Buy any of these outstanding and productive crayfish traps and they will keep you in crayfish for years to come.

These productive traps have been proven successful in thousands of lakes and rivers in the USA, England, Canada, Finland and also in Israel and, of course, in Sweden. You will be happy with all the crayfish they catch and you'll be proud to own any of these outstanding traps.

THE TRAPPY - With Escape Stopper

The TRAPPY comes from the country where they know how to catch crayfish, Sweden. Not only is it productive, but it is also a marvel of clever design. It can be collapsed flat in seconds, easy to bait and to empty of its catch. Construction is tough, flexible and eco-friendly polypropylene with a funnel at each end. Its size is: Length 20", width 8.0", mesh size 3/4".(Best suited for catching large crayfish.) A metal bar down the bottom adds strength and weight to the otherwise light weight trap. Included is a bait box and an outside clip to attach a string.
For more pictures of the TRAPPY Crayfish trap, click here

Price for ONE TRAPPY Trap $22.95

Want to buy the TRAPPY Crayfish Trap now? YES!

THE TRAPPER - With Escape Stopper

The TRAPPER crayfish trap is made by Trapper Arne in the Arizona mountains. Its design is typically Swedish, but many of its features are US designed. Lightweight, flexible and constructed from ecologically friendly vinyl covered hardware cloth, its size is: Length 18", width 9.5" with 1/2" mesh. Will catch and hold both small and large crayfish. Trap comes with an entry funnel in each end, and is equipped with crayfish escape stoppers. The middle of the trap has a crossbar and a metal clip to fasten the bait. To empty its catch, the trap has a hinged side door.
For more pictures of the TRAPPER Crayfish trap, click here

Price for ONE TRAPPER Trap $28.95

Want to buy the TRAPPER Crayfish Trap now? YES!

THE CRAY SHACK - With Escape Stopper

The CRAY SHACK crayfish trap is made by the experts of crayfish trap making, the SWEDES. Imported by Trapper Arne, it is now part of the Trapper Arne trap presentation. Its design is actually reminiscent of the Louisiana pyramid trap although this trap can be placed at any depth to catch crayfish. Lightweight, flexible and constructed from ecologically friendly plastic, its size is: Length 15", width 12.0", mesh 1 1/4 x 5/8". Trap comes with funnel entrances in each end, and is equipped with crayfish escape stoppers. The floor of the trap has a heavy crossbar helping placing the trap upright on the bottom of a lake. To empty its catch, the trap has hinged side doors.
For more pictures of the CRAY SHACK Crayfish trap, click here

Price for the CRAY SHACK Trap $22.95

Want to buy the CRAY SHACK Crayfish Trap now? YES!

THE JACKPOT Trap

Want to buy the JACKPOT trap now? YES!

MANUFACTURED CRAYFISH BAIT

PRICE for 1 lb Manufactured Crayfish Bait $3.95.
PRICE for 2 lbs Manufactured Crayfish Bait $6.95.
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Want to buy some CRAYFISH BAIT right now? YES!

Some Thoughts About Crayfish Traps

You don't need a trap to catch crayfish. Most kids know that. A string, a pole and a bit of bait is all you need and a kid, or a grown-up for that matter, will be happy for hours. But if you really want to catch enough to invite your friends to a crayfish boil, you need a trap, or better still, several traps. When I venture out to replenish my own supply of crayfish, to be cooked and frozen for winter enjoyment, I usually bring at least ten traps. Even if I stay at the lake only for a day and a night, I can put out and harvest those traps at least three times. Consequently, I can count on as many as 500 crayfish as a total catch. Of those, of course, some are not keepers, but I usually bring home enough to make a mess in my wife's kitchen.

Crayfish traps come in many shapes and forms. Take a look at some of these pictures and you will see that human invention has expressed itself in many ways over the years. My own first crayfish trap consisted of a metal fish basket where I put some bait on the spring loaded lid. It caught enough crayfish for me to start a hobby that would last a lifetime.

Crayfish traps can be placed in a lake individually or strung together with a so called ground line also referred to as trot line. Most of my crayfishing has been done with traps each having a ten foot string and a wooden float. Depending on how many traps you have and the size and equipment of your boat, you may prefer to use ground lines. All traps we sell can be equipped either way.

Click here to go to the page about TROT LINES/GROUND LINES

SOME OTHER TRAPS - OLD AND NEW - AND HISTORIC

Crayfish traps come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. As the history of crayfish catching is long, so is the number of traps. Unfortunately, if you choose a trap that is square shaped, you are asking for trouble when retrieving it from a lake, especially when pulling it from the shore. Square traps tend to get caught on rocks and junk on the bottom. I speak from experience! If you must fish from the shore, try to find a pier jutting out from the shore. There you can easily lower and pull up the trap with little problems. Except for regulations saying "No Fishing From Pier"...

Picture of square traps, similar to one of my first attempts
at building crayfish traps

When I started catching crayfish by using traps, I did not have a boat. So I had to throw out the traps from the shore (hoping that the depth of the lake right there was not greater than the length of the float string.) Often this worked fine, especially as most crayfish activity is close to shore during summer nights. But on occasion, pulling the trap in, it got caught on rocks and twigs. Then I had to borrow a boat to try to retrieve the trap. In a few cases, the trap was lost forever, and I learned an important lesson.

I soon learned that acquiring a small row boat was helpful for successful crayfish catching. Now my family went fishing each summer for both trout, bass and crayfish. To my delight I found that many Arizona lakes had large populations of crayfish.

At first my imagination ran wild trying to build some productive crayfish traps. Look at my old collection of both open traps, (left front) and some traditional homemade round traps (top left and center). Then, right, my first trap made from a mesh fish basket with a wooden lath holding it open for the hungry critters.





But soon I switched to the the traditional Swedish collapsible traps that I imported from the old country. Needless to say, they were all very productive and I pulled in at least 1000 crayfish each time our family went camping in the Arizona mountains. I still laugh when I look at the picture of my son barely able to hold up a Jackpot trap exceptionally filled with over 50 sizeable crayfish.

My son Peter demonstrating a JACKPOT trap full of crayfish

Here is a really old trap, but it started the trend to beehive-looking traps, popular for a while in Sweden. As they were not very productive, they soon disappeared when the round traps appeared with an opening at each end.
The historic crayfish trap on the left certainly has seen its better days. But the other open trap looks just like some I once used to make. The open crayfish trap is very productive, but you have to keep an eye on it. As soon as the crayfish have eaten their fill, they will of course leave the trap.
The first crayfish traps I saw were of the beehive type. A friend of mine brought one to my crayfish camp in the Arizona mountains and within a day it became clear that my tubular, two-funneled traps were much more productive than the beehive type.

"Trapper Arne has built a better crayfish trap, and now the world's crayfish lovers are beating a path to his door"