Plastic Crawfish Retrieves

[Mobasser]

On a small quarry lake I bank fish, I've stood on the bank and watched crawfish sitting on rocks in shallow water.                                                  If I move very much, or cast a shadow over them, they glide two or three feet to the bottom, and usually sit there, unless spooked again.                                                     Years ago, when I first tried soft plastic craw baits, I fished them with a slow lift/drop retrieve, much the same as I do a t rig plastic worm. I caught very few bass hopping them off the bottom like this.                                I've read that crawfish can actually hop off the bottom, when fleeing from a fish, but I've never seen one do this. It's always been a slow glide, or a faster scurry motion, to protect themselves from predator fish.                                           Here's what's worked best for me: Cast, let the bait hit bottom, and let it sit for a time, maybe up to one minute. Turn the reel two or three turns, and stop. Let it sit again, and repeat back to bank or boat.                                                       I've had the best luck with the rod tip lower, slightly to the right, as opposed to keeping the rod tip up, which I do for plastic worms.                                                 Lately, it's been the Zoom Critter Craw, and some generic craws I'm using up, t rigged, or on a Big Bite Baits screwlock shakey head. The t rig seems to work best with this retrieve style.                               With both rigs, turning the reel handle very slowly has worked the best, and pausing in between reeling.                 What's your favourite way to retrieve crawfish baits? Do you like to hop them, or keep them in constant contact with the bottom?

[Catt]

When trying to imitate a crawfishes movements it helps to know how a real one moves. When unalarmed a crawfish walks around on its little legs like any creature, it's capable of moving forward, backwards, and sideways. Once frightened it will flick its tail lifting itself upwards and backwards rather quickly, it will do this 3 or 4 times covering a distance of only 5 to 6'. Once back on the bottom the crawfish will return to its defensive posture of claws up warning other creature not to approach.

 

Since a bass is a predator its instincts tells it to strike the crawfish on the fall or to strike while the crawfish is on the bottom before it can make its next jump/hop.

 

That is why you should pay close attention to your jig/craw worms initial fall, the bass believes it has caught the crawfish off guard

[scaleface]

I fish  it just like  worm . I fish lots of stuff just like a worm .Lift and drop .

[Log Catcher]

I have fished them slowly along the bottom and by making the jump up and glide back down. I fish the Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw along the bottom most of the time. I have better luck with the Berkley Crazy Legs Chigger Craw by making it jump. Caught LMB and SMB on it doing that.

 

Bought some of the Magnum Ultra Vibe Speed Craws but haven't gotten to try them yet.

[A-Jay]

I fish a Rage Bug on swing head by using the reel only.

Two or three reel turns and a pause.

Most times, Its ALL about the pause.

A-Jay

[DitchPanda]

For me I rarely use a craw on a Texas rig...I usually use a worm or a creature bait namely a baby brush hog or d bomb. I do use a speed craw a lot on the back of a jig or swim jig often.

[Bluebasser86]

Croc-O-Gator Ring Craw on a 1/8oz Slider head. I just slow drag it on the bottom. It's a killer for me in early spring when the craws are small.

[snake95]

22 hours ago, Mobasser said:

Zoom Critter Craw

@Mobasser great post and resulting thread.  

About the critter craw - I have seen these and was not very interested - because they don't have the large flapping claws you see on so many craw baits out there.

I guess they are like the Yum crawbugs - not a ton of action, but effective anyway.

Will give them a try.

[the reel ess]

I'm usually fishing it on a jig. I'm targeting a specific piece of cover. Almost all bites occur on the initial fall. I lift and drop it a couple times. Then I work it through the cover a bit. Not because that's how crawfish act, but because it's in the cover. No bite-I reel it up and do it again. But I don't burn it back anymore because I've had a couple fish chase it out of the cover and I was able to catch them. I've also had them bite it just steadily swimming it through stumps and laydowns. But most of the time, casting and retrieving a jig gets me no bites. I'd use a worm for that. I know others have different experiences. Just my $.02.

[Hook2Jaw]

I normally let the cover dictate my retrieve with any soft plastic, be it worm, craw, or creature.  I have a lot of the grassy algae blanketing the bottoms I fish, so it normally calls for a lift and drop.  I also do this to guide my bait through wood and rock.

 

When I'm purely working my lure from touchdown to my rod tip with minimal cover, I loooove to shake my bait towards me.  I will vibrate my wrist and bring the bait towards me, catch up slack, and do it again.  I also like to quickly stroke the bait up, slowly lift the bait up, move my rod sideways to maintain bottom contact, or reel and pause.

 

As always, I try to let the fish tell me what they like, no matter the bait variant on the bottom. 

