Preliminary Evaluation of Baits and Traps for Harvesting Orconectid Crayfish from Earthen Ponds

Four commercially available crayfish baits and two trap types were evaluated for efficiency in trapping Orconecres virilis and O. immunis from 13 unmanaged, contiguous earthen ponds in southern Illinois from May through October 1988. Specifically, this study compared three long-life baits and one one-day bait to gizzard shad, and four-funnel submerged pillow traps to three-funnel stand-up pyramid traps in matched-pair comparisons. Data from O. immunis harvest was not included in the final evaluation because of the relatively low numbers caught (343). The three long-life baits attracted significantly more O. virilis than did gizzard shad, but the attractability of the one-day bait was not significantly different from shad. There were no significant differences between four-funnel pillow traps and three-funnel pyramid traps or between catch per unit effort from deep or shallow ends of typical culture ponds. These data indicate that wild populations of O. virilis are susceptible to trapping with typical baits and traps used in the southern United States, and these methods may be more effective than those currently employed.