Smallmouth Bass Invading My Brown Trout Stream

[Linecaster]

The sooner everyone wakes up to the fact that the climate change philosophy is all about politics, aaaarrrgggghhhh, lets just go fishing.!!!!!

[Uncle Jesse]

The sooner everyone wakes up to the fact that the climate change philosophy is all about politics,

Oh, the lack of faith in our elected officials and those who influence them; examine the word: Poli mean many; tic(k) . Any of numerous small bloodsucking parasitic arachnids of the family Ixodidae,. But I have an agenda also, the few smallmouth bass I have caught brought me more joy than any trout I have yet caught and they were their first. Hopefully, they can co-exist and both benefit.

[CoachBob]

Unless you are a purist, smallmouth bass are IMHO more fun to catch than trout. The techniques for presentation, retrieve and hooking are much different and small mouth don't ever give up and surf. The real problem for trout fishermen is going to be predation. Smallmouth are terrific predators and primarily eat other fish. A substantial smallmouth population can decimate other species. To reduce smallmouth predation on trout there would have to be sunfish, but bluegill are also great predators. So...it's a trade off.

[cycler68]

I'm wondering if the crayfish population would increase or decrease as a trout stream warmed i.e. could the crayfish native to the trout stream adapt? If they increased I would think that would be good for the smallmouth. I'm also wondering if the cold water crayfish be displaced by a warmwater species. Questions, questions.

[Gigmaster]

Don't sweat it. Enjoy the smallies. They will reach a balance at some point. We have both in my stream behind the house, and a lot more streams around here have smallies, brown, and rainbow trout.

[Uncle Jesse]

I'm wondering if the crayfish population would increase or decrease as a trout stream warmed i.e. could the crayfish native to the trout stream adapt? If they increased I would think that would be good for the smallmouth. I'm also wondering if the cold water crayfish be displaced by a warmwater species. Questions, questions.

I always assumed everyone had crawfish somewhere in their lakes and streams but the last time I was in the White Mountains of AZ I discovered they were considered to an invasive species there. There were plenty of trout to munch on them, I would have thought they would have added to the feedstock for the fish. I guess someone from LA needs to send them a video on how to catch and cook them, then they might be decimated and efforts begin to save them from extinction.

[cycler68]

Uncle Jesse wrote:

I always assumed everyone had crawfish somewhere in their lakes and streams but the last time I was in the White Mountains of AZ I discovered they were considered to an invasive species there

You wouldn't happen to know the species of those invasive crayfish would you?

[Uncle Jesse]

You wouldn't happen to know the species of those invasive crayfish would you?

I did a google search, one article referred to them as Northern Crayfish, the other Louisiana red swamp crawfish. There's a potential growth industry, crawfish traps and Zatrains Crawfish Boil seasoning.

[Gigmaster]

You ain't kiddin. I always keep crawfish traps out and I always have a few pounds in the freezer. For the uninitiated, crawfish can be treated exactly like shrimp, and used as a substitute (better, in my opinion...) in any shrimp recipe. And, they are also killer catfish, SM bass, LG bass, and big bluegill live (or dead) bait.

Try putting some un-shelled crawfish tails on skewers, throw them on a grill or in the oven at 350 degrees, and baste them with some garlic butter, salt and pepper (go easy on the salt...crawfish are naturally a little bit saltier flavored than shrimp...). You'll never go back to Shrimp Scampi again. Another good use is to boil them (un-shelled tails, of course) until they just turn pinkish, throw them in a pot of Alfredo Sauce, simmer for 5 minutes, and serve over your favorite pasta (I use linguini most of the time).

I could write a whole cookbook just on crawfish (carp, too...).

I did a google search, one article referred to them as Northern Crayfish, the other Louisiana red swamp crawfish. There's a potential growth industry, crawfish traps and Zatrains Crawfish Boil seasoning.