How to Build a Crayfish Trap for Under $5 - Part 1 - Design and Cutting

Part 1 - Design and Cutting -    • How to Build a Crayfish Trap for Unde...  
Part 2 - Assembling the Trap -    • How to Build a Crayfish Trap for Unde...  
Part 3 - Finishing -    • How to Build a Crayfish Trap for Unde...  
Part 4 - Building a Bait Box -    • How to Build a Crayfish Trap for Unde...  
Part 5 - How to Use the Trap -    • How to Build a Crayfish Trap for Unde...  

Hey everyone, today we'll be building a crayfish trap. This is my favorite style of trap so far, keep in mind that this is my first year of building traps and using them. The material for one trap plus a bait box should cost $5 or less from most hardware stores.

In this first part, we'll go over the basic design of the trap, materials, and start cutting out most of the pieces. The trap itself is made of plastic hardware cloth with a 1/2” mesh. One full roll of 3'x15' mesh should yield six normal sized traps. The basic finished trap will be around 9”x17”.

Materials:
Plastic hardware cloth - http://www.homedepot.com/p/Tenax-3-ft...
Waterproof twine, coated wire, or heavy synthetic thread for stitching
Scissors or snips for cutting
Cardboard or poster board, etc. for laying out cone template
Rubberbands and wire for securing the trap and bait box

Below are a couple of sites that really helped me out when learning about crayfish traps. I'm not affiliated with either site and am not personally endorsing the traps for sale from either site. Both are packed with information that will help you build your own traps and do your own trapping, no matter what your goals are.

http://www.terrybullard.com/CrawfishM...
Terry Bullard's site is a wealth of information regarding crayfish traps. He makes his own traps and has done commercial crayfish trapping as well. His traps are well designed, though they are hard to get a hold of and usually not available for sale. His articles on crayfish bait and how crayfish think are very interesting and are really helpful for building your own traps.

http://www.trapperarne.com/
Trapper Arne's site is a great place to find articles on different aspects of crayfish. He sells several traps of different styles. Most are based on traditional Swedish trap styles and are mostly imported from Sweden.

Please make sure to check all local laws and regulations regarding catching crayfish. There may be seasons, catch limits, and even restrictions on they type of traps you can use. Some places limit what a trap can be made of, so this trap may not be legal in all areas. Please be responsible and check your traps often and leave the places where you trap better than when you arrived.

Do not put crayfish in a bucket of water, they use a lot of oxygen and will drown once all the oxygen is gone. Crayfish can survive for long periods as long as their gills stay moist.