Bass fishing with live crawfish...?

[ngt]

So, I see this guy fishing with live crawfish. He sticks a hook in the tail and tosses them out there...waiting. Then gives the live a little tug to get them out from under the weeds or a rock. I saw him catch a nice 3 pound bass doing this. He was using little crawfish. So, I figure I'd go catch some crawfish and give it a shot. I figure I'll get big ones and catch bigger fish Well, I got nothing. Park ranger pulled up and it was a buddy of mine. He said the big ones don't work because they are harder and fight back. I left my bait back in the car so I couldn't go for any small ones but I'd like to give it another try. The small ones are a bit harder for me to catch as they let go of the bait faster.

Any tips on fishing this way? Just use the small ones? Or does anyone else actually fish this way at all?

thanks

Also, I found a great bait for crawfish. I use frozen mini squid. They sell them at my local food-maxx in these mixed fish packs. Clams, fake crab, and the little squid for like $3. The squid is tough and stays on the hook. Also, they're oily and smelly so it gets them out from under the rocks quickly. I've also done well with half of a very small old crappie.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Bass fishing with live crawfish...?

To give the larger crawdads a handicap you need to remove the claws, buy don't try to pull them off... you'll kill the crawdad most of the time. Take a pair of pliers and crush the claw, the crawdad will let go of it then. This also keeps them from grabbing on to stuff like weeds and such.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Bass fishing with live crawfish...?

The technique that I learned was to drop the crayfish to the bottom and then reel it up a foot or two so it doesn't go under a rock. Worked like a charm for me in Lake George. This method is unusable on lake Ontario due to the Gobi infestation.

Why not just go to the bait shop and buy some soft shell crabs?

 

[ngt]

Re: Bass fishing with live crawfish...?

Thanks for the advice! Cawfish are free. I tried for a few hours to catch small ones and I can't. They don't come out of the hole. I know it's possible, as the guy I saw fishing them had 5-6 and they were all tiny. Hopefully I'll see him down there again. Big ones, I can pick them out easy. I yanked off a big ones claws today and it lived, but I didn't catch anything with it and it was out there for a long time. I think it just going under a rock. It's tough to reel up a foot when shore fishing. It just lays back down. Maybe I can rig a hook a foot up the line? but it can just swim in and it's back on the floor. Ideas?

 

[scipper77]

Re: Bass fishing with live crawfish...?

Get a few large egg sinkers and I tiny bobber. Tie the sinkers to the end and a hook a foot up. Use the bobber to hold the bait off of the bottom. The sinkers should be enough to pull the bobber under.

The problem I have is that I generally use this technique on 15 to 20 feet of water (without the bobber, and using smaller weights.)