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Joined: Apr 2002
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I am going to stock my pond with 100 pounds of crawfish this friday. (I might save some for the pot ) My question is there anything I should be carefull about introducing them into their new home? Should I put them all in at the same spot? Do they need to acclimate to air temperature or water? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks Don Stuart
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Don, where are you buying your crawfish. I went to a boil this weekend and they said L&M seafood was $1.19 per pound for small. I was going to put 50lbs in my lake to see what happens. Bob
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Bob Getting mine for around the same price. They said they are mixed size but I bet there are more small one's than anything else. I hope I put enough in my 2 acre lake! The bass should put a huge dent in them, but I hope they hide well and multiply like rabbits. As I understand it they will either take to their new home or they will not. Time will tell. Make sure the crawfish have not been purged (soaked in salt water) or they will most likly die soon after they are stocked. Also if they have been on ice let them get to lake temperature b4 you stock them (reduces shock to their system). Hope everything goes well with the stocking of your Bass snackfood. What size is your lake and where is it located? Don Stuart
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If you have any muddy shoreline or banks spread them along there. If you have any rocky areas that is also a great place - they love being able to go into the rocks or burrow into soft mud - when I put mine in each year I spread them around the pond as much as I can so as to not concentrate them in one spot - if they survive, they grow very quickly. bass love em
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I have a client that puts crawfish in his lake. they seem to survive very well in a pile of rip rap he dumped by his dock.
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I agree with Tim....spread them out and release them where there is plenty of cover. I have cattails around 90% of my pond and I take the crawfish out in the boat and release them along the outer edge of the cattails. When I first started stocking crawfish annually, I would release them from the bank but the raccoons were getting too many of them. Good Luck
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Thanks for all the sugestions and help!
I will keep you posted on my attempt to establish breeding crawfish population.
Don Stuart
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Don thought of one other thing - I believe I have read (have not actually done it myself) about placing some hay along shoreline and that may help crawfish survive. One of the experts may want to weigh in on that thought but seems like I recall reading that.
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I just put in 400lbs of crawfish. Spreading them around in what cover I had seemed to work. I still find them sticking out in some of the cover.
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400 lbs? That's alot of crawdads!
Anyone with experience on the topic of Northern Winter survival of Crawfish? We have them in local lakes etc. but these have much more depth/area... just curious if enough of a breeding population makes it through the winter.
Owner/Builder of Ottawa Canada's first official off-grid home. http://www.mygamepictures.com - Hosting your outdoor adventure, fishing, hunting and sports related pictures!
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Gregg
How bid is the lake that you stocked 400 pounda of crawfish into?
I will throw this out for an answer---
How many pounds of crawfish per acre should be stocked in order to establish a resident year round population?
What do you think Guy's?
Don Stuart
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I am a big fan of crawdads, there are over 404 species in north america alone! They live in everything from ditches in Georgia to Canada. I wouldn't worry about them winter killing I think they are pretty durable. We find them in the scum crick behind my house up to 5", thats in Minnesoata, and three feet of the crudiest water you never want to see.
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are there any reasons NOT to put crawfish into a fishing pond?
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Don, sorry took me a while to respond, we have a Bed and Breakfast in Houston that keeps me busy. My lake is in Buffalo, Texas and is 12 acres. David if you read this, are the shad on the surface in Faifeild? I am ready to try and get some.
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My pond is 25 acres. 50lbs didn't make it past the boiling pot. It was hard to resist when I was able to get them for $25.00/40lbs. Size varied from 3-7". Dog found out the hard way that they are still around the dock.
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I have not seen an answer to Don's question "how many pounds of crawfish per acre to establish a year-round population". Does anyone within the Pond Boss forum know of a given "standard" or preferred stocking rate? I have a 5-acre pond in Tenn & want to create that forage base also.
As far as placing hay on the shoreline, do these need to be continually replaced as the crawfish feed on them over time? How many hay bales are appropriate in a 5-acre situation?
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I've seen it suggested that 2lbs per surface acre be added annually. I use this formula and have been for several years. It seems to work ok. However, like most forage, if you can afford more then it won't hurt anything. As for hay, I don't use it. I have lots of cattails and I release the crawfish from the boat along the outer edge. I'm hoping that the crawfish take cover and bury up inside the cattails.
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