Wow, some seriously nice perch there! TJ, you nailed it in your description of what crayfish did to your pond. Chocolate milk!! That is what my pond was like all last year. No vegetation, partly from crayfish, partly from no sun penetrating the chocolate color.
You need to share some tips on how to trap enough to make a dent! I know, once I get some SMB or HSB in there hopefully they can clean up the smaller crayfish and I'll have to trap some of the adults. I don't mind keeping some in there for vegetation control too.
We have slush on a very thin layer of ice on the pond but with warm days coming again I'm hoping for a complete thaw and then a cold snap to get that nice clear ice for skating!
I added the soilfloc polymer this fall. The polymer makes the bottom more 'sticky' as if there is a clear film over it. When you scratch a stick on the bottom it doesn't puff out in a silt cloud anymore. I wonder if I had the same number of crayfish left in there and if they continued to try to dig out the vegetation if the polymer would keep the silt stuck together more and I would still have good clarity despite their cleaning up the vegetation?
The water has stayed clear from the day I did the polymer application till now and the crayfish are still there. It is kind of eerie to see the contrast of a clear ice layer with schools of brilliantly orange goldfish slowly cruising by just under the ice.
