I just found this site on google while looking for crawdad spots in Benton county. Last weekend I tried putting in a few traps in the North Fork of the Santiam, but came up empty handed. I used tuna as bait... maybe they don't like tuna? I am going to try some chicken bones next. Basically, what we had left over from a bucket of KFC.
Do you need a license to catch them here in Oregon? From what I have heard, you don't need one. If anyone knows differently, speak up though, I will be checking back.
Also, some of the crawdads I ate here last year had a different coloration to them than what I remember seeing in Louisiana. Are they a different species? The ones down south look more tawny in color (not like Tawny Kitaen's hair color, ironically, enough). When you eat the ones here, do you "suck the brains" like down south or not?
I think I am going to give the creek near Crescent Valley High school in Corvallis a try today. I remember seeing crawdads there a few years back. Wish me luck!