Craw Colors In Moon Phases- Jig Selection

[Amarley]

Does anybody change their jig and trailer colors based on moon phases? I pretty much stick to green pumpkin, pb&j and black and blue, but have talked to some guys who fish colors depending on the moon phase. 

[mjseverson24]

I really do not worry too much about moon phase with Bass. The only noticeable difference to me is that the morning bit is not quite as good during the full moon phase as the fish have a better chance to be successful feeding all night long with the bright sky. I always judge my jigs based on water color and clarity and sky/ weather conditions.

 

Mitch

[Catt]

Uhh! No!

[BobP]

If you want to adapt your jig and trailer colors to reality (I've never heard of any study where moon phase had any effect whatever), turn over some rocks at the lake before you head out and match the colors you see on those crayfish.  Crayfish colors vary according to the body of water, time of year, and specific crayfish species.  That said, most crayfish species, most of the time, in most areas of the U.S. are mottled dark green or brown in color.  They may have color accents of blue, red, orange, or yellow at certain times of year when in reproductive mode.    

[Blues19]

I am actually making a crawdad trap out of 3 Liter soda bottles.  I'm gonna put it out in the water and see what I get, a day or two before I go fishing.  I figure it will really help me dial in on the colors, it will also help me customize a few jigs that may help me really beast the bass in the lake

[Bluebasser86]

I change colors by seasons or water temps, that's pretty much it. 

[aavery2]

That' a new one for me, I am trying my best to understand the correlation between moon phase and crawdad color. I just don't get it I guess.

[smalljaw67]

I flip over rocks as BobP suggested and in the spring there could be a few different colors at the same time. The thing I do and it seem to work for me, is changing colors based on season, in the spring I use jigs with various degrees of blue and lighter browns and that holds true until late spring when they begin to turn more of a green pumpkin color. By July most of our craws will have orange tips on the claws and some will even have orange spots along their sides so my summer craw patterns have orange in them with dark green pumpkin or dark brown. In all seriousness, flip rocks, it will tell you a lot.

[boostr]

I go according to water color, clear water Greens and browns, dark or murky water Black and blue flake. I have seen somewhere they also change color according to what they eat or the color of the bottom composition of the body of water that they live in.

[roadwarrior]

Seasonal for sure, not moon phase.

 

 

 

[F14A-B]

I don't know about moon phases, as it applys to crawfish coloration changes.. But in mid to late spring around here, the color IS, dark brown or coffee w/ orange.. Orange because they will be packing eggs in the tail areas and they are orange. Brown & Orange jigs & trailers = Fun Fishing!

[a1712]

That' a new one for me, I am trying my best to understand the correlation between moon phase and crawdad color. I just don't get it I guess.

I think the Guys who say stuff like that are trying to be the lake Guru to the people at the ramp. I guess some are impressed by it while most know they're FOS. Brian.

[Sam]

No.

 

New one on me.

[deaknh03]

holy crap.

[everythingthatswims]

The only time a certain color has outperformed others for me is a black and blue in muddy water, and crayfish definitely don't turn black and blue in muddy water. That's pretty much my take on jig colors. If I know what the crayfish look like where I'm fishing I will try to match that, but I don't think it will cost me many (if any) bites if I don't match it.

[rippin-lips]

I don't know about moon phase as it applies to crawfish colors but there is a whole section on moon phase and how it applies to fishing in the book by Bill Murphy. In pursuit of gaint bass. It's definetly a good pick up for $15.

[Amarley]

For those of you who think I'm completely crazy, here is some science to back the idea:

 

"Let's start with what is universally true: craws do change color. In a study performed by the University of Michigan, Dr. Robert Thacker found that crawfish have red and blue photoreceptors. In lakes where blue-green light transmitted best, the craws were lighter in color. And in lakes where red light transmitted best, the craws were darker in color. There has also been clear data to support that swamp-like bottom composition results in very different coloration than rocky bottom lakes or tributaries. I'm not carrying around a spectrophotometer from lake to lake measuring the color intensity, but I do have a few traps that I'll place at different points around the lake to collect samples of crawfish, which is ultimately the most effective way to match the hatch. This is really important to do because local bait shops often import what they sell from farms, where conditions can be completely different from what you're fishing.

 

When they'll change color is when they're molting, or shedding their shell. This results from outgrowing the one they'd worn previously. This process has also been known to change the color entirely based on habitat. What researchers have found is that molting is initiated by a chemical that's released in the body that's been linked to the different phases of the moon. An article in Bassmaster Magazine had this to say about colors and moon phase: 3-4 days before and after a full moon throw brown and orange or olive and orange,black and red as you move further into the moon cycle, new moon nights should warrant dark brown and black, and to use black and blue as you move to a sickle moon."

 

[Mike L]

I decide just based on water clarity.

But I'm a simple kinda guy.

Mike

[Jon G]

I think matching a color to what the craws in your lake look like is the only important thing. I usually look for craws around the lakes I fish and I havent found a difference in their colors at any certain point of the year. If you want to match the color of the craws in your area I recomend either using a trap, or like me, walk around a rip rap at one of your lakes and flip up rocks. In my area this is what the craws look like 95 percent of the time.

[Jtrout]

A knowledgeable employee at bps told me about the crayfish molting and the days surrounding the molt they will look really blue and he got me to buy some big bite baits craws In Sapphire blue and put it on a blue and black chatterbait

[Scott F]

I have serious doubts about any effect the moon has on freshwater fish. The boat you are fishing out of has more gravitational pull on the bass than the moon does.  Other than gravity, the moon phases are purely an optical event. On something as big as an ocean, the moon certainly effects the tides and movement of the water, but on smaller lakes, even the Great Lakes the pull is so small it is negligible.  I think the superstitions surrounding the full moon going back to ancient times still remain and the real effects it has are not based on fact. I have yet to see any scientific studies linking the moon to the spawn or other fish behavior.  That's my opinion, your mileage may vary.

[Brocephus Fishing]

I'd be interested to study any sort of science behind moonphases as it relates to molting. I feel the biggest factor in trying to match the hatch when it comes to crawfish is mostly seasonal, which directly correlates to water temperatures. Granted I will probably look into the science behind the moonphases, but when you throw a crawfish in a boilier it turns bright red just as it would turn more orange or red in warmer water. So for now, water temperature will probably remain the main factor I consider.

[Catt]

Google lsuagcenter, search their site for crawfish color.

As far "matching the hatch" with my jig...I catch with a black-n-blue jig in January & I catch on a black-n-blue in July!

All crawfish are not the same color at the same time.

I throw 3 basic colors; black-n-blue, black neon, & greens

[Fishingintheweeds]

On 1/17/2015 at 5:49 PM, Jtrout said:

A knowledgeable employee at bps told me about the crayfish molting and the days surrounding the molt they will look really blue and he got me to buy some big bite baits craws In Sapphire blue and put it on a blue and black chatterbait

And then what happened?

[yosef]

Not me ....I fish the same crystal clear lake all summer long and use the same color for everything , green pumpkin or sprayed grass if the company makes that color