What Esshup said is interesting about the fyke net catching both RBT and CC. It also reminds me of that advertiser that was here for a short while with the CC trap. It was that big cage out on a boom that feed would drop into, the CC get used to that, and one day you close the door on them. It might let you keep raising CC, but control them more effectively?
I know what you mean with the trout too. Everybody says they are easy to catch, but I had setbacks much the same way as you are mentioning. I have learned 4 or 5 different approaches to catching them, all revolving around what I don't want to catch at that time, which also goes in hand with what part of the season it is.
I have CC in the pond, and am wondering what their impact on the BG population is. My size range of 3 -5" BG is non existent, and have been wondering if the CC are partly responsible. The CC are about 16" in size. Like you, I don't know how to really determine it. When I catch some, I will find out what they have been eating. The first year I would see them at the feeder. They would come in from the depths and scour the bottom as they came in till they got to shoreline. Then they started to surface feed later in the year. This year, don't see them at all. Sorry that this really don't help you out much.
