As most of you should know by now(I've posted about it enough times) I like to go out during lunchtime and do some fishing/sampling on the Delaware-Raritan canal. I've had some fun so far this spring catching a couple of trout(stocked) and netting 2 baby Pumpkinseed Sunfish and a few Ghost shrimp. I also managed to catch 3 Cambarus bartonii crayfish out of the small stream that runs near the canal which is great since I've been wanting some since last summer and couldn't find any.

Anyway a friend from work and I were out fishing last Friday on the canal and while we didn't catch any fish(aside from one small baby sunfish I netted and released) I did catch 2 good sized Orconectes Virilis which came as a surprise and a treat since they are one of my favorite crayfish species.









I went back to the same stretch of canal yesterday just to pretty much fish. I brought my net and capture tank just in case but I really hadn't planned on netting anything. As I was walking down the bank I saw a huge crayfish molt that my friend and I had seen last Friday and on an impulse decided to stop and look for the crayfish. It only took me a minute or so to find it partially hidden under some leaves. I scooped it up along with a bunch of mud and after cleaning off the mud I realized it was still a soft shell so I quickly put it in my capture\photo tank and I won't touch it again until it's shell hardens. It's another Orconectes virilis and it's the biggest crayfish I've ever caught or even seen. It only has one claw but the claw is 2 1/4 inches long. I'm already calling it Crayzilla.

Here are some better pictures of Crayzilla