Revealed: Louisiana’s Crawfish Season Forecast for 2026

(KMDL-FM) Hurricane season is over for Louisiana. Football season is basically over for Louisiana. Hunting season, well, that's just getting started in some parts of the state. And for a lot of us, the most important season is right around the corner. That season is crawfish season.

Louisiana's crawfish industry has been almost as volatile as the state's oil and gas industry has been in recent years. Our state's crawfishing families have had to face a severe drought, a snowstorm, an influx of inferior foreign products, and an entire passel of elected officials who don't know their heads from a crawfish hole.

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The one exception might be Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins, who has repeatedly stepped up on behalf of Louisiana shrimpers, crawfishermen, and the seafood industry in general. Now, if we could just get a new farm bill passed for our other farmers. The current farm bill is almost old enough to vote. 

Are Crawfish Available Now? How Much Are Crawfish Selling For?

From what we understand, there are restaurants in the area that are already offering boiled crawfish on their menu. From what we've read, the price is a little higher than most of us would like to pay. One report suggests a three-pound offering would set you back $35.

According to experts at the LSU AgCenter, yes, those prices should come down considerably by the time we get closer to Mardi Gras and even deeper into the season around Good Friday.

What Do Experts Predict For Prices and Supply for the 2026 Crawfish Season?

That's because the LSU AgCenter crawfish experts are predicting a "normal season". What does a normal season mean? It means you should find the supply of crawfish to be consistent. You should also find the sizes of the mudbugs on offer to be more in line with what we consider to be "large".

At the end of last season, in April of 2025, KATC Television was reporting via its Crawdaq Index that five pounds of crawfish were going for $28.22 or about $5.64 per pound. You can expect prices in that range, if not a little lower, based on the seasonal forecast as it stands right now.

So, barring any major natural disasters, freak storms, or influx of organic material via our politicians, we should have a relatively enjoyable and affordable crawfish season for 2026.