Craw question 2024

HesterIsGod reply :

I am a total beginner when it comes to plastic craw fishing, definitally a big weakness that I need to work on. I have read where bass mainly prefer to eat crawfish with small pincers. So it seems most logical that plastic craws with small pincers would always work. Yet, there is a ton of craws out on the market with oversized craws that have a lot of action and that work great.

So, when should i choose a craw with small pincers and when should i choose one with bib claws? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Big-O reply :

My choice is to use smaller craws in clear water-clear days and larger in heavy stained or cloudy water or low light conditions. Regardless of water clarity I choose super action craws like the Rage Tail craws from Strike King. Although they are only offered in one size at this point, it does'nt matter, the fish slam'em big time.

mattm reply :

I start by saying that everything in this post is opinion. However I have no idea how anyone could know if a bass preferred small or large pinchers. What exactly is a small pincher? Did they prefer the samller pincher in the summer when a bass will typically take a smaller bait, or do they still like smaller pinchers in the colder monnths when one big meal is preferred to 5 small ones?

Having said all this I think it is rare, almost never in fact, that a plastic craw will outperform a soft plastic craw imitator. My favorite is the ***(***). For some reasn a soft plastic craw, which looks much more like an actual crawdad, just never seems to work as well.

Catt reply :

I do very well with Gene Larew Salty Hawg Craws & Riverside Big Claws; I don't think it makes a difference to the bass.

Hawg Craw

Big Claw

mattm reply :

Catt,

As a jig trailer or t-rig bait? I'm just amazed that you could have the same results with the bait pictured as a brush hog or beaver. Not saying not possible just different from me.

Catt reply :

I use them both as a T-rig and a jig trailer, the Texas rigged craw worm is one of the most underused bait available to the angler. A Texas rigged craw worm will produce better quality bass than creature baits; the creature bait will produce better quantities.

eyedabassman reply :

All I can say is just try some Netbait Paca Craws and buy some 3/0 EWG hooks and fish them on a T-rig and hold on!! I started to fish them last year and I boated MORE & BIGGER bass than on any other tube craw that I ever used in the past.

IT'S ALIVE, IT's ALIVE ;D :

mattm reply :

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I use them both as a T-rig and a jig trailer, the Texas rigged craw worm is one of the most underused bait available to the angler. A Texas rigged craw worm will produce better quality bass than creature baits; the creature bait will produce better quantities.

I tried this a lot last year and then gave up on it b/c I didn't have the same results. Plus, I heard a lot of people on here saying Jig trailers. Guess i'll give it another shot this year. I'm puzzled though b/c I caught bigger fish on beavers and bush bugs than I did the craws.

Jig Man reply :

I use critter craws and salt craws because I have only made molds of those types. I really like the big salt craw t-rigged in big brush piles. It catches quality fish.

Catt reply :

Sometimes it depends on the body of water or even certain areas on a body of water. Take for instance an area I fish called 944 Bull Creek; I couldn't make a bass eat a craw worm but they will kill a baby brush hog but out passed the mouth there are some underwater humps that are exactly opposite.

Why? I have no idea & I don't ask I just throw

.dsaavedra. reply :

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...Having said all this I think it is rare, almost never in fact, that a plastic craw will outperform a soft plastic craw imitator.

what do you mean by that? isnt a plastic craw the same thing as a soft plastic craw imitator??? :-?

mattm reply :

I mean something like a brush hog or beaver(creature). Not something like cat posted that looks like a crawfish.

.dsaavedra. reply :

ok i gotcha. so youre saying you dont think something that looks like a craw will do better than something that looks like something that looks like a craw will. lol. if you can understand that then you get a gold star! lol. ;D

HesterIsGod reply :

Thanks for all the replies. I still am kinda confused but i think that im just gonna stick to using craws w/ smaller pincers in clear water and tougher conditions, and vice versa for the craws w/ big pincers. Im also gonna try to imitate the forage better, if i can see or find a craw where im fishing i will imitate the size of its pincers.

mattm reply :

Dang it. I really wanted that star.

eyedabassman reply :

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Thanks for all the replies. I still am kinda confused but i think that im just gonna stick to using craws w/ smaller pincers in clear water and tougher conditions, and vice versa for the craws w/ big pincers. Im also gonna try to imitate the forage better, if i can see or find a craw where im fishing i will imitate the size of its pincers.

I was a Rep. for Mad Man Lures a few years back and they had two kinds of a craw.One was a craw tube and a craw worm and both had small pincers. I do still have many bags of them. Not sure that I want to part with them! They are small and they look so real!

