Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Stocking crawdads

As some of you may know I want to stock crawdads into my pond.

Is it possible that I could take crawdads from a creek or marsh and continually put them into my pond. Would they establish them selfs?

If this would be possible how would I find a place to get crawdads. What are some key places that crawdads would be?

ZM:

I asked about the smartness of catching and stocking wild crawdads and received some good info and advice from Bill Cody, et al.

As I believe we have mentioned not long ago, identification can be a problem. There are features that Taxonomists used to differentiate between crayfish species that I didn't know crayfish even had! Furthermore, the species that are found in different locations throughout the country vary greatly, IIRC much more so than fish species. We could list the different sets of fish species found in 99% of the territory that forum members come from in about 3 lists (southern, northern, and Canadian). I get the impression that there is a lot more crawdad variation than this.

Cody was kind enough to provide me with a identification pointers for the crawdad species I would be likely to find in Ohio. This list would be quite different for you, a Georgian, a Texan, and a New Englander.

After explaining to Bill that I was thinking of looking for Craws in the wet weather run which is 75 feet from one pond and 75 yards from the other, Bill allowed that any Crawdad species I could find there would probably make it's way into the ponds on their own anyway. Given that, collecting, trying to identify them, and stocking the ones that looked safe (although in my locale, probably not real beneficial) was not likely to screw up my ponds any worse than Ma Nature could without my help.

He definitely scared me off of any thought of collecting Mud Bugs from farther away and bringing them here.

IME Craws can be found around and under rocks in small streams, even if they have no flowing water and are just damp.

So would it be bad to get crawdads that are in the same county as me or is that to far? Should I PM bill cody and ask him these questions?

"Bad" (undesirable because of extensive/risk-of-leak burrowing, doing poorly in ponds, or - worst case - the dreaded Rusty Crayfish) could be on the other side of your county. The only way they are going to make it into your pond (without migrating over many years) is if you introduce them.

I don't know what knowledge Cody might have of Nebraska crawdads (I likely got a huge break since Bill AND the crayfish expert he consulted for me are both in the same state I am), but it surely exceeds yours or mine. Worst case, maybe we can find a guide to Nebraska crayfish identification. Best case, someone starts selling all the Papershell Crays that PMs coast to coast would like to buy.

Here in Louisiana we have crawfish ponds so we can catch them and either sell them for food, or eat them, ie boiled crawfish. I am not sure the correct name for them but they get quite big. they range in colors from brown to red and even blue in some cases. The season on them is from November till the end of June.

Love them boiled crawdads. Pinch & suck!