (2) they have introduced a hybrid crayfish which can not reproduce, so as to intermingle and hopefully help extinguish the population.

Star & Plum lakes come to mind.

And yeah, the smallies, and their preservation should indeed help combat these dang crawfish. Encourage all to release the smallmouths when fishing there lakes/rivers.
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Offline GRIMJIM

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Re: Wisconsin Crayfish
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2007, 12:05:51 PM »
I go to little bearskin lake north of tomahawk. They are overridden with them. There is a guy that traps them and sells them to restaraunts. I have eaten them, but I just boiled them and dunked in melted butter. Very good but not the most imaginative way to cook them. There are a couple of packaged seasonings specifically for boiling them but can't think if the names right now. I got them from some guys on this forum, I'm sure someone will chime in.

Oh yeah zattarain's is one I think. Probably spelled it wrong though.
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Offline banen

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Re: Wisconsin Crayfish
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2007, 03:00:27 PM »
Yeah I am in Vilas too.  Most of the lakes there have a problem. With them, I was just looking for a way "to make Lemonade with Lemons". 
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Offline jh45gun

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Re: Wisconsin Crayfish
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2007, 08:17:42 PM »
You can use Crab Boil for the spices.  Minnow traps with a chunk of meat in it works well or you can make crawfish traps or buy them. Most of the crawfish traps I seen that were commercial were like a minnow trap only square but the same idea a hole that narrows down into the center so the crayfish cannot crawl out. I have eaten them and they are good. Well worth the effort of trapping them. After you trap them put them in a large tub of clean water for a day so they clean them selves out.
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Offline ihookem

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Re: Wisconsin Crayfish
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2007, 01:38:00 PM »
  Smallmouth eat lots of crayfish, but if the dnr wants to control them even more just plant some channel cats in the lake and in five years you will have a good dent in the crayfish population. Flatheads are even better for this control but I don't think they will live in a northern lake. I have some river frontage on the South Fork Flambeau River and every time I catch a cat it's full of crayfish. Sometimes so full I can feel them in their belly. Don't worry to all the purists, channel cats are native in most lakes and almost every river in Wisconsin, and they are awesum tasting and a lot of fun to catch.
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Offline NOLA

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Re: Wisconsin Crayfish
« Reply #6 on: February 26, 2007, 09:27:20 AM »
being from Louisiana we eat them. You just boil in seasoning then pinch the tail and suck the heads.
How big do they get up there?The season for them is just starting here. the rice farms after they harvest use the flooded fields to farm crawfish for another product . Here  live they are selling for appx.$3.00 a pound boiled they are appx $5.00 a pound
Numerous season packs are available . You just bring water with seasoning to a boil and then add crawfish and return to a boil again and boil appx 10 Minutes then you just let them soak in liquid tasting often for flavor.then drain and enjoy.
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Offline Skunk

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Re: Wisconsin Crayfish
« Reply #7 on: February 26, 2007, 01:42:43 PM »
Cray fish used to go over well in the Crandon area. The local Lions Club used to hold an annual "crab-boil" which of course was really crayfish taken from some local lakes - mostly Metonga and Lucerne.
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Offline buck460XVR

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Re: Wisconsin Crayfish
« Reply #8 on: February 26, 2007, 01:53:12 PM »
My boys used to catch em by the hundreds years ago when they were kids on our Lac Vieux Desert trips and more than once we had a Crawfish boil before we went home. Now days they are to old to be entertained that easily and insist on fishin' for esox instead of crayfish. Aint never ate any of the rusty variety tho......
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Offline ihookem

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Re: Wisconsin Crayfish
« Reply #9 on: March 03, 2007, 03:15:41 PM »
Nola, what, suck the heads????????????? Never heard of it. We just don't seem to eat them up here for some reason. We do other dizzare things like raw beef and onions on brown bread. Some do pickled pigs feet and eat brains and tongue  of cows and pigs. I tried crawfish when I was a kid but don't recall ever doing it again. My pastor is from Louisiana and has eaten them quite a bit. Anyway, do you just boil the tails or what? If its an easy meal sometime I will give it a try.
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Offline NOLA

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Re: Wisconsin Crayfish
« Reply #10 on: March 05, 2007, 04:26:24 PM »
The crawfish are boiled live. To eat them you pinch off the tail and suck  the heads to get the juice and fat out of the heads
They are boiled in very spicey water with onons,celery, potatoes and lemons along with the seasoning.
Fun to see people eat them in resturants
http://www.zatarain.com/neworleanscooking/seafoodboils/how_to_peel_and_eat_crawfish.php

Here is a link on how to eat them   
Enjoy
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Offline Skunk

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Re: Wisconsin Crayfish
« Reply #11 on: March 05, 2007, 07:34:39 PM »
"For an extra mouthful of flavor, gently suck the seasoned juices out of the head, or insert a finger into the cavity and scoop out the golden “fat”." - Zatarain website

Oh my God Nola, think I'll just stick with the Jambalaya with sausage, thankyou.  :o

Skunk
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Mike

"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" - Frank Loesser
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