July 9,2004
Buller La

So after eating pounds of the little guys I began to wonder where they came from. A short drive brought us to Paul Heinen’s crawfish and/or rice fields. Paul’s son Scot and a fella named Red where out in the boats fishing, so I hung out on a levy and watched. It was about lunch time when Paul’s truck drove up and the two boats headed toward me. I introduced myself and talked about making a photograph or two. Paul jumped into one of the boats and said “Sure! Where do you want it?” Afterwards, a portrait was in order. See their portraits and the other images coming soon in the gallery.

The boats and the whole crawfish experience is quite unique. First the crawfish are held up in fields that are flooded with about one foot of water. The boats are driven by gas engine attached to hydraulics that turns a paddle wheel affair at the stern of the boat. The paddle wheel can drive the boat by pushing water or digging into the mud. The boats have rubber wheels about midway so the boats work as well on land as they do in the water. It’s quite a sight to see them navigate the fields, levies and muddy roads around the fields.

The crawfish are caught in wire traps that are baited with stuff you don’t want to know about. One day is spent baiting traps and the next pulling traps. Each boat is manned by one person who drives the boat and pulls traps, dumping the crawfish into a metal tray with 3 funnel like corners that go into burlap bags. As each bag gets full it is tied off and a new one is put in its place.

Crawfishing boat- note wheels