need info for Pump House in Folsom

[kevjl2]

6 inchers....Holy cow!!. Thats a big crawdad. I've been talking to a couple of my nephews and I think they will come along to help us get the gear to the water. It looks like the cart will at least get us part way there. If theres that many crawdads in that hole, I gotta try it at least once. Me and my brother will go up for sure on Saturday, so if anyone is up for it, we are gonna give it a try. After that, i'll try to work out a way to get there by boat.

 

[nkw5]

I'm feeling a little nervous that I told you all that the crawdads are 6 inches. Most of them are smaller. But I do think some are that big since I compared them to my hand. They can't be that hard to catch since some teenagers on the shore had two (they were about 4 inches) in their hand when we came up from our dive.

Kevjl2, I would really abandon the cart idea.

 

[Bob3]

... feeling a little nervous that I told you ... 6 inches.

No sweat, we all know that when a guy says 6 inches, he really meant to say 4.

A good mudbug container is one of those floating minnow buckets, it has a spring loaded trapdoor on it.

On average, count on 2 quarts to a gallon of crawdads per person. (comes to about 2 lbs/person)

Before cooking, be sure to purge the critters by dumping them into heavily salted water, that makes them crap out the gritty stuff.

One nice thing is that we know that the water quality is OK, as Sacramento draws its drinking water about 8-10 miles downstream.

 

[kevjl2]

I have always just thrown these guys into a bucket and brought them home to cook. But that was when I would get them close to home and we didn't have the kind of heat we have here. I have read the best way is to put them in a cooler with ice on top (no water). Is that the way I sould bring em back? or can I just keep em in some water until I get home? Bob, I like you're idea about putting in some salt water. I didn't know that would help clean em up. Also, why wouldn't the cart help me get closer to the water? Won't it even help getting it part way? Just checking... I get hungry every time I think about it. Kevin

 

[nkw5]

Bob, I'm gonna take your "guy thing" with a grain of salt, since last I checked I wasn't a guy! But hey, I'd like to be thought of as "one of the guys."

Kevin, send me your email and I'll send you a picture of the route we took to the river. A pic is worth a thousand words. You will understand why your cart won't work. Besides, if a girl can shlep her gear across three lanes of traffic and down the hill, you guys shouldn't have any problems.

 

[Bob3]

... last I checked I wasn't a guy!

Dang, I really hate to pass up a snappy comeback on the 6 vs 4 topic, but I'd better leave well 'nuff alone. :tease:
Best way to transport mudbugs is to toss a layer of wet newspaper over a layer of ice; dump bugz & cover again with wet newspaper or cloth.
You're right not to submerge them, there isn't enough oxygen in a small amount of water to keep them from croaking. Crawdads kept chilled & damp can last for days.

 

[kevjl2]

Great comeback......I gotta admit, this has been a great post. Lots of good info, some sarcasm and just plain fun!! Thanks for the newspaper trick. My e-mail is kevjl2@msn.com. Youre the second now that sez the cart is just not gonna work. I believe ya. I guess after hauling all of my gear from the last parking spot at Monastary a couple of weeks ago, made me wish there was an easier way. I guess its time to just suck it up and have some fun. (or get a boat) Although my wife hasn't believed any of the other 20 reasons I gave her why I had to have a boat. .....Kevin

 

[nkw5]

Were any of you out there yesterday and did you catch any 6 inchers?

 

[Bob3]

Nope, not me. I'm still in da Keys terrorizing the local marine critters.

 

[kevjl2]

Well, me and my brother went up on Saturday. Got there about 7:30 and had a cooler full by 10:30. The cart worked out great. I don't know if anyone has seen this new cart at Costco, but it has fat tires that you pump up to 35lbs. The cart can hold 1000 lbs. Its pretty hefty. It took all of our gear all the way down to the water.
I haven't seen this many crawdads in quite some time. There were much more than we could get. Most were between 3-4 inches which is a good size crawdad. We cooked em up that night and man they were sweet. Theres some current to contend with, but stay low and its OK. Vis was at least 15-20 feet. We had a great day. We will probably plan another trip. Kevin