It’s officially that time of year, crawfish season.

Much like Louisianans, Texans love their crawfish, but the 2024 crawfish season is being affected by limited supply.

“Three hours I sat here peeling and eating,” said one customer at Lazy J Cajun in New Braunfels. “It was great, though.”

But for crawfish connoisseurs, sucking the head and pinching the tails is coming at a steep price this year.

“The size is great,” said Josh Smith, co-owner of Lazy J Cajun. “The price sucks, but it’s coming down.”

Smith and his brother started Lazy J Cajun in 2020, and they are known for their crawfish boils with just the right amount of spice.

“We’ll see 700-1,300 people on a Saturday,” Smith said. “We’ll go through 7-8,000 pounds of crawfish a week when we’re in peak season.”

Texas crawfish season typically runs from January to July, but Smith says 2024 is off to a shaky start. Customers are paying $10 or more per pound of crawfish, compared to $6-7 last year. 

“First or second week of December is when we start slinging crawfish, but those that we usually get in December never came out of the ground,” Smith said.

Back in January, LSU Ag Center’s Crawfish specialist Mark Shirley warned this would be the worst mudbug season on record, with crawfish supply being affected by the summer drought and freezes early in the season.

“Hopefully, the drought didn’t kill them all,” Smith said. “Hopefully, it just put them further in the ground, and they’re finally coming out.”

Smith says the number of crawfish coming in is increasing every week, but there’s no way to predict if supply will catch up with demand. 

“You’re just at Mother Nature’s mercy,” Smith said.