craw bite or shad

[abkeenan]

35 minutes ago, 176champion said:

Thanks!!   i have seen it done both ways is why i was asking...

I've never seen anyone use a trailer hook on a jig. Not sure that would be a good idea as the point of the jig is to big relatively snag-free. Putting a trailer hook on the jig would make it hang up more. Also, fish aren't short striking jigs like they do a spinnerbait, buzzbait or something moving quickly through the water so I wouldn't see the need for a trailer hook on a jig. Just my 2 cents.

[jim m]

thx for the response, a jig and craw and a big worm are my go to baits this time of year, I really like blk neon in a worm at night and will often use tomatoe

[Bill Babler]

Almost all the flutter spoon fish we are catching are spitting both shad and craws.  I will kind of defer this to Bo and Champ, but a lot of the old timers including Bill Anderson, Dan Langley, Rick Holmgran, and Kelly Powers tell me the deep trees at times will be covered with craws.  I know that I have scuba diving friends that have seen crawfish deeper than 50' and Anderson who was our lake biologist has seen craws clinging to deep trees, on the trunk and also the limbs during diving.

This choice crustacean was hacked up day before yesterday by a bass that was chasing shad in 90' of water over some deep trees.  I captured the bass  on a Dixie Jet and out came the craw to hit the deck.

I really now only use three different kinds of craws, my favorite is the Yamamoto Fat Baby Craw and I use it on lite stuff like 3/8th and less.  I also like the Chompers Craw that is very small that I pitch docks with.  It is not pictured.  My best Fall craw is now the Nicholes Craw, it is a big 5 incher and the Jaw's on the White River just love it.

[Champ188]

47 minutes ago, Bill Babler said:

Almost all the flutter spoon fish we are catching are spitting both shad and craws.  I will kind of defer this to Bo and Champ, but a lot of the old timers including Bill Anderson, Dan Langley, Rick Holmgran, and Kelly Powers tell me the deep trees at times will be covered with craws.  I know that I have scuba diving friends that have seen crawfish deeper than 50' and Anderson who was our lake biologist has seen craws clinging to deep trees, on the trunk and also the limbs during diving.

This choice crustacean was hacked up day before yesterday by a bass that was chasing shad in 90' of water over some deep trees.  I captured the bass  on a Dixie Jet and out came the craw to hit the deck.

I really now only use three different kinds of craws, my favorite is the Yamamoto Fat Baby Craw and I use it on lite stuff like 3/8th and less.  I also like the Chompers Craw that is very small that I pitch docks with.  It is not pictured.  My best Fall craw is now the Nicholes Craw, it is a big 5 incher and the Jaw's on the White River just love it.

Where else are you gonna get THAT kind of info? Love this forum. A lot.

[jim m]

AMEN, the people on this forum are awsome

 

[jim m]

1 hour ago, Champ188 said:

Where else are you gonna get THAT kind of info? Love this forum. A lot.

 

[m&m]

Bill, on the real one in the picture is that an orange/yellow tint or just the sun making it look that way?

Mike

[abkeenan]

3 hours ago, m&m said:

Bill, on the real one in the picture is that an orange/yellow tint or just the sun making it look that way?

Mike

I used to hand catch crawdads when I was a younger lad by wading the shallows flipping over rocks. I noticed that there were two common species of craws in TR. One was as you see in the pic that Bill has belched up on the deck of the Phoenix. It is a brown and orange craw that has shorter and fatter claws. I do not know the actual name or species. They never seemed to get bigger than about 3 or 4 inches. Rebel makes a crank that is a perfect representative. The 2nd species is the Long Pincered craw that is more green olive with blueish green and orange accents and has the very long claws (hence the name). These craws heavily outnumbered the smaller brown/orange ones and also were much larger on the average (in the 4-8" range or even larger).

A lot of times people will see a very orange crawdad spewed up after catching a fish and think that is the natural color of the crawdad. It isn't,l for the most part. The digestion process has taken place in the fishes stomach to varying degrees and will make the color turn orange. If you ever walk the bank you will find dead and decayed craws and their exoskeleton will always be almost hunter orange and soft while just like a boiled crab. Prolly TMI but thought I would chime in.

 

Looks similar to this:

 

 

The long pincered craw:

 

 

 

[Bill Babler]

Great photo's Ab's thanks a bunch.  It seems like the long green pincher Craws come more from the open water and the shorter brown ones come from the clear creek arms.  Up the Kings River, Roaring River, Flat Creek ect,   Seems to hold the Orange Creek Craws.  I will tell you they will simply pinch the "pudden" out of you if you get your pinky in the wrong place.

[LD Fisher]

7 minutes ago, Bill Babler said:

I will tell you they will simply pinch the "pudden" out of you if you get your pinky in the wrong place.

So will my wife !