Unusually large crawdad

Has anyone ever seen or heard of a crawdad this large?


I found him in the Columbia River in Portland, OR back in July. He was all tied up in fishing line and crawling with what looked like some kind of parasite. I tried calling the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife to see if this could possibly be the "World's Largest Crawdad" but all I got was a recording, so I ended up putting him in the Columbia Slough.

What are your thoughts?

Also I have had a number of crawdad's grab on to my fishing line that are larger than usual, say about 6". Could this possibly come from high Mercury levels, pollution etc.?

[edit on 12-12-2006 by MetalSphere]

en.wikipedia.org...

en.wikipedia.org...

Sorry, if it aint over 5kg and 80cm long it aint even close to largest

Good grief!!! It is big, that's for sure..... I think those parasites are a mid-summer thing though. I'm no biologist, but I always see those on the crawdads around that time of year.

Well this thread seems to have been buried in oblivion, which isn't a complete suprise since crawdads aren't the most popular species on a crypto board (you know since they are a KNOWN species). But I must pat myself on the back for this:

How many times do people make wild claims on this board yet have zero proof or poor quality photos to back it up? Hey I found something that I personally did not know to exist but rather than come on here and just tell everyone, I got a High res digi photo with a ruler next to it to back up the claims.

As many of you have seen this is a rarity to come by when searching through posts on the crypto or aliens board. So therefor I must say:

I am great! Yeah for me!

(sorry I'm done tootin my own horn now)

Looks like a river crawfish. I catch those from time to time, but don't bother putting them in the boil, cuz they don't taste so good when they're that large.

That isn't the largest though. I would offer to take my digicam this year when crawfishing, but crawfishing involves wading through swampy areas and looking out for watermoccasins.

It looks like a lobster to me, except that the claws are distinctly different. (I'm not saying it's not a crayfish, I'm just saying, it's as big as a 1 pound lobster :lol

So you said you caught it on your fishing line? What were you using for bait? I thought the only way to catch crustaceans was with traps.

We call them Yabbies, well they look exactly the same, commonly found in rivers, dam's and lakes.

Originally posted by Yarcofin
It looks like a lobster to me, except that the claws are distinctly different. (I'm not saying it's not a crayfish, I'm just saying, it's as big as a 1 pound lobster :lol

So you said you caught it on your fishing line? What were you using for bait? I thought the only way to catch crustaceans was with traps.

You don't have to use traps or fishing line to catch them, though traps tend to be the fastest, and safest, way.

I've dug up more than a few that had burrowed into the banks of a creek or river.

I've also just reached into a river and pulled them out with my bare hands. If I remember right, the largest I've caught that way was around 2 feet (60 centimeters) long.

I wasn't exactly trying to catch any crawdads on my line, the buggers just saw the worm and grabbed it with his pinchers.

This one in paticular was tied up in some loose fishing line near the shore, and was unable to move. Made for an easy catch.

Originally posted by downunder666
We call them Yabbies, well they look exactly the same, commonly found in rivers, dam's and lakes.

exactly what i was thinking

I've caught one bigger about 12 inch

Check out this mofo



That guy looks pretty scared too.

[edit on 27-2-2007 by Xeros]

Some crayfish have been found living as much as 3 m (10 feet) underground

- en.wikipedia.org...

To the person who said it could be a lobster, here's an image of a lobster for comparison:

you call that a lobster, this is a lobster!




sorry had to be done!

Are the big ones good eatin'?

I keep thinking about how many ways I'd cook em.
Nice find

Originally posted by aecreate
Are the big ones good eatin'?

I keep thinking about how many ways I'd cook em.
Nice find

Apparently not. I have a crayfish trap but aint caught none yet The American 'Signal Crayfish' are taking over the natives here and are considered a pest, so they are up for grabs. Who would of thought, "Americans invading?" lol. Strictly Jokez.

Some crayfish have been found living as much as 3 m (10 feet) underground.

EEE! Another thing to add to my list of 'scarily big creatures I must avoid at all cost'

*goes to set up protective traps... just incase*

Originally posted by Xeros
Check out this mofo

That guy looks pretty scared too.

[edit on 27-2-2007 by Xeros]

Dear God, that thing is enormous!!! Look at the size of its claws!

Yeah, that's definitely not a lobster.


Lobsters have a longer tail section, while the tail of a crawdad seems 'stunted', or 'cut off'.


That sucker is HUGE. There's definitely plutonium in the water!!!!




THR

It's not unusually big.

Case closed.

Call out the dancin' lobsters!

Does it taste like lobster? And arent they technically insects?