re: Was BS'ing with a buddy about starting farming crawfish...

A 1 acre pond will produce 1,200lbs of crawfish a year. Need clay soils. DO NOT DIG A POND! Just install 3' x 8'wide levees around the low area you want the pond located. You'll need to install an outfall weir/dam and pipe to be able to drain the pond around July or some kind of pump system.

You need to spend a year farming rice first. Once you are successful growing rice and maintaining water elevations at around 18" you are ready to dump 4 sacks of crawfish into the pond in May/June. Allow them to be in water for a month or so before slowly draining the water. Till bottom and plant rice. Allow rain to slow fill the pond (this is where a lot people lost money last year because there was no rain). Secondary option for filling pond is a good idea. Keep water around 18" for remainder of year. Start harvesting crawfish in March until you pull around 1,200lbs and stop. Leave the rest to reproduce for the follow years.

Edit: Actually the first year I'd only pull 800lbs or so...and allow the system to establish itself.