Crayfish Colors 2025
DBL000006 reply :
I was at my local body of water today. I saw a half eaten Crawfish. The color was Brown, seems it had Purple flash in it. Wonder in March will that Crayfish stay Brown, or change as soon as Spring comes? I may start the Year with Brown Cranks and Peanut Butter & Jelly color Jigs.
A-Jay reply :
There are over 300 species of crayfish in North America and at least 6 different types in your home state.
When trying to use a bait to imitate these bottom dwellers, shades of brown, red, dark green and as you mentioned purple all have there place.
Some thing to keep in mind in this situation is that an organism rarely retains it living colors after death, especially one that may have been soaking on the bottom of the lake for a while.
Good Luck
A-Jay
Mosster47 reply :
They molt every moon phase so they are constantly changing in color.
That's why brown, green, purple, black, blue, red, and orange all work everywhere.
Scott F reply :
On 1/17/2016 at 8:01 AM, Mosster47 said:They molt every moon phase so they are constantly changing in color.
That's why brown, green, purple, black, blue, red, and orange all work everywhere.
Can you show any scientific evidence that shows that crawfish molting is related to moon phases? Don't they molt their hard shells to accommodate their growing bodies? Young crawfish grow rapidly and can molt every couple of weeks while older crawfish grow more slowly and only molt a couple of times a year. People keep crawfish in aquariums where they never see the moon. How would they know when to molt? Please post where I can find articles relating to molting and the moon.
Mosster47 reply :
On 1/17/2016 at 8:59 AM, Scott F said:Can you show any scientific evidence that shows that crawfish molting is related to moon phases? Don't they molt their hard shells to accommodate their growing bodies? Young crawfish grow rapidly and can molt every couple of weeks while older crawfish grow more slowly and only molt a couple of times a year. People keep crawfish in aquariums where they never see the moon. How would they know when to molt? Please post where I can find articles relating to molting and the moon.
I got it from this Bub Tosh video. Since matching craw colors is his profession I figured it was accurate.
I started tracking moon phases and I throw trailers with a very defined red, blue, and purple colors when the moon is 85% full or more and it seems to work pretty well.
Bluebasser86 reply :
Our craws tend to start out the year very dark until the water gets into the 50's, then they lighten up to more of a light to medium brown with blue/green mixed in. They're almost black during the winter months though.
scaleface reply :
I've seen the purple crawdads , greens , browns with orange tips ...I dont know if they change color with seasons so I just guess when choosing colors .
Off subject but those bottom dwelling darters come in a rainbow of colors . I use to keep a bunch in an aquarium and they would be turquoise , orange , yellow ...and I seined them locally . The cleaner the water the brighter the colors were.
DBL000006 reply :
Awesome posts guys. In March, Northeast area. What color are Crayfish? I guess that's why, all of us love Bass Fishing. Match the hatch. They could be Black and Blue in March. Yes, they do change Colors on full moons. Another Question.. Different States, do they change on air temperature? Also water temperature. In my area it's still cold in March. It's a guessing game for sure.
drew4779 reply :
At my local honey hole I've seen many colors but I took a few home once and put them in an aquarium and they ended up a dark bronze with bright orange tips. I painted a couple cranks that exact color for this specific spot and have never caught a thing on those cranks. I've painted some of those same cranks in a rainbow trout pattern and smash bass with them there. There are no trout in this water system. Funny how things work out.
roadwarrior reply :
Primary species in TN: https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=adk&hsimp=yhs-adk_sbnt&p=crawfish+colors+in+tn&type=pythondirect_em_cr¶m1=20151007¶m2=5b713d63-f55a-4cf3-b074-228f1190a5ec¶m3=email_xp_1.18~US~pythondirect¶m4=pd_gs_email_yahoo_b~chrome
buzzed bait reply :
i looked up the crawfish species in GA and found a DNR study with all sorts of awesome photos and such... really opened up my eyes to the varieties that are around me!
roadwarrior reply :
On 1/18/2016 at 11:02 PM, buzzed bait said:i looked up the crawfish species in GA and found a DNR study with all sorts of awesome photos and such... really opened up my eyes to the varieties that are around me!
This is generally the case throughout the country and the reason so many different colors are effective. Although a specific color can be critical, the profile and action is usually more important. In my mind structure, cover and depth trump everything else.
Sam reply :
The best crawfish color of all time, with no debate, is bright red.
The color of the mudbug when they come out of the boiling water and are thrown on the table for dinner.
Yummy! 
P.S. Add an Abita Purple Haze or a Barq's (It's Good) and you are in pig heaven.
Sam reply :
Alonerankin2 reply :
Our dead crayfish are also dark brown..
68camaro reply :
On 1/23/2016 at 6:04 AM, Sam said:
And there you have it........
