The Great Mohican Crawdad Hunt offers outdoor fun

Mohican State Park’s rivers are teeming with wildlife, and among them are the crawdads. The community is invited to come out for some crawdad fun on Sept. 23 during The Great Mohican Crawdad Hunt.

The free event is hosted by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Scenic Rivers Program and Mohican State Park. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., visitors will learn wildlife skills from river guides including how to catch and eat crawdads.

For the main event, enthusiasts can ford the Clear Fork River and learn how to catch crawdads by hand and with the use of nets. For river safety, closed-toed shoes are recommended.

“We’ve got a bunch of seines and different equipment to catch macroinvertebrates in the water,” said Kyle Casey, Mohican State Park naturalist, “mainly crawdads, but you never know what else you’re going to find in there, so we look at it all.”

All critters caught will be placed in tanks for general observation and will be released after the event.

Local expert Roger Thoma will be on hand with signed copies of his new paperback, “A Naturalist’s Guide to the Crayfish of Ohio.” The book can be purchased by cash, check or Venmo.

Visitors can race caught crawdads with Thoma in addition to learning about these invertebrates that are related to the lobster. Crawfish, mudbugs and river bugs are among some of their other names, and they come in a variety of native and non-native species in the state.

“We have 22 different species of crawfish in Ohio,” Casey said.

On land attendees can sample a crawfish boil that Casey prepares Dutch oven style. Seventy-five pounds of crawfish cook in a giant pot with all the fixings including potatoes, corn, orange slices, lemon and a special seasoning.

“My favorite part is showing people how to eat a crawfish for the first time and watching them go from kind of a squeamish face to ‘Oh, that’s pretty good,’” Casey said.

Ashland Soil & Water Conservation District also will be present with activities related to water-quality education.

The event drew in a crowd of about 130 last year. Staff are hoping for another good turnout.

“It’s a blast just to see (visitors) out in the water, in the park, learning and having a good time,” Casey said. “That’s what it’s all about — just connecting with nature.”

The crawdad hunt will be at the front of the park’s Class A Campground picnic shelter area off state Route 3. After entering the park, follow the signs to the event.

All activities are weather and water-level dependant. No registration is required. For more information call or email Casey at 419-265-5848 or Kyle.Casey@dnr.ohio.gov.