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puma guy wrote: When I was a kid we'd "fish" for them with a piece bacon on a string inserted into the hole and slowly pull them out when they grabbed on.

Yes, when were just little kids we lived in Richardson, Texas (late 50's), the area was largely rural outside the city limits. After a heavy rain, literally every drainage ditch (Bar Ditch) would have Crawfish in them for a week or more. We would get a piece of kite string, tie it onto a slender limb and put a piece of bacon on a safety pin. We'd spend hours pulling them out of the water.

I guess we were easily entertained back then. But I'm glad I grew up in simpler times. No video games, X-Box....etc.

No telling how he got there, many possibilities.

As long as his gills remain wet and the ambient temperature doesn't get too high, he should be able to breath/live just fine for days (or more). They have specialized gills that allow them to take in undissolved oxygen from the air provided the gills remain wet.

If you find a crawfish that you suspect has been out of the water for a significant period of time, it is recommended that you NOT submerge it in water (particularly water with a low dissolved oxygen content), unless it has a way to crawl out onto something. The oxygen intake process is something that should occur gradually.

But, back to your find. As mentioned, they can travel quite a way from a body of fresh water.

I don't know if you've yet seen 'Crawfish Castles' or Crawfish Burrows, but crawfish can live quite happily in ground water for long periods of time (Months). Very common where I live. The Crawfish come out at night to forage.