I have too many northern virile craws in my little pond. I would like some more plant life and less muddy waters Over the course of two summers I stocked about 300 juveniles with the second summer being when I stocked my game fish. This allowed many of the craws to outgrow the mouth gape of my HSB and reach adulthood. This is the main reason I have too many of the large craws. I don't see many juveniles which makes me believe they are feeding my HBG and I wonder how good the 2-3 pound HSB are at feeding on the adult craws. I'd bet a LMB population would put them on the endangered list, but I'm sticking with my HSB.
Wonder what introducing a single LMB would do?
I think it would help a bunch. Stock a young female and could probably grow a trophy.
Just a hunch but it may be better for crawfish control to use a catfish that is more oriented to hunting at night when the crawfish are most active. I think a CC might be a good choice as it may preferentially target the crawfish over small fish.
A good baited trap could also help. Either eat them or feed them back to the HSB when they are actively feeding during feeding times. Were it me, I think I would eat them (IT'S CRAWFISH SEASON!!!) and I would make an effort to feed the heads to the HSB during feeding times. Between 75-80 percent of the weight of the Crawfish is in the heads.
