Water's up, but crawfishing is still slow

Crawfishing in the Atchafalaya Basin has started slowly this season because of cold weather and low water followed by a continual rise.
But, area fishermen are hoping the season will pick up within the next week or so as water levels stabilize, according to a Morgan City seafood store owner.
Tim Armond, co-owner of Glinda’s D&B Seafood in Morgan City, said the crawfishermen he’s talked to are hoping the Atchafalaya Basin crawfish season will pick up in the next week. Most fishermen are just starting to set out traps, he said.
“They’re running a few test traps right now so you’re not seeing very much,” Armond said.
A few fishermen started a little bit early and might get two to three sacks of crawfish per day right now, Armond said. A lot of fishermen who have put out traps will let the traps sit for two or three days because the catch is so low with maybe only five to six crawfish being caught daily in each trap, Armond said.
“They’re just not moving or biting,” Armond said.
At first the Basin didn’t have enough water to access the crawfish, he said.
“Now, the water’s rising so that’ll slow down the catch for two or three days, and once it stabilizes, then they’ll start moving. And they can hopefully start catching …” Armond said.
“They’re usually fishing good by the middle of February, so the season’s just late starting from the cold weather and everything and lack of water,” Armond said. Now that the water is starting to rise, fishermen hope the catch will pick up, he said.
Usually by June or July the Basin crawfish season starts tapering off, but many fishermen will continue to set traps out until August, at the latest, Armond said. The crawfish caught late in the season are used as stock for some of the ponds in the area, he said. There are crawfish ponds in the Patterson and Bayou L’Ourse areas, he said.
Some of the fishermen who usually provide the crawfish supply for Glinda’s D&B Seafood are just beginning to put out their traps, he said.
“So we’re not getting anything right now from the spillway,” Armond said. Armond is currently getting his crawfish supply strictly from ponds and hopes to start getting Basin crawfish into his store sometime next week, he said.

This story was written by Zachary Fitzgerald of The Daily Review staff. Reach him at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com.