I’ve been meaning to ask, in early July we were up on Vermillion, fishing was tough. When we soaked bottom baits like worms of jigs we kept catching fairly large crawfish. It was like they were everywhere. I would think that with all these big crawdads the fishing would be affected? What do others think or have found on Vermilion?
Were they rusty claw crayfish? I catch them a lot ice fishing on leech.
The smaller fish are going to be the first affected since they compete for the same food. The rustys have been in there for quite a while and the fish seem to be adapting. Eventually the liver disease will get them like it did in the lakes in northern WI. The problem is the disease hits the natives as well as the rustys.
The invasion of rusty crayfish on V has led to the virtual elimination of underwater vegetation on the east end, with a few exceptions such as Stuntz Bay.
The west end, which was weedier from the get go, could well face the same.
Fish do eat them, so they have some value to the food chain (though not as much as the native species), and it appears likely that the rise in jumbo perch numbers is because they’re feeding on the large numbers of young rusties. We know smallies love crayfish, and I’ve caught many a walleye on crayfish pattern cranks.
Here’s some more on the subject:
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The invasion of rusty crayfish on V has led to the virtual elimination of underwater vegetation on the east end, with a few exceptions such as Stuntz Bay.
Yeah, not to mention the weeds that are there are very sporadic 
There doesn’t seem to be an real defined weed edge 
Joe… I totally disagree. There is patches of weeds with edges, pockets and turns just like any other weed beds… I have clear edges marked. It just isn’t like the milfoil edges down south, much more defined!
Steve has some very accurate info on the crayfish. Even muskies on the easy end eat them. I caught a Muskie and watched him puke up a crawfish on my boat once.
They can be quite quick to grab the crawler. I chose to play top predator and had myself one helluva crawfish boil when I was up last. Good eats!
Since the invasion if the Rusty, the weed beds are rapidly vanishing on the West end also!
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Joe… I totally disagree. There is patches of weeds with edges, pockets and turns just like any other weed beds… I have clear edges marked. It just isn’t like the milfoil edges down south, much more defined!
Steve has some very accurate info on the crayfish. Even muskies on the easy end eat them. I caught a Muskie and watched him puke up a crawfish on my boat once.
I’m just talking about an observation I made when I was up there about a week ago, doing so prevacation scouting
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