...I have to wonder what all is affected by having this much Non-fish biomass present?????????...
I have wondered the same thing at my craw-heavy pond. Surely they are competing for dissolved oxygen, adding to the ammonia levels, and reducing plant life. On the flip side..they keep the FA to a minimum, provide forage for the fish that can eat them, and make for some delighted friends and family who like crawdad boils. But,like you, I am removing as many as I can until something improves.
...I had a thought today about how many pounds of this "not-so-whippy" fish food I'm dissolving into my pond...what kind of intense nutrient load am I adding!!??!!
I'm not 100% sure I follow, but if you are not throwing the left over sock bait back into the pond...the amount of crawdads you have would process a dead cow in no time. I suspect the craws utilize any form of food that gets in the water. On top of that, with the amount of craws your are removing...that would surely offset the minor nutrient load from bait escaping consumption.
The #1 predator of crawfish in most wild habitat here is bowfin. They have a strong preference for crawfish. Much more than does pickerel, LMB, or Gar.
The Bowfin is apparently native to the Mississippi Lowlands...I'd consider adding one to my pond, but I have lived in Missouri all my life and have never seen one. Do they do well in small BOW's.
