The Smallmouth-Crayfish Connection

Smallmouth love crayfish, much more so it seems than any similar relationship between largemouth and any one food source. But it also seems they love certain baitfish depending upon location and available food supply. Here is a brief list of interesting research looking further into this connection:

• Diet Overlap and Predation between Smallmouth Bass and Walleye in a North Temperate Lake
• Habitat Associations of Introduced Smallmouth Bass and Native Signal Crayfish of Lake Whatcom, Washington During November 1998
• Selective Predation, Optimal Foraging, and the Predator-Prey Interaction Between Fish and Crayfish
• Behavioral Response of Crayfish to a Fish Predator
• An experimental study on the effects of crayfish on the predator-prey interaction between bass and sculpin
• High Growth Rate of Young-of-the-year Smallmouth Bass in Lake Erie: a Result of the Round Goby Invasion?

Comments

[richard ziert]

I wonder sometimes where you get the idea to look up these kinds of things ? ;>)

Good stuff overall, and thank you.

One thing that I've found over the years is any lab, or otherwise controlled experiment where "other" forces, events and circumstances are not present, usually results in "deductive" bias whether the good doctors think it will happen or not.

I'm going to read this material at a slow pace and report back with real life comments.

[richard ziert]

O.K. I read them. In a nut shell: Crawfish, or - Select size and color of crawling bait to slightly stand out from substrate material. Sand = small/color of local crawfish, gravel = larger/ contrast light and dark in shades slightly away from coloration of local crawfish.

Then there was Sculpin. Sculpin either hide or freeze in place to escape detection. Therefore, when using sculpin type baits stop your presentation more than you "subtly" move it.

[Paul Roberts]

Thanks Brian. You sure add relevant stuff to my reading list!

[Jeremy S]

Ask and ye shall receive, eh? :)

Great stuff.