Hi Dave:

I realize this is an old post, but I spend hours reading through the old ones and I was wondering if you found a source for crawfish. It sounds like you were trying to get the same kind I want red swamp crawfish, or Lousiana reds.

I wouldn't want to introduce a new species, but growing up as a kid and crawfishing in small ponds, creeks, and ditches, in north west East Texas (takes a big state to have to have a definition like that :/) I caught them all the time with the typical bacon tied on a string.

Now is a bad time to purchase them and it is their breeding season in the Lousiana rice fields. I was told by a farmer that he could sell me some in November or December. It will be warmer where they come from so I don't know if that would be a good time or not. Also the more into spring the cheaper they will be.

I have a pond, kind of, other than the one acre one, it is really a basin that was dug to get clay to build up a drive way into my place. In most years it never totally dries up or at least it has a muddy bottom. It is only about 400 or 500 square feet. Last year it went bone dry during the severe drough for a several months. But it is small enough I could afford to drool some hose water in it during bad years to at least keep it moist and muddy. When it overflows the water spreads out and goes through thick over grown bottom type thickets and ends up in my main pond. In normal years the inbetween area stays moist at least a few inches below ground.

I was thinking about throwing a few pounds of red swamp crawfish in there and feeding them. From what I read I would get at least a couple of good meals out of them a season plus some would wash through into the main pond. In fact I was thinking about throwing some into it anyway, but the survival rate in it would be a lot less, and they would be harder for me to trap. But the cc and the lmb would find them tastey.

So I was wondering if you found a source for them, and what your experience has been if you did find a source.

I have read a lot about crawfish and pet ones are shipped all the time alive and stay alive when they arrive at their new homes and the farmer seems like I wouldn't have much trouble getting them alive ready to turn loose.

As I said I was wondering if you got any and what your experience has been. Plus any input you might have in introducing them in to a sports fising pond. I have some smaller kinds until last year and the water in the big pond went down so low I don't think they could move their burrows fast enough to keep from getting eaten by fish or whatever. I just know before last year I could go around the edge of my pond and there would be crawfish burrows, this year none.

My pond is pretty steep sided in most places and goes down to 18 to 20 feet at its deepest. I have heard that crawfish will muddy the water, if the water is steep and deep do you think I will have that trouble? I didn't with the smaller ones. I also have read that they will help keep decay leaf and other dead vegatation cleaned up and convert it to a good forage.

I though I'd ask for you ideas on this before I go and do something that would be hard to unchange.

Thanks,

Bill


I wish I had the tenacity of GSF!