Crayfish go by any number of names: crawfish, crawdads, mudbugs, and grasscrabs are just some of them. Crayfish are small crustaceans that look like mini America lobsters, with their large tails and two pincher claws. Their colors will depend on their variety. Most crayfish live in burrows under the ground, where they get their nick name 'mudbugs'.
Image above shows a fresh crayfish on a palm. Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
How Crayfish is Used
Crayfish is very popular when used as food, and some restaurants feature them as a specialty item. On French menus, look for the word ' écrevisse', which translates to crawfish/crayfish. Boiled crawfish can be as simple as boiling until done in water with a little spice (like Zatarain's or similar spice mix), or it can be as complicated as adding potatoes, onions, sausage, corn, and other ingredients.
Boiled crawfish (crayfish). Image courtesy PDphoto.org.
They are also used bait for largemouth bass and other fish. When catching fresh crayfish, look under rocks and fallen twigs, places that crawfish would like to hide and go to for protection. Crawfish are also a popular species to farm, and when combined with rice farming, can make it a profitable venture for the farmer without much extra work (the rice fields are already flooded with water).
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