79 



All crayfish go through several soft-shell stages. Their 

 outside shell is a chitinous skeleton to which their muscles 

 are attached. The shell does not grow with the body so the 

 crayfish sheds his outer shell and grows a larger one. As soon 

 as he sheds the outer shell he becomes soft-shelled until the 

 new one becomes hard. The crayfish that hatch in the spring 

 molt, or shed their shell a number of times the first summer. 

 So a greater number of soft-shelled individuals may be found 

 among this group. These medium-sized individuals are preferred 

 by anglers. 



There is but one satisfactory method of making hard-shelled 

 crayfish soft-shelled. That is by feeding them and developing 

 growth, causing the crayfish to shed the old shell frequently. 

 When a bait dealer propagates his own crayfish for bait, he may 

 sort out the soft-shelled crayfish from his pond every 2 or 3 

 days and have soft-shelled individuals onhand continually during 

 the summer. These individuals may be kept soft for a week or 

 more by keeping them on ice. If they are kept cold, metabolism 

 will slow up and growth will be retarded, with the result that 

 the shell will not harden very fast. . . . When they are removed 

 from this cold storage to warmer quarters, it is best to do so 

 gradually. They must be used soon after they are removed from 

 cold storage, for the shell often hardens very rapidly after 

 they warm up and become active. ... 



Fishermen should keep ice, covered with moss, in the bottom 

 of the soft-shelled crayfish container. 



Langlois (1937) reports the following growth for 

 crayfish ( Cambarus rusticus) from Ohio ponds: 



Date 



Length in inches 



May 15 . 

 June 8 . 

 June 21. 

 July 14. 

 August 18 

 October 30 



1/4 

 3/4 

 1-1/8 

 1-7/16 

 1-11/16 

 2-3/8 



Crickets 



Crickets can be raised in garbage cans placed in 

 garages or other warm locations. The can should be 

 waxed about 6 inches down from the top to keep the 

 crickets from escaping. A layer of clean sand is placed 

 in the can and kept moist to provide a place for 

 crickets to lay their eggs. The sand is covered with 

 wood excelsior to provide cover and perching space. 

 Poultry laying mash is recommended as food, but when it 



