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Crayfish Encounter at Sycamore Canyon Park

By http://walnut.macaronikid.com/ September 25, 2016

Over Labor Day weekend we met up with some friends at Sycamore Canyon Park in Diamond Bar and saw that the creek that runs through it was filled with crayfish!  We just happened to be snacking on cashews after lunch and the kids used it as bait.  They tied one to a stick and to our surprise, the crayfish were very attracted to it.  They would grab onto the nut and not let go, allowing us to pull them out of the water with the stick and see them up close!  I'm not sure if it is the color or the shape, but cashews are the perfect bait for crayfish! The kids were able to make fishing poles on the spot with branches, twigs and grass that they found on the ground and had a blast.  

 

My son pointed out to me, from his observations, that crayfishes protect themselves by retreating and shuffling backwards at high speed if they felt threatened.  This is great! The kids are learning and enjoying themselves in nature with no electronics!  

It was so much fun that we came back the next day as well prepared with some rope and a mini container.  We would mainly catch, observe and release them back.  Check it out this week if you have the chance, they should still be there!  We were at the creek area next to the lower playground (before the bridge).  

Can you see the crayfish grabbing onto the cashew?

Our fishing stick