For some stupid reason I have gotten away from fishing craws and need to get my head out of my a-- and start pitching again, especially now.

9 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Just finished his Crawfish Hunters video.   Cool stuff.   He's a very methodical man, you can tell he's highly intelligent.    

 

I heard about stitching, but never saw it used until that video, might give that a try tomorrow.  

 

Thanks again.  

Ive watched that video several times as well. It’s great. You can easily go down a rabbit hole with his videos. I’ve spent hours watching them. Learned so much from his observations and underwater footage and how he interprets it. I think it’s one of the more educational sources on bass available, especially for free.
 

@Paul Roberts hope all is well! 

5 hours ago, Catt said:

LSU crawfish specialist with the AG Center, Mark Shirley, the freezing temperatures send crawfish into hibernation & make them dormant.

??  Back in my younger days when I could endure freezing temperatures better than I can now, I used to ice fish the Susquehanna River in the winter. Dropping a thermometer down to the bottom showed water temps of 30-32F. Dropping meal worms or red wigglers (earth worms)  down to the bottom would sometimes result in crawfish latching onto the bait. They would hold on all the way up to the surface. It did not happen often, but often enough that it was not a rare occurrence. So, at least in the river around here the crawfish were not in hibernation in cold water. The water I ice-fished was usually between 8 to 14 feet deep. On the few occasions I fished shallow water I never caught a crawfish in the winter.

12 minutes ago, Kirtley Howe said:

??  Back in my younger days when I could endure freezing temperatures better than I can now, I used to ice fish the Susquehanna River in the winter. Dropping a thermometer down to the bottom showed water temps of 30-32F. Dropping meal worms or red wigglers (earth worms)  down to the bottom would sometimes result in crawfish latching onto the bait. They would hold on all the way up to the surface. It did not happen often, but often enough that it was not a rare occurrence. So, at least in the river around here the crawfish were not in hibernation in cold water. The water I ice-fished was usually between 8 to 14 feet deep. On the few occasions I fished shallow water I never caught a crawfish in the winter.

No way in hell you'd catch me out on the Suskie on ice. You're a braver man than I. I fished the Owego stretch a few times.....there be some holes out that way!!!

Craws do not hibernate, but they do go dormant in freezing temps.

5 hours ago, Catt said:

LSU crawfish specialist with the AG Center, Mark Shirley, the freezing temperatures send crawfish into hibernation & make them dormant.

I've never noticed them while wading at night until the water's almost 60.

Our local reservoirs are water storage and flood control lakes.

It’s normal for these lakes to drop water level anywhere from 8’ to over 50’ during the fall when colder temps are occurring. The Crawdads go down with the water level and burrow into clay or mud banks. It’s important to note the level the crawdads are burrowing during the winter months as the water raises. The majority of our crawdads are dormant in the burrows until the water warms into the low 50’s and start to emerge at the depth they burrowed during the fall lower pool. This depth is your target zone for bass feeding on crawdads during pre spawn. 

This simple knowledge helped me catch 100’s of big bass over the decades.

Knowing your bass prey habits is critical to becoming a good bass angler.

Tom

 

 

 

Google crawfish hibernate vs dormant & decide for your selves.

3 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

Craws do not hibernate, but they do go dormant in freezing temps.

 

Same.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty sure the bass have no idea what the crawfish do in the winter time.....?

crawfish hibernate vs dormant 

 

Copy the above & put it in Google & hit go

This is a good thread. Learn the forage- catch more fish.

9 hours ago, jminer79 said:

No way in hell you'd catch me out on the Suskie on ice. You're a braver man than I. I fished the Owego stretch a few times.....there be some holes out that way!!!

In my defense, I was young and stupid. Now, I am old and stupid, just not THAT stupid.

 

On 4/26/2023 at 5:01 AM, Catt said:

LSU crawfish specialist with the AG Center, Mark Shirley, the freezing temperatures send crawfish into hibernation & make them dormant.

Yep Crayfish do hibernate when the water temps drop below 50 degrees. Cats correct?

Tom

2 hours ago, WRB said:

Yep Crayfish do hibernate when the water temps drop below 50 degrees. Cats correct?

Tom

 

Some of the discussion even between scientists is the definition of hibernate vs dormant.

I once thought crayfish hibernated, then noticed a few crawdads on the bank during mid winter and caught bass with craws in their belly during cold water periods. 

Changed my mind thinking our lakes don’t get cold enough.

Then again deeper water is warmer during cold surface water, even frozen ice over lakes.

Only warm blooded animals are thought to hibernate like bears. But turtles and frogs hibernate and cold blooded.

So I decided to call the very dormant time hibernation for crayfish and let the scientists debate it.

Tom 

Don't know if any of y'all ever tried or seen this experiment. Take a Blue Crab & place it in the freezer for a couple days. Take it out & let it thaw at room temperature...it will come back to life. 

 

So was it dead, dormant, or hibernating?

9 minutes ago, Catt said:

Don't know if any of y'all ever tried or seen this experiment. Take a Blue Crab & place it in the freezer for a couple days. Take it out & let it thaw at room temperature...it will come back to life. 

 

So was it dead, dormant, or hibernating?

 

It was crabsicle.  Young grouper chase the ice cream truck on hot summer days for a chance to enjoy one of these rare and highly sought after aquatic treats.

27 minutes ago, Catt said:

Don't know if any of y'all ever tried or seen this experiment. Take a Blue Crab & place it in the freezer for a couple days. Take it out & let it thaw at room temperature...it will come back to life. 

 

So was it dead, dormant, or hibernating?

No but I did an experiment at the beach with a blue crab when I was a kid once. We put a few in a bucket of water in our hotel room overnight. They were 100% dead and mom was 100% mad