Can someone help my neighbor kid?

[wooduck26]

My neighbors 10 year old Son needs a crawfish for some school project, and since I'm a fisherman his Dad asked me if I knew where he could find one.

Can anyone point my neighbor to a creek near the metro with a good supply of crayfish in it? ( I have a feeling it will take a good population of them for him to catch just one, he's not so outdoor saavy) Lol.

Thanks!

[MN-FishGuy]

The Minnehaha Creek, I know for sure if you go through Big Willow Park in Minnetonka and follow the path down to the creek, there are tons of crayfish in there hiding by the rocks, as of last week there was still some standing water in there.

[going4it]

Vermillion near Hastings has quite a few of them.

[Archerysniper]

Kost dam by Sunrise is also loaded with them below the dam.

[IcePro]

Now for the debate.

Your neighbor kid will have to decide / either fail or break the law.

According to the MN DNR you can not transport crayfish

Crayfish regulations

The transportation of live native and invasive crayfish from one waterbody to another within the state is prohibited, except by permit issued by the DNR. Live crayfish or crayfish eggs may not be imported without a permit issued by the DNR. Live crayfish may not be sold for live bait or for use in aquariums. Live crayfish taken from a waterbody can only be used as bait in that same waterbody

[wooduck26]

Shocking it took that long for someone to bring up transporting a crayfish.........

It won't be alive when he transports it.

Debate over.

[JigginGopher]

I believe you can transport live crayfish. People who harvest crayfish for personal consumption transport them from body of water to residence all the time and it is lawful. The regulation you posted states that crayfish cannot be transported from one body of water to another. As long as the kid doesn't release the crayfish into another creek or pond he should be good.

[IcePro]

Read the complete regulations

....or for use in aquariums

[IcePro]

More research leads to more confusion.

From the MN Fishng regulations...

Crayfish: From April 1-Nov. 30 licensed anglers and children under 16 may take

and possess up to 25 pounds of crayfish longer than 1 inch for personal use. A

DNR permit* is required to import, transport, or sell crayfish. Crayfish may be

used as bait only in the body of water where they were captured. The use of live

crayfish as bait on the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (north of the Boomsite

Boat Launch) and within Voyageurs National Park, units of the National Park

System, is prohibited.

What is personal use, food or pet?

The MN DNR site states not for aquariums

[JigginGopher]

Good question about what "personal use" refers to. If the DNR states no aquariums then I can't think of anything other than consumption that personal use could refer to.

[Chumba]

We caught buckets of them up last month on Lake vermilion.. Both hotdogs and fishheads worked well as bait in the trap.

[JigginGopher]

Nice haul Chumba! I love myself a good crayfish boil.

[leech~~]

We caught buckets of them up last month on Lake vermilion.. Both hotdogs and fishheads worked well as bait in the trap.

Dude,

I hope those are all Rusties so we can get rid of some!

[imgoing2sleep]

It sounds like the regs are stating that crawfish can not be sold as live bait or pets.

[pushbutton]

I really do not know what the regs say, and and to a large degree, if this is truly for a kids science project, really do not care. Find it rather silly that we have to debate this, while the regs are silent on the large ships that bring in all the AIS in the first place. Go to one of the places mentioned above, get some crawdads...let the kid experiment on them, play with them, get pinched by them...whatever. If by some astronomically small chance they survive this, put them back where you found them ....and call it good.

[leechlake]

I believe the kid needs to follow these steps:

1. go to DNR approved Crayfish Safety Training (CST) and pass test.

2. pay $25 for the Certificate

3. get a AIS sticker...wait that rule/law changed.

4. if his dad doesn't want to have to buy a license to take the kid crawfishing then the dad has to wait for next years "Youth Crawfish Day" which is two weeks before the normal crawfish opener.

5. If successful crawfishing, attach the crawfish tag (you need to bring a string remember to attach the tag to the leg)

6. take some rope or bungee cord and after placing the crawfish on top of vehicle strap it down good, like a deer.

God help me, if I was at a lake with a crawfish this weekend I would devote my whole weekend to catching one and yes illegally transporting one to the kids front door.

[JigginGopher]

leechlake, doesn't the kid first have to apply to the crayfish lottery in hopes of getting drawn for his crayfish tag? I love where this thread has gone. You are right on the money!

[Gordie]

Go to the Sand Creek in the Jordan area and you will find what the neighbors kid needs for his project.

I agree pushbotton no need to debate this.

[PurpleFloyd]

I believe the kid needs to follow these steps:

1. go to DNR approved Crayfish Safety Training (CST) and pass test.

2. pay $25 for the Certificate

3. get a AIS sticker...wait that rule/law changed.

4. if his dad doesn't want to have to buy a license to take the kid crawfishing then the dad has to wait for next years "Youth Crawfish Day" which is two weeks before the normal crawfish opener.

5. If successful crawfishing, attach the crawfish tag (you need to bring a string remember to attach the tag to the leg)

6. take some rope or bungee cord and after placing the crawfish on top of vehicle strap it down good, like a deer.

God help me, if I was at a lake with a crawfish this weekend I would devote my whole weekend to catching one and yes illegally transporting one to the kids front door.

Would he need to wear blaze orange if he was doing it during bow season?

[Cheetah]

Would he need to wear blaze orange if he was doing it during bow season?

Only if hunting snails too, but not if standing still.

[popriveter]

Great thread! Leechlake, I loved your comment.

Chumba, I want to eat that bucket. Nice haul!

Leech, those are rusties. The smooth, long claws are a give-away (and you can see the dark smudges on the sides of some of them.)

All the dnr regs are in place to keep rusties out of waterways that don't have them yet, and the crayfish in minnehaha are rusties, so don't catch them there and release them elsewhere. in the Metro, you'll find rusties in the Mississippi and it's tributaries and Northern crayfish (o. virilis) in most other lakes and rivers. If you scoop muck from the bottom of almost any area pond, you can find papershell crayfish (o. immunis) buried in the mud. They are smaller than northerns and rusties and they live in just about every drainage and pond in the state.

[TruthWalleyes]

If i catch a crayfish in minnehaha creek, can i then use the same DNR sticker to catch one in sand creek? Or do i need to apply for another sticker?