Inigo; never having tried to noodle a crayfish out of his hole with bacon, I'm intrigued by this approach! Here in Vermont, I deal mostly with river and stream crayfish. I catch them by laying a net with a D-shaped frame on the river bottom behind a particular rock, then 'startle' the critter out from under the rock from the front. Since, like lobsters, crays flip their tails to escape in backwards burst, this is usually pretty effective. Another method I've helped with is to use minnow traps baited with a small opened can of moist catfood. Leave it out overnight and you should have a few 'mudbugs' by morning. As far as wrangling the little beasts, I try not to. My daughter, however, is adept at this: she slowly advances a hand toward the critter, thumb and forefinger extended, then quickly and FIRMLY catches it in a pincher-hold just behind the claws, sort of grabbing it in the armpits, so to speak. The little guy can flip its tail and wave its claws, but neither is very effective if you have a good hold. The claws usually end up extended up and out, and you can get a nice view of its underside this way. You could visit the seafood counter at your local grocer's to see how they handle the lobsters, just for reference. Cheers, Kelly
Black River Action Team (BRAT) 45 Coolidge Road Springfield, VT 05156 http://www.blackriveractionteam.org