.dsaavedra. reply :

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Dang it. I really wanted that star.

lmao!!!

smallieking reply :

the details of craw baits really dont make a whole lot of differnce. the length color and presention is what is critical for good bass fishing. i really like the hollow body yum craw in crawdad color it is a real natural imitation. try it on a shakey head exposed around boulders or deep ledges. t-rigging it on a 1/0 hook can be used but i think it is hard to get a good hookset good luck and just dont quit bass allover love craws so that is one presentation i think all anglers should be good at

Sam reply :

I think it depends on the water clarity and temperature.

If the water is clear then a small trailer is appropriate.

If the water is stained then a larger trailer can produce good results.

If the water is very cold or very hot, then you have a smaller strike zone and you may want to go larger as they do not want to move for a snack.

If the water is warm then you can use either presentation.

I know of a pro that uses the pork trailers and sqeezes all of the fluid out of them. He says they last longer and the bass love them.

I think your final decision will be based on the water clarity and temperature. Remember, the trailer can bulk up a bait making it more attractive to the bass.

It is my opinion that the size of the claws does not matter. It is the total size of the bait you are throwing and its color.

BiggerWorm reply :

It seems I recall an article which covered this topic. A study was done in which fish were presented crawdads with 2 pinchers, with 1 pincher, and with no pinchers. More fish were caught on the crawdad with no pinchers and the least were caught on the crawdad with 2 pinchers. This led to the developement of the Gidzit ( for some reason that name doen't sound right, but its close). This eventually led to the tube. I must admit that I still fish crawdads with 2 pinchers, I guess I'm afraid the fish might not recognize it with out the pinchers.

.dsaavedra. reply :

YUM Crawbugs look bad*ss. they are by far the most realistic soft plastic craw around. some craws look pretty good but they have no depth. they are flat or very thin, unlike a crawfish. YUM crawbugs are actually round like a real crawfish and look just like em. i honestly think that they made a mold of a real crawfish when they made their lures lol.

i dont even fish craws much, but i would be willing to bet that removing one pincer and melting the other shut would increase catch rate.

smallieking reply :

[biggerWorm

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Re: Craw question

Reply #20 - Today at 9:44pm It seems I recall an article which covered this topic. A study was done in which fish were presented crawdads with 2 pinchers, with 1 pincher, and with no pinchers. More fish were caught on the crawdad with no pinchers and the least were caught on the crawdad with 2 pinchers. This led to the developement of the Gidzit ( for some reason that name doen't sound right, but its close). This eventually led to the tube. I must admit that I still fish crawdads with 2 pinchers, I guess I'm afraid the fish might not recognize it with out the pinchers. ]

not sure how to put in that box thing well biggerworm did the article say anything about the size of the bass a no pincer craw is very unnatural and there is no way bass bite them over a 2 pincer craw yea dsaave those yum craws are great the scent of the LPT is awesome i really like it

BiggerWorm reply :

Smallieking, I was just trying to recall an article I had read years ago. I fish alot of crawfish and crawfish imitating baits so I found it interesting. If I recall correctly, more fish were caught on the crawl with no pincers, but I don't know the size of the pincers. As far as baits looking natural, how natural does a tube look? I've never seen a live tube in the wild, but fish love'em! And yes, the Yum crawdads look very real, I have lots of them, with pincers attatched.

Bassn Blvd reply :

BiggerWorm reply :

Bassin Blvd

That is a nice rig, who is the manufacturer of that plastic crawl. Man it looks good.

Catt reply :

It's depends on where you are from; down south crawfish have large pinchers so the bass are not intimated by them they will just sneak around behind the mudbug.

Bassn Blvd reply :

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Bassin Blvd
That is a nice rig, who is the manufacturer of that plastic crawl. Man it looks good.

www.huddlestondeluxe.com They come 5 to a pack for about $10.00

Today was my first day using them and I got 3. They come pre-rigged with 1/8 oz weights but I modified it by taking the weights out and T-rigging it with a screw on weight. The area I was fishing had too much grass to fish it the way they show in the video.

Big-O reply :

Small pinchers or big pinchers in my opinion isn't what makes the difference. I will take a super action craw like Strike King Rage Tail or Paca any day over any and all the other soft plastic craws. Jigs, craws and creatures are my go to baits and I haven't found any other craw styles that can compete.

Micropterus salmoides reply :

Quote

Quote
Thanks for all the replies. I still am kinda confused but i think that im just gonna stick to using craws w/ smaller pincers in clear water and tougher conditions, and vice versa for the craws w/ big pincers. Im also gonna try to imitate the forage better, if i can see or find a craw where im fishing i will imitate the size of its pincers.

I was a Rep. for Mad Man Lures a few years back and they had two kinds of a craw.One was a craw tube and a craw worm and both had small pincers. I do still have many bags of them. Not sure that I want to part with them! They are small and they look so real!