Buckeye Ron reply :
I grew up using soft craws I caught out of the river,either using a seine or grabbing them with my hands.Back then no one ever heard of the science related to the various moon phases,but I can tell you that when we knew the next full moon was coming we were going to get soft craws. Later I saw this same pattern in small lakes that had an abundance of crayfish. City folks would gladly pay good money for our bait,but to me it was just plain fun going after them. Sure miss those days...
Scott F reply :
On 1/23/2016 at 12:21 PM, Buckeye Ron said:I grew up using soft craws I caught out of the river,either using a seine or grabbing them with my hands.Back then no one ever heard of the science related to the various moon phases,but I can tell you that when we knew the next full moon was coming we were going to get soft craws. Later I saw this same pattern in small lakes that had an abundance of crayfish. City folks would gladly pay good money for our bait,but to me it was just plain fun going after them. Sure miss those days...
That's because there is no science related to moon phases and crayfish. No scientific study has ever found a connection between moon phases and fresh water animals, or humans for that matter
Team9nine reply :
On 1/23/2016 at 9:31 PM, Scott F said:That's because there is no science related to moon phases and crayfish. No scientific study has ever found a connection between moon phases and fresh water animals, or humans for that matter
This is probably the best overall paper on the subject. Doesn't necessarily argue for or against, but certainly leaves the door open to the possibility, especially when you move away from the molting issue and deal with behavior, where the argument for such a phenomena becomes stronger.
"Lunar-Rhythmic Molting in Laboratory Populations of the Noble Crayfish Astacus astacus (Crustacea, Astacidea): An Experimental Analysis"
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0068653
Scott F reply :
That's the first paper I've ever seen that has some explanation. It does say that molting peaks on the new moon not the full. It appears that it's the amount of light (or lack of) that triggers the activity. I'm always looking for what the connection between the moon and creatures is. Is it gravity, light or something else?
Team9nine reply :
Quote"The results of Experiment 2, however, clearly show that the primary external information for the observed lunar periodicity in molting originates from the lunar-monthly changes in the nocturnal light regime."
One theory on new moon vs full moon is simply one of behavior, whereby molting puts the crayfish in a vulnerable position to predation, hence cycling on the new moon would help "hide" the crayfish from predators who might normally feed at night using the light of a full moon to their advantage. But as the paper went on to say, it likely isn't the full answer to the question:
Quote"The coupling of molting processes to certain phases of the lunar cycle requires a periodic input of relevant external information. The moon’s rotation relative to the earth is accompanied by a variety of regular environmental changes. The most obvious among these changes relate to gravitational forces and to the lunar-monthly changes in the nocturnal light regime (moonlight cycle). Additionally, a number of subtle geophysical parameters such as electromagnetic forces also undergo lunar-monthly changes and hence have also to be considered as potential sources of external information. Only stringent experimental analyses can specify which particular environmental variables are involved in a lunar-rhythmic timing of molting or other activities."
"Coupling of biological rhythms with the lunar cycle via photic stimuli associated with the moonlight cycle have been suggested for a number of marine, freshwater and terrestrial species, yet experimental evidence is still restricted to a few cases. In most cases studied, photic lunar cues do not seem to act directly but as zeitgebers (entraining agents) of an endogenous (semi-) lunar rhythm. Irregularities in weather conditions make moonlight a rather unreliable cue in many parts of the world. An endogenous nature would allow for the maintenance of the rhythm even when the moon is occasionally obscured by clouds."
So it may be a case similar to barometric pressure, where the most obvious and easily measured/seen factor, in reality, may not be the actual trigger for something, but merely a corresponding agent. Plus, the paper only deals with a single species of crayfish in the lab. You'd have to believe the variability among crayfish species in the wild would be much wider. Still, you gotta' love the science 
-T9
Sam reply :
On 1/24/2016 at 2:02 AM, Scott F said:That's the first paper I've ever seen that has some explanation. It does say that molting peaks on the new moon not the full. It appears that it's the amount of light (or lack of) that triggers the activity. I'm always looking for what the connection between the moon and creatures is. Is it gravity, light or something else?
Good question.
We know so much and then we don't know so much.
Isn't Mother Nature great or what?
Sam reply :
By the way, guys, I sent the author of this thread a personal message with the information I received from the Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries biologist who is in charge of their crawfish studies.
I also told DBL that the photo I posted was in no way to make fun at his post. It is that I love to eat crawfish and wanted to share the photo with all who viewed the thread.
Crawfish are good!
HoosierHawgs reply :
On 1/24/2016 at 2:02 PM, Sam said:By the way, guys, I sent the author of this thread a personal message with the information I received from the Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries biologist who is in charge of their crawfish studies.
I also told DBL that the photo I posted was in no way to make fun at his post. It is that I love to eat crawfish and wanted to share the photo with all who viewed the thread.
Crawfish are good!
I've always been under the impression you were a crawfish lol!
E. Guido Soda reply :
Caught this guy in November. He had just inhaled a Bama craw apparently only minutes prior to being caught...
Brayberry reply :
Hey Sam, if you still have a copy of the VDGIF Crawfish Information, I'd love a copy as well. Thanks
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