Berkley Chigger Craws

[Brett's_daddy]

Okay, so Dick's Sporting Goods has a really good deal going on with Berkley Chigger Craws (and other power bait stuff)...buy 4 packs for $14 with a $10 mail in rebate. I have no experience with Chigger Craws though...what's their action like? Are they durable (or is Mend It your friend with these)? Are they better texas rigged or as a jig trailer? They come in 3" and 4" sizes...which size is best for specific applications? I'm basically trying to justify even MORE plastics to be added to my arsenal...lol.

[J Francho]

Good baits, good action.  They get bit.  Claws are less durable than Rage Craws.

[Scarborough817]

i personally love chigger craws, they don't have a ton of action but they are a good jig trailer. i kind of found an action vid 

 

 

[Choporoz]

A few years ago I faced a similar sale on 3" Chigger craws.  I bought a small bunch (at least enough for the rebate, however many that was at the time.)  I loved them -- they started catching me fish right off the bat.  Unfortunately, I got it in my head that they were a dink bait.  I dunno if it was the situation I was throwing into at that time...but, I started to realize that while I got decent numbers with them, I rarely caught a bass over 12".   Again, I acknowledge that it might be all in my head, but I haven't used them since I decided they were dink-magnets.

[J Francho]

The Crazy Legs is a completely different bait.

[Brett's_daddy]

2 minutes ago, J Francho said:

The Crazy Legs is a completely different bait.

I'm sure like everything they both have their place but in your opinion which is better/most versatile...regular or crazy legs?

[J Francho]

IDK, never threw a Crazy Legs.

[WRB]

I use both the 3" & 4" Chigger Craws as jig trailers in green pumpkin. Like other craws the claws need to be seperated out of the package as they tend to be molded together.

The mold is poor quality, the colors are muted but they catch bass. What I like about Chigger Craws is their swimming action, it's unique with alternate slower motion legs kicking like a human swimming in lieu of kicking fast together like a Rage Craw.

I use the the 3" for faster sink rate and smaller profile, the 4" to slow the rate of fall and larger profile, just depends on the basses preference.

The Chigger Craw is durable enough, I wouldn't bother repairing any soft plastic jig trailer unless running out of them.

Tom

[Scarborough817]

17 minutes ago, Brett's_daddy said:

I'm sure like everything they both have their place but in your opinion which is better/most versatile...regular or crazy legs?

i like both but prefer the standard to the crazy legs there are other baits with more appendages that give better action 

[sully420]

I love chigger craws i only use the 4" there pretty durable and dont seem to spit them. Generally use them as jig trailers 

[Log Catcher]

I have only tried the crazy legs chigger craw on a Texas rig. I only used them three or four times last year but I caught largemouth and smallmouth on them.

[DINK WHISPERER]

I use the 4" almost exclusively for my jig trailer when flipping. The 5" and the crazy legs for pitching T-rigged. I love these things and they definitely hold on to them longer I think. Pretty durable body but the claws do rip off easier. I just scored a deal on eBay last week on some. A lot of 10 bags in black/blue flake color for $22 shipped! 

[SDoolittle]

This picture is almost 10 years old. It's from the first time I tried a Chigger Craw. I had caught several smaller fish on a Texas rigged lizard, but I ran out of lizards, so I tied on a jig with a Chigger Craw trailer. I've been a fan of Chigger Craws ever since. I like regular Chigger Craws for jig trailers and Crazy Legs for Texas rig.

[snake95]

I use the crazy legs T-rigged and do really well with them in ponds.

 

In my experience, the least durable craw you can throw.  You can't re-attach lost claws with Mend-it.

 

However, I would put almost in the same category as live bait.

[Way north bass guy]

They both work great. One way I’ve used the crazy legs a lot for smallies is to drag it on a football head across rocks/gravel in the summer and fall. They slurp it up, especially in anything closely resembling your lakes craw colours. I like the green pumpkin the best for my area lakes. 

[ww2farmer]

3" + 4" Chigger craws are staples in my rotation. I use them as both jig trailers, and as stand alone t-rig baits. 

 

They take more weight to get flapping hard and fast on the fall than say a rage craw, or paca craw. But I like that feature, because, for example, in cold water where they don't want a ton of action in the claws, I can downsize my sinker/jig weight for the slower fall they seem to prefer, and it will mute the action of the claws. Plus, it's a powerbait product...they just get bit.

 

On a straight line retrieve, like as a swim jig trailer, the 3" flaps pretty good at moderate to fast speed, and makes for a good compact trailer for said swim jigs. I tend to not use the 4" as a swim jig trailer as much as the claws are more tucked into the body, and less bulky, and opt for a Yum Christie Craw, Rage Craw, or something else.

 

The Crazy legs version is a good bait too, and I use them a lot in the summer. Where as the regular are year round baits for me.

[Ratherbfishing]

Texas-rigged Chigger Craws are one of my staples when that's what the situation calls for.  I rarely use "normal" jigs but, rather, fish a Chigger Craw almost exclusively-sometimes with a skirt and sometimes without.  With the hook buried (texas rigged), they are about as weedless as one might reasonably ask for but hook well.  They're a LOT cheaper to replace, however, when you do hang them up.

 

The "flappers" (or whatever you want to call them) do tend to come off but probably not much more than other baits.  When they do come off, and I'm running out of that color, a lot of the time I'll just run a flapper from another used bait onto the hook so that it "pairs" with the remaining flapper.  I have not tried it but I seriously doubt Mend It will work with any Powerbait product.  I don't think it's a petroleum based product.

 

I do think that bass tend to hang on a little longer than regular plastics. Based upon what I have read (that the scent is not as readily released as some types), I am going to experiment this year and try to "rough up" the surface a little and see if that increases the effectiveness even more.

[snake95]

1 hour ago, Ratherbfishing said:

I am going to experiment this year and try to "rough up" the surface a little and see if that increases the effectiveness even more.

Hm.  THAT'S an interesting thought.