Ahhhh.... Mad Man Crawfish Tubes. I loved those for jig trailers. Caught some of my biggest fish with the 3.5" used as trailer. Too bad they went under. I'm currently trying the Yum Craw Bugs, but I definitely prefer the size and profile of the Mad Man's. I still check Ebay from time to time, however the 3.5" size is never listed. >

Bassn Blvd reply :

I dont think pincers matter a bit. I use most craws for flipping and to tell ya the truth I think most of my bites come on reaction strikes as the bait breaks through all the surface crap. Bass will eat funky looking lures with treble hooks hanging down and every rainbow color of worms but you mean to tell me a bass can tell the difference in a pincer and eat it over one with no pincers. I think that it total

.dsaavedra. reply :

brent, what model crawfish is that?

i was gonna say, your lake fork craw looks very realistic, minus that little worm part stickin out the end, i guess thast just for rigging though, you could cut that part off for a more realistic profile.

RoLo reply :

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Dang it. I really wanted that star.

That's brilliant! ;D

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the Texas rigged craw worm is one of the most underused bait available to the angler. A Texas rigged craw worm will produce better quality bass than creature baits; the creature bait will produce better quantities.

I'll drink to that

During April 2006, the Bassmaster Elite Series was held on Santee Cooper Reservoir, SC.

Though it has since been broken, Preston Clark weighed-in the heaviest Four-Day Stringer in BASS's 38-year history (to that date).

Preston's 4-day stringer weighed 115 lb, 15 oz, an incredible 20-bass average of 5-lb 13-oz! (highlighting the stubborn 6-lb weight-plateau).

During all four days, Preston used a plain Zoom Big Critter Craw that was T-rigged on a 5/0 Owner hook and weighted with 1/4 oz slip sinker.

There was No jig, No skirt and No weedguard, just a zoom critter craw on a hook, I think that speaks volumes.

Roger

Catt reply :

Kinda answers discussion of if Quantity or Quality matters to the bass

Willzx225 reply :

-SmallieKing -

A crawfish that is missing a pincher may seem unnatural to us but in nature it is probably more common than you or I think. I was always told that sometimes when a bass is chasing after crawdads they will often bite off a pincher trying to eat them. Also I was thinking that if one craw got in a fight with another one for dominance then they might lose a claw.

Also with a crawdad missing a claw it signals an easy meal to a bass and they are opportunistic feeders.

Now all that being said, I still don't have as much confidence in a single craw bait vs a normal bait with 2 claws.

Davis reply :

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WE DID USE AN ACTUAL CRAW!!! The original handpours were a little rougher, but had string in the whiskers so you wouldn't lose them.
Then when we started having them made professionally (same company that makes the Yum craw (that Madman is still sueing) and this is what we got. My dad actually used one craws body, and another craws pinchers (as he wanted it to be proportionate:whatever that really means)

b

Brent you have given me some of those in the past. What is the best way to rig them? Insert the hook at the tail and T-rig em?

Davis reply :

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that's how i fish them, but there was an old guy my dad knows that would use a belly weighted hook and rig them through the head, so that when he pitched it to a dock, it would go under it. ( swimming appropriatly backwards as he let out line).
weight, no weight, work it slow on the bottom, or keep it near the top (as the tail is sort of like wings; helping it do the previously described "trick")

b

Thanks for the tips.

HesterIsGod reply :

You know what, THIS DESERVES SOME FIELD RESEARCH!

It makes sense that a bass would see a crawdad with a pincer missing as an easy meal, and it also makes sense that it might be unnatural, so...

Come ice out, im gonna fish a couple different brands of plastic craws, all prespawn, one with a pincer cut off and another with both pincers in tact.

I'll get the results back to ya'll in April.

smallieking reply :

yea craw fishing is awesome but just so u know the best craw bite starts during the spawn and warmer summer months its not the greatest bait for prespawn i dont want to sound like a jerk saying dont to use them i just dont want u to start to hate craws because of some bad days on the lake go ahead and use them just throw minnow imitations in addition with them in the prespawn

flippin reply :

take a paca craw and a bps tube rattle with one ball shove it in the face of the craw and hold on to your pole

Catt reply :

I'll repeat It's depends on where you are from; down south crawfish have large pinchers so the bass are not intimated by them they will just sneak around behind the mudbug.

Y'all ever watch a bass confront a crawfish?

It aint the bass that's intimated!

HesterIsGod reply :

craw imitators should work fine in the prespawn, or any other season. Havent you ever used a jig in the prespawn or other cold water seasons? Its mainly a cold water bait. And what does a jig imitate? A crawfish. What does a craw imitator imitate? A crawfish. Plus, craw imitations and jigs usually are fished on or near the bottom, slowly. That slow presentation is perfect for the more sluggish early prespawners. so im not worried about fishing the craws in the prespawn.

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