A quick note to you PA smallie anglers…
The PA Fish and Boat Commission will be voting on a proposal in October to ban the possession of live crayfish
The problem is that non-native Rusty Crayfish have invaded some area of the Susquehanna and these new crayfish out compete native species, changing the ecosystem.
These are typically spread by anglers bringing these crayfish to new locations and it doesn’t take long for them to overtake the native crayfish because they consume pretty much any organic matter, whether it be eggs of other crayfish, fish eggs, etc.
In some waterways in the southeast, the native crayfish population has been replaced entirely by the invasive variety. Even some of the state’s renowned trout streams – Yellow Breeches in Cumberland County, Spring Creek and Fisherman’s Paradise in State College, and Penns Creek in Centre County, for example — have been taken over by invasive crayfish. Source
According to a very comprehensive document put out by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission:
The habitat we rely on to keep our fishing hobby at its best can be thrown off easily by these changes which may seem harmless on the surface but can be a big deal in the long run.
Since the Fish Commission has identified this as a problem, please consider not using live crayfish for bait from here on so that we can stop the spread of the invasive Rusty Crayfish.
