Red Swamp Crawfish(Procambarus clarkii)

Quick Facts

  • Other Names: Crawdads, crayfish
  • Size Range: They can reach 8 inches in length, but 3 to 5 inches is most common.
  • Native Species?: Yes
  • Food Value: Excellent eating

The red swamp crawfish makes up 70 to 80 percent of our state’s annual crawfish harvest. Mature adults have dark red sides and a reddish-black upper surface.

Red swamp crawfish are found in rivers, bayous, swamps, ditches, ponds, lakes and rice fields throughout the south-central United States. They prefer flooded wetland habitats with periodically flowing, well-oxygenated water.

Crawfish are opportunistic omnivores, meaning they eat almost anything. They can detect small amounts of blood and decomposition chemicals in the water and feed on partially decomposed plant material, living soft plants and on any type of animal meat including other crawfish.

Production of wild-caught crawfish always corresponds to so-called flood years in the Lower Mississippi River Valley and coastal areas. High waters expand crawfish habitat along river bottoms and associated wetlands.

They are commonly caught in seines, lift nests, pillow traps and cone traps in spring and early summer when flood waters inundate terrestrial vegetation. Fish, particularly gizzard shad and skipjack herring are the preferred and most successful baits for attracting crawfish. Menhaden (pogies) and carp also make satisfactory baits.

Red Swamp Crawfish Rules and Regulations

Size Limit : There is no minimum size for crawfish.
Bag and Possession Limit : The bag and possession limit for crawfish is 150 pounds daily per person in state waters.
Special Rules : No more than 35 traps may be used per person while fishing recreationally for crawfish. There is no closed season for wild crawfish harvest EXCEPT for some wildlife management areas and state and federal refuges.
General Info:
Related Habitats:
Other Crustaceans Species: White River Crawfish Brown Shrimp Stone Crab Blue Crab White Shrimp
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Related Fishing Methods

Dead bait consists of many different types of bait that is no longer alive. Dead bait is still attractive to many fish as they are normally feeding by smell and dead bait is the ticket for smell. Fresh cut fish, dead shrimp, half crab, shucked clam, cut squid and all popular examples of bait that will catch a wide variety of fish. Many sport fish that are predators, will gladly take the opportunity to slurp up a fresh dead bait. A redfish is equally happy to chase down a baitfish or slurp up a dead shrimp on the bottom. Dead bait has the benefit is being easy to obtain, maintain and transport, as opposed to live bait which takes livewells, quality water control and can be harder to obtain.