Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Crayfish

I've got loads of crayfish in my creeks around the property. Any chances of putting them in the pond for them to spawn and reproduce or does the pond probably already have them in there and I just don't know it? Anyone load up their ponds with crawdaddies?

I've been loading up my new pond with crayfish. Going to catch some more this weekend.

I've been clearing some weeds/muck out of some fishing spots the last few nights and I can say it sure seems that my pond has a good stocking of crawdads/crayfish...I'm dragging up several each clump of weeds I pull out...

Species found in creeks aren't always species that will survive or thrive in a pond. Many species of crayfish only live in creeks. Some are able to adapt to ponds but not very well. Then some do well in ponds but not creeks. When collecting crayfish from wild sources, keep in mind there are species which can really wreak havoc on your pond. The rusty crayfish is the big problem child that comes to mind. It will completely denude your pond of vegetation and is so aggressive, fish often have a hard time preying on them. Other species of crayfish can dig extensive holes and can damage your dam. The two species that are most desirable for ponds are the papershell(calico) crayfish followed by the northern(virile) crayfish.

About all I ever find in MI are Rustie's.
I guess they are pretty good eating.

Here is a link with some state by state crayfish info:

Crayfish

That's a good website for crayfish! Click on their name and information on that particular crayfish is displayed with a picture.

Have you got any predator fish in that pond? If the answer is YES then you may expect them to be eaten soon

Yeah, I've got bass...and catfish, but no crappie as far as predator fish.

Yeah, that site has been around for quite some time now. I first saw it, must have been in the late 90's or so. They did expand it a bit since then.

Crayfish are petty cool.

When I was a kid. I use to go down to the creek and catch them after molting for my grandpa. Talk about hammering the YP on Lake Michigan.

Those were the really fun day's.

I plan on checking out a few creeks and seeing if I can collect something other than Rustie's.

With the abundance of Rustie's. One thing that is catching on, are crayfish boils. Use a minnow trap with a chunk of ham as bait and you'll have a bunch in short order. I have not tried it yet, but sounds interesting.

Yes, Michigan and surrounding Great Lake States, want you to catch and EAT THEM

JKB,
Down here in Louisiana we eat boiled crawfish all the time. We use special shrimp/crawfish/crab boil seasoning like Zatarains in the boil to spice them up. We also add other stuff like hot dogs, sausage, celery, mushrooms, potatoes, corn and nearly any veggy that will absorb the spices.

Do you use any special seasoning or add anything to the boil?

dj...

I have never tried a boil, but it sure sounds good.

Those Rustie's get to a fair size. Some pretty big claws too!



Just a question.
What do you do about the gut's? I know it is silly, but had to ask someone more experienced in these things.

Guts? What did you do with the guts of the smelt that you caught and fried up?

Peel the tail, and suck the juice out of the "head". No guts to worry about.

I don't like Smelt , and never went dipping. I was absent on those trips

That's like grabbing a hand full of minnows out of a tank and determining how worthy of a cook you are. It did cross my mind once, but we have a few places to buy food around here

Hey, some people eat bugs. And am quite sure a few passed thru my digestive system, but not intentionally.

The Crayfish thing sounds pretty good tho!

Pond Boss: No Reservations.

Sucking the juice out of crawdad heads... Hmmm I'll eat the tails, but I don't suck the heads.

But the best "juice" is in the head! hehe.

I also break open the claws and eat the meat in there if the shells are not too hard.

With smelt, take a small pair of scissors cut the head off then take and cut up the stomach, push out the intestines. comes out real easy, does make an extra step, but they are delicious, particularly the smaller ones,the bones are pretty much nonexistent after cooking. The bigger ones yeah there are some bones to contend with, but still very good. Just one of the signs of spring. Dipping them in the same cocktail sauce as shrimp is the best.

They recently shut down the fishery for river herring around here. They are very similar to smelt. Loved dip netting them, breading them and then frying 'em up! Mmmm...

My daughter was catching these on her pole on Sunday 06/17/2012. We could not get any fish to bite, but they were happy to take the FHM. Can anyone tell me what type this are? We have one pond full of them.

MRHello....
do you have a lot of black-bass in your
pond that is swarming with crayfish?

I do not have a lot of LMB, or at least I do not think there are a lot of them. We have pulled out 3 LMB that were just over 3 pounds a piece.

This day we did not catch anything but these crayfish. And two little GSF that I was able to net up along the bank.

Not sure where all the fish are if many are even left, I actually thought this pond was void of fish until we caught the 3 LMB stated above.

Thanks

If you have them in nearby creeks and they're a type that can live in your pond, then they've probably already found their way there. Look for mud "chimneys" around the banks. Or put some meat into a minnow trap and leave it in the water overnight. If they're in your pond you should have a few in the trap the next day.

MrHello...
I hope someone can answer your question as to what type crayfish they are.



I really want crayfish but have been scared away from stocking
them due to all the horror stories of stocking the wrong type of crayfish.

Well these are already there and in abundance so that is not the issue, I was just wondering what type they were and if I should move them to there other ponds.

I am sure they would not be able to get established in them anyway but be a quick snack, just wanted some input on them.

Also did not know if these would be ok to eat, and if I should take any kind of special care before trying to eat them?

Thanks

MrH - try to get a couple closer pictures that are not out of focus (cray 1 & 2) and I may be able to help. Take the photo esp od the claws that are not covered or behind something. See pic of JKB above as an example.