Tahoe crawfish attracting international clientele
By Erin Breen, KTVN-TV
It is a beautifully calm day on Lake Tahoe as Ben Caldwell and his dad, Sonny, launch their boat from Cave Rock. They are headed for their first set of crawfish traps about 20 minutes away.
“This is the greatest cubicle anyone could ever work in,” says Ben with a smile. He and his dad sold an 18-foot boat to buy a 23-footer and joined forces with Fred Jackson and the Tahoe Lobster Company. “We love to fish and this is great.”
Tahoe Lobster Co. was the first to harvest invasive crawfish from Lake Tahoe . Photo/LTN file
These days you’ll find Jackson on the water less and less because more and more he’s focusing on the marketing end of the business, which is paying off nicely.
“I love being out on the boats,” Jackson says. “But what I found was that I just didn’t have the market for the crawfish we were catching. So I’m creating a bigger market.”
And that he has. Not only has be expanded the number of boats on the water with two subcontracting boats like Caldwells, but he’s opened a store front and warehouse in Minden. He’s purchased a refrigerated truck and next week they’ll make their first international shipment — to the U.K.