[Jonas Staggs]

To catch fish on a craw, does the body of water have to contain real crawfish? I mean common sense would say yes, so you can mimick a food source, but I am wondering if anyone has caught fish on craws in water that doesnt have them. 

[the reel ess]

8 minutes ago, Jonas Staggs said:

To catch fish on a craw, does the body of water have to contain real crawfish? I mean common sense would say yes, so you can mimick a food source, but I am wondering if anyone has caught fish on craws in water that doesnt have them. 

No. I mean, there aren't any worms in most of the waters I fish. But crawfish exist in almost all bodies of freshwater. There may not be huge concentrated numbers of them. You may go years without seeing one, then catch a fish with one sticking out of its throat. I didn't see one for almost 40 years on L. Wateree, SC. Then I caught a bass "passing" a claw. I helped the poor fella out and tossed him back.

[Mobasser]

1 hour ago, snake95 said:

@Mobasser great post and resulting thread.  

About the critter craw - I have seen these and was not very interested - because they don't have the large flapping claws you see on so many craw baits out there.

I guess they are like the Yum crawbugs - not a ton of action, but effective anyway.

Will give them a try.

Snake95, I chose the Critter Craw in 3" size because that was as close to the old Hibdon Guido Bug as I could get. The Guido Bug had longer thinner claws, and longer antannaes out front. It seems to work well, is reasonably priced, and I've caught more on this style than the craw baits with large flapping craws. I'm sure those would work at times also.

[Jonas Staggs]

18 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

No. I mean, there aren't any worms in most of the waters I fish. But crawfish exist in almost all bodies of freshwater. There may not be huge concentrated numbers of them. You may go years without seeing one, then catch a fish with one sticking out of its throat. I didn't see one for almost 40 years on L. Wateree, SC. Then I caught a bass "passing" a claw. I helped the poor fella out and tossed him back.

 

I fish a lot of man made community lakes, im not sure if they hold crawfish, I havent seen any of them, and I have never caught anything with crawfish at them. This was leading me to believe that maybe the body of water has to have them in order for them to work however.......

 

I fish other natural water sources that I know hold crawfish, I have even caught live crawfish at these spots, and used them as bait, still caught nothing. Same goes for fishing plastics at these places as well. 

 

I hear so much stuff online about how great craws are, so I really thought I was gonna kill it with some live craws and was surprised I caught nothing with them. 

 

so far I have only caught 1 green sunfish with a super tiny craw, which aint saying much cause they bite just about anything. 

 

I got the yum crawbug and the yum money craw...money craw has a great tail action

 

Side not, who likes to eat crawfish? I got some traps and some spots I can catch them by the bucket.

[Mobasser]

6 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

No. I mean, there aren't any worms in most of the waters I fish. But crawfish exist in almost all bodies of freshwater. There may not be huge concentrated numbers of them. You may go years without seeing one, then catch a fish with one sticking out of its throat. I didn't see one for almost 40 years on L. Wateree, SC. Then I caught a bass "passing" a claw. I helped the poor fella out and tossed him back.

My experience was similiar. I fished this lake for years, and did well always on plastic worms of different styles. One day, caught a 10" bass with a small crawfish in his throat. This was the clue. Now, I fish both craws and worms both. Everything I've ever read or heard over the years has said that if crawfish are available, bass will take them over other food sources first. So many larger fish have been caught on big crawbaits, jig/ craw combos, jig/ pig combos and live crawfish, that I tend to believe this.

[scaleface]

30 minutes ago, Jonas Staggs said:

To catch fish on a craw, does the body of water have to contain real crawfish? I mean common sense would say yes, so you can mimick a food source, but I am wondering if anyone has caught fish on craws in water that doesnt have them. 

No . We  could make up a critter and bass would eat it . Creature baits for example . Some guy just made that thing up .

[Spankey]

Mo, that Guido Bug was the Shizzle. Back in the day I use to fish the heck out of them on the river. 1/16 oz. jig head with 1/0 hook. After all these years I still have a few. You still have some? I gave up a long time ago trying to find them. What a great bait. 

[Mobasser]

16 hours ago, A-Jay said:

I fish a Rage Bug on swing head by using the reel only.

Two or three reel turns and a pause.

Most times, Its ALL about the pause.

A-Jay

A- Jay, this is 100% true for me also. I don't remember ever catching a bass as I was slowly reeling the bait. 99% have hit on the pause, or, after my initial cast as the bait was sinking. Catts info is good also here. Be ready on that initial cast, because the bass thinks he's got an easy meal, before the crawfish goes on the defense.

