What I dont understand is why do some people insist on using a VERY

Crawlike" bait on a Dropshot 12-24 inches off the bottom?

I just never could understand how this could be effective

There are many baits/presentations we don't understand why they are effective but they are.  If using a craw on a drop shot produces, that's enough for me.

I teach a wide spectrum (age/experience) of anglers and it amazes me that when the subject of craw worms, especially big craw worms comes up no one equates them to the Texas Rig regarding them as jig trailers only.

In my book one of the most deadly yet widely over looked big bass baits is the Texas rigged craw worm and I aint talking just flippn'/pitchin'/punchin' either but ole school bottom bumping Texas rigging.

YEP!!!! During this years Pickwick Roadtrip, myself and two of our HERO Soldiers caught around 400 quality SM and LM bass in three days with T rigged Rage Craws and 1/4 to 3/8 oz colored Tungsten. We tried to feed'em other style baits but they kept begging for T rigged CRAWS...Hate it when that happens

Big O

www.ragetail.com

    I need to retrain my thinking. I've always considered craws to be fished towards the end of the year during the cooler months.  summer is more of  lizard season to me so this is good, widening my options, thanks for the post.

Craws are actually the very first bait of the season I begin with. They may always be there but, I was always told that as the water temp reaches 40 degrees, the crayfish begin to stir and soon become a primary food source.

maybe cause they're relegated to hunting along the bottom before a flip, when the temps are warmer down there

What are some of your favorite weighted hooks?  Does anyone make them small enough for small plastics like a baby brush hog?

What are some of your favorite weighted hooks? Does anyone make them small enough for small plastics like a baby brush hog?

Moaner hooks get a lot of credit. also the YUM hooks that are intended for their money minnows are good hooks

Excellent post...thanks for sharing! 8-)

This post got my curiosity up.  I took the time to research the biology of crayfish.  They are a fascinating creature.  I didn't know there are over 400 species, they molt around late May and into June and consume their expended shell to replenish their calcium.  They are not relegated to the bottom only but spend a significant amount of time in the upper canopy of vegetation.  There's much much more.  What I learned will make me a better angler.  Thanks again for the post.

Great post. I am curious, how do rig the craw? Does the hook go in the narrow worm end; or with the hook in the top front end between the claws ? Thanks.

Craws live on the bottom,unless they are fleeing from a predator,they are on the bottom.As fishermen /women we all know this

What I dont understand is why do some people insist on using a VERY

Crawlike" bait on a Dropshot 12-24 inches off the bottom?

I just never could understand how this could be effective

My #1 bait on the dropshot is the ragetail baby craw.  Whether or not we understand it, the fish like it.

Great post.  The t-rigged craw has been one of my best baits this season, it is also responsible for my PB which you see in my avatar picture.  It was a Green Pumpkin Rage Craw to be exact with a colored Tungston 1/8 bullet weight.

Resuscitating an oldie but goodie that I hadn’t seen before.

 

In all my years fishing T rigged craws, I’ve never once fished them on the bottom. I use them roughly 90% of the time I spend on the water and have great success with them, at least to me I do. I fish them at a steady speed, at whatever height seems to be working. I vary the height by adjusting the weight and speed.

 

The waters I fish are shallow, under 8’, and by June fairly weed infested. The bottoms are mostly stumps and muck, covered with last years weed stems, this is why I stay off the bottom.

 

That said, I’m headed out in a few minutes for a morning on the water. I’m going to try to fish the bottom and see how it goes.

1 hour ago, padlin said:

Resuscitating an oldie but goodie that I hadn’t seen before.

 

In all my years fishing T rigged craws, I’ve never once fished them on the bottom. I use them roughly 90% of the time I spend on the water and have great success with them, at least to me I do. I fish them at a steady speed, at whatever height seems to be working. I vary the height by adjusting the weight and speed.

 

The waters I fish are shallow, under 8’, and by June fairly weed infested. The bottoms are mostly stumps and muck, covered with last years weed stems, this is why I stay off the bottom.

 

That said, I’m headed out in a few minutes for a morning on the water. I’m going to try to fish the bottom and see how it goes.

I fish them just like a worm. Lizards  too.

When I'm fishing hard bottom , 1/8 shaky head zoom speed craw watermelon red has done well.

On the back of a swim jig in grass and wood.

I probably fish both faster than I should due to the fact I'm trying to accommodate this gun slinging power fisherman on the back of the boat.

 

This is why I drag a Craw on the carolina rig. Keeps me from getting super "hoppy" with the setup. 

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

I fish them just like a worm. Lizards  too.

I fish them the same way, just like a t-rig worm or lizard.

@padlin Our marshes average 2' deep & that's how I fish craws/worms. We just call it "speed" reeling; i use weights from 1/16-1/4 oz. 

You talk about crayfish, but then you say you fish a craw. Which should I be using? 
 

😂😂

6 minutes ago, Smirak said:

You talk about crayfish, but then you say you fish a craw. Which should I be using? 
 

😂😂

Simple... Use a mudbug.

Just now, IYAOYAS said:

Simple... Use a mudbug.

Never mind. Thank you for the translation. I grew up in Mississippi. 
 

But seriously, thank you for the write up. My PB and kayak PB were both caught on a craw-ish bait dragged along the bottom. Both in early April. However, down here in N Alabama, the craw molt/spawn/whatever you call it is awesome to fish…

Funny this thread got revived. I was just reading it, because I have been throwing craws too.

 

I wasn't catching anything dragging them or bouncing them. In frustration I threw it at a laydown and left the line the water while I was packing up to leave the dock. When I reeled it in a good sized bass was on the other end.

 

I'm now routinely catching them by just throwing them weightless t-rigged near cover, letting it sit there, and just looking at my phone. Often times the bass takes it and just sits there on the bottom with it in its mouth. No line or tip twitch. You don't know it's there until you feel pressure when slightly picking the rod tip up to check, which is when I set the hook. 

 

It's been a really weird behavior that's stayed stable.

Rage Craw Rage rigged . 

I started fishing craws (or craw-like baits like a Menace) as trailers, but I mostly fish them as a TR now. A Rage Craw is pretty much always on a EWG and ready to cast on every outing. Weights vary, from 1/8, 3/16, 1/8, 1/4 up to 3/8 oz. Many times the sink rate activates the bite.