A few years back I threw some crawdads from one of my ponds into another pond 2/3 acre I am trying to get sealed up. Been putting in some crawdad traps now and then to see how they were doing - but never caught a thing. Last week I went out to the pond and there were crawdad parts strewn everywhere a short distance from the pond (yes- raccoons are in the area)) and so I set a trap and started catching fair numbers of large crawdads....... really ?

Went out this AM and there were visible crawdads swimming around in the shallows and even a couple walking up the bank a little ways ......... so what has caused going from seeing and catching nothing to this ?? Is this a dying ritual ? Looking for food ? There should be adequate Fish Chow on the bottom of the pond from what the minnows don't eat to keep them happy. I have had crawdads in two other ponds for years and never seen anything like this.

I can't say what's caused your 'dads to suddenly show up. They've most likely been burrowed up, making babies. As for crawling out on the banks, I've witnessed migration of literally thousands of crawfish crawling across roads down here, just to get to marsh on the other side. Could be some of yours are looking for new digs.

That's the thing about anything with legs...they ain't gotta swim to leave!!

Forage base collapsing. Best remaining eats are in the shallows.

Jim's got a point, but his comment made me wonder if a food base collapse somewhere else near by has caused a migration to your pond. Crawdads are funny, every now and again I have seen many, many crawdads migrating for no apparent reason.

Possibly dissolved oxygen depletion going on. They will move into shallows to breath and depending at point in molt cycle can be more demanding for oxygen. This time of year I see crayfish working shallows particularly at night where they will come completed out of water to forage like a fiddler crab.