[scaleface]

Another thing about the Guido bug . It had a smooth finish . If a person was unsure if they had a bite or not , all one had to do was examine the lure for teeth marks .They were easy to spot shiny smooth baits ,  

[Mobasser]

3 minutes ago, Spankey said:

Mo, that Guido Bug was the Shizzle. Back in the day I use to fish the heck out of them on the river. 1/16 oz. jig head with 1/0 hook. After all these years I still have a few. You still have some? I gave up a long time ago trying to find them. What a great bait. 

Loved the Guido Bug. If I could find a bunch I would buy them up. I used all of mine years ago

2 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Another thing about the Guido bug . It had a smooth finish . If a person was unsure if they had a bite or not , all one had to do was examine the lure for teeth marks .They were easy to spot shiny smooth baits ,  

Agree. Sometimes I think some baits have too many ribs, appendages, and all sorts of things to make them look good to fisherman, maybe not always the fish. The Guido Bug was simple looking compared to some of the newer baits.And, I always liked them because of Guido and Dion Hibdon. Heroes of mine

[the reel ess]

1 hour ago, Jonas Staggs said:

 

I fish a lot of man made community lakes, im not sure if they hold crawfish, I havent seen any of them, and I have never caught anything with crawfish at them. This was leading me to believe that maybe the body of water has to have them in order for them to work however.......

 

I fish other natural water sources that I know hold crawfish, I have even caught live crawfish at these spots, and used them as bait, still caught nothing. Same goes for fishing plastics at these places as well. 

 

I hear so much stuff online about how great craws are, so I really thought I was gonna kill it with some live craws and was surprised I caught nothing with them. 

 

so far I have only caught 1 green sunfish with a super tiny craw, which aint saying much cause they bite just about anything. 

 

I got the yum crawbug and the yum money craw...money craw has a great tail action

 

Side not, who likes to eat crawfish? I got some traps and some spots I can catch them by the bucket.

Mandmade lakes usually are made from freshwater streams. Try some artificials. Try different colors and sizes. I feel so confident with a jig that I'd still have one tied on even at a place I knew didn't have any craws. It's a big bass bait. I don't see any straight tail 7" bubble gum worms swimming in my local lake, but the bass eat them up.

 

[Spankey]

1 hour ago, Mobasser said:

Loved the Guido Bug. If I could find a bunch I would buy them up. I used all of mine years ago

Agree. Sometimes I think some baits have too many ribs, appendages, and all sorts of things to make them look good to fisherman, maybe not always the fish. The Guido Bug was simple looking compared to some of the newer baits.And, I always liked them because of Guido and Dion Hibdon. Heroes of mine

You are bringing back many of good times in my head with those Bugs. Thanks for the post. 
 

Mo, I’ll pull that container out sometime soon and see what I have left and what colors I have left. Maybe I have your favorite in there and I Can put a few in a plastic bag, in an envelope and mail them to you. Maybe can give you a chance to relive it. My most productive color was that solid grayish And the solid pumpkinseed. The colored claw ones would get ruined by the shell crackers. 

[Team9nine]

In the simplest terms, the most vulnerable crayfish are the ones that leave the bottom for whatever reason. On the bottom, the craw has the ability to move/rotate in a tighter circle and defend itself than a bass has to swim around to try and grab it from behind (why you usually see antennae sticking out in a basses mouth). On the bottom, the craw can back itself against objects to protect itself, maneuver into cracks or crevices, or use it's size and pincers to defend itself. Not so once he's up in the water column. As such, any retrieve that makes my jig leave the bottom is a good one in my book, and this includes @Catt mention of the initial fall, as well as hops and swimming retrieves.

 

The caveat is that not all crayfish species react the same. Studies here in the Midwest to determine why Rusty Crayfish are taking over so many lakes found that one possible explanation is that they don't leave the bottom when confronted by a predator. They use their larger size and their claws to face their predator and try and hold their space until they can step to safety. Native craws, on the other hand, tended to do the quick 4'-6' backward swim to escape, and when they did so, the bass simply outswam them and sucked them up from behind. They mostly become snacks 

[DitchPanda]

5 hours ago, Jonas Staggs said:

To catch fish on a craw, does the body of water have to contain real crawfish? I mean common sense would say yes, so you can mimick a food source, but I am wondering if anyone has caught fish on craws in water that doesnt have them. 

Not at all..but id be willing to bet there are craws in there even if you think not. Kinda like how shad colored baits work in places with no shad.

[jimmyjoe]

   When I used craws (always purple) I had two brass or one brass and one glass bead(s) on the line. I snapped the craw up and let it sink. I was told the beads made a clicking sound like the real crawfish did. I don't know whether that was true or not. Maybe I was just gullible. I learned not to use that rig in the river (snag-up) but it seemed to do OK in lakes.

   Slow, steady retrieve with that rig never got me a thing.          jj