Catching crawfish in Florida is legal, easy, and largely unregulated: you don’t need a fishing license, there’s no closed season, and there are no size or bag limits on freshwater crayfish. The one firm rule is that a short list of protected species cannot be taken at all. Everything else is essentially open water.
Which Crawfish Are You After
The word “crawfish” gets used two ways in Florida. Freshwater crayfish are the small crustaceans in ponds, marshes, and canals, and that’s what this article covers. Spiny lobster—also called “crawfish” or “Florida lobster” by many locals—is a saltwater species with its own license requirements, seasons, size minimum, and bag limits.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Spiny Lobster If lobster is what you want, none of the freshwater rules below apply.
The Rules in Plain Terms
Freshwater crayfish are classified as nongame fish under FWC regulations. That means no recreational or commercial fishing license is required to harvest them. There are no closed seasons, no minimum size, no gear restrictions specific to crayfish, and no daily bag limit.2Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. FAQ – Frequently Answered Questions – Section: What Regulations Apply to Freshwater Crayfish?
The exception, and it’s a serious one, is that you cannot take any state-listed protected crayfish or any cave-inhabiting crayfish. That’s the line between a free afternoon and a criminal charge.
Protected Species You Cannot Take
Three named crayfish species are off-limits: the Panama City crayfish, the Sims Sink crayfish, and the Black Creek crayfish. On top of that, every cave-inhabiting crayfish is protected regardless of species.2Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. FAQ – Frequently Answered Questions – Section: What Regulations Apply to Freshwater Crayfish? The protections come from Florida Administrative Code Rule 68A-27.003, the state’s endangered and threatened species rule.3Florida Administrative Rules, Law, Code, Register. Florida Administrative Code 68A-27.003 – Florida Endangered and Threatened Species List
The Black Creek crayfish is the one recreational crawfishers are most likely to run into by accident. It lives in streams across parts of Clay, Duval, Putnam, and St. Johns Counties and is listed as state-threatened.4Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Black Creek Crayfish If you’re harvesting in northeast Florida or anywhere near a cave system, identify what you’ve caught before you keep it. When in doubt, put it back.
Legal Gear
Because crayfish sit in the nongame fish category, the general nongame gear rules apply. You can use a pole and line, rod and reel, bush hooks, setlines, or trotlines with up to 25 hooks total for personal use. Bow and arrow, gigs, and manually operated spears are allowed during daylight. Cast nets are permitted in the South, Northeast, and Southwest regions and in Citrus County, with some specific waterways excluded. One wire trap or slat basket per person is allowed in waters where commercial trapping is permitted.5Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Methods of Taking Freshwater Fish
Most people don’t need any of that. A small baited trap, a dip net, or bare hands will fill a bucket.
Where to Look
Crawfish live in shallow, slow-moving freshwater. Marshes, swamps, canals, drainage ditches, ponds, and sluggish streams all hold them. Look for muddy bottoms, dense aquatic plants, and submerged cover like rocks or fallen wood. Small chimney-shaped mounds of mud along the water’s edge are burrow entrances and one of the most reliable signs you’re in a good spot. The Everglades, central Florida’s lake systems, and southern canal networks are especially productive, though crawfish turn up in freshwater habitats across the state.
Two species you’re most likely to encounter: the native Everglades crayfish (Procambarus alleni), the bright blue crayfish common across central and southern Florida,6USGS. Everglades Crayfish (Procambarus alleni) – Species Profile and the non-native red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), the same species farmed in Louisiana, established in Florida since at least 1951 and considered invasive here.7USGS. Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) – Species Profile Both are legal to take.
How to Catch Them
Baited traps are the easiest approach. A wire or mesh trap with a funnel entrance, baited with raw chicken, fish scraps, or even a piece of hot dog, gets submerged in shallow water near vegetation or burrows. Check it after a few hours or leave it overnight.
Dip netting works in shallow, weedy areas. Wade slowly and sweep through vegetation, or hold the net just downstream while you shuffle rocks and debris with your feet to push crawfish into it.
Hand-catching is exactly what it sounds like. Reach into burrows or under rocks, grab the crawfish just behind the claws, and drop it in the bucket. You’ll get pinched. Their claws generally won’t break skin, but you’ll notice.
Penalties for Taking a Protected Species
Taking a state-protected crayfish is a criminal offense. Under Florida Statutes section 379.407, a first conviction can carry up to 60 days in jail, a fine of $100 to $500, or both. A second conviction within 12 months raises the ceiling to six months in jail and a fine of $250 to $1,000.8The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 379.407 – Administration; Penalties; Presumptions FWC officers patrol popular waters.
Don’t Move Live Crawfish Between Waters
Releasing or introducing any non-native freshwater fish or aquatic invertebrate into Florida waters without an FWC permit is illegal, and so is bringing live crawfish into the state from elsewhere.9Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Regulations for Nonnative, Conditional, and Prohibited Species Practically, that means don’t dump leftover live bait into a lake or canal, and don’t transport live crawfish from one waterway to another. If you’re not cooking or using what you caught, release it where you found it.