This week's crawfish trapping report is a little different and holds a little more significance than usual. Generally we highlight one specific location and the trapping time is generally in the range of six - eight hours...but that's recreational trapping. The trapping this week is for the 2013 Arizona Crawfish Festival at Bison Ranch on Saturday August 10th and lots of folks are counting on a taste of these crawfish! They are free to festival attendees on a "first come, first served" basis in an effort to education Arizona outdoor conservationists on the destructive damage these critters can have to our natural waterways. If you're of the Cajun decent, or a crawfish connoisseur, and you would like a little more than a "taste" at the festival, you can pre-purchase festival tickets to reserve a minimum of 3 pounds of boiled crawfish through Thursday, August 8th online at ArizonaCrawfishCompany.com/events.
It's the belief of Arizona Crawfish Company that with a little education on the culinary delight of crawfish and a little help getting set up to trap in Arizona, lake goers, fisherman and people just looking for a little family fun, we can put a significant reduction on the population of crawfish in Arizona!
Date: August 5th - 6th, 2013 Location: Willow Spring Lake Bait: Processed Crawfish Bait Traps: Trap Type: Combination of fifty Promar 501 & Promar 502 traps. Trap Depth: 8 - 15 foot average Water Temperature: Unknown. Average Time In Water: 9 hours between morning and evening pick up. 15 hours on overnight pick up. Trapping Results: Estimated pounds per pick up: 1 - 3 per trap. Lagniappe: Total number of beers consumed - All of them.
Why:Raise
awareness of Crawfish in Arizona and educate wildlife enthusiasts on personal
harvest and consumption of Crawfish.
Details:Due to popular demand, the original
Arizona Crawfish Festival is BACK!
In spring of 2002 the festival was birthed by Louisianan
born radio host Rosie Romero upon hearing crawfish were over populating our
waterways. After two years on the shoreline of Willow Springs Lake, the
attendance and popularity was growing so rapidly a site with basic facilities
and services was required. The festival then merged with a similar event and
held on the lawn of Camp Verde’s historic Fort Verde. After a few years Rosie
pulled his affiliation with the festival and Camp Verde held it’s last crawfish festival
in 2010.
It was during this eight year run of annual crawfish boils that
Arizona Crawfish Company’s founders Bobby Avery and Romey Romero met when they
faced off for the eating contest in 2004.
Like the original festival at Willow Springs Lake, this year’s
crawfish will be from Arizona’s waterways. Trapping teams are being assembled
and assigned to lakes, rivers and streams along the Mogollon Rim for maximum
extraction. In the past this had always been a challenge because of the
transportation regulations on crawfish in Arizona set and enforced by the
Arizona Game & Fish Department, in order to prevent further infestation.
However, special permitting has been granted for this event. The goal is to
remove 10,000 pounds of crawfish in the week long trapping contest leading up to
the festival.
All trapped crawfish will legally be transported under Game
& Fish supervision to Bison Ranch for the August 10th Festival
where they will be boiled and served to festival attendees Cajun style with
corn, potatoes and onions! For a complete list of Rules, Regulations and participation details, visit Arizona Crawfish Trapping Contest.html.
There will be a
crawfish eating contest, Cajun food vendors, frozen daiquiris, Abita Beer, live music, the performance of Arizona’s own Taylor Family Circus and
more! For the kids there will be inflatable bounce house & slide,
train rides, horseback rides and face painting to name a few!
The festival will be held Saturday from Noon to 9:00PM in
the lawn courtyard at Bison Ranch in Heber/Overgaard, Arizona. There will be a
$5 parking fee benefiting the local lions club and a $15 admission fee per
person/$25 per family ($3 per kid 12 years of age and older, under 12 free) to cover
staff, entertainment and facility use. Pre-Purchase tickets by August 7th to ensure you receive at least three pounds of crawfish at the festival!
An event this size takes community involvement to make it a
fun, safe, success family event. We extend our sincere gratitude to the people
and sponsors involved.
Our sincere apologies for changing the date of this year's Crawfish Festival on y'all twice already. But third time is the charm come hurricanes and high water...which we don't expect at 6,500 feet above sea level in Overgaard, Arizona. Mark in your calendar one last time and come pass some good ole' fashion Cajun BON TEMPS with the whole family in the cool Arizona Mountains on August 10th, 2013!
Lend a hand getting the Arizona crawfish population reduced by forming a trapping team: just send us an email at arizonacrawfishco@gmail.com and we'll send you the entry form - no cover charge for trappers and cash prize for the winning team!!
