2 min craw

[Steeldrifter 0]

QUOTE (atroutbum2 @ Jun 22 2005, 01:50 PM)

Ok, it time for a dumb question.  How does the bass know if its a hardshell or softshell crayfish before he eats it ?  Inquiring minds want to know. Are softshells availible yearlong, or only during certain times of the year?

Crawdads shed their skins "Molt" an average of a few times each season for each crawdad, the number of times they molt depends on how fast they grow(i.e how much food they eat)

 

Like Will said if your fishing a craw fly then soft/hard shell is not really relevant because the fish is ethier interested in striking that fly or not. When it comes to fishing live craws then there is a big difference and the fish can tell the differnce by smell. If you ever notice a softshell right after it molts and is in the soft stage (lasts a couple days) they actually give off a brownish color juice if you put any pressure on them which the fish can smell and will key into. Smell of the softshell I beileve is the key factor for a fish telling them apart, but alot of time you can tell the difference just by looking at them as well. A softshells claw will "wave" in the current because they cant control them very well in the soft stage, where as a hardshell's claw move normally.

 

I've been fishing live craws since I was about 10 yrs old (33 now) and I have tried using hardshells without any success at all, then going back to that same spot and using softshells and catching a limit of smallies from 16-22 inches. I will be using some crawdad flies on the smallie on the Au Sable this year, but for the most action from the "monster" smallies 20plus inches, nothing will beat a softshell so I'll also be catching craws to use as well

[atroutbum2 0]

Thanks for the fast answers to my dumb questions.

 

But this raises another dumb one, is there a certain color that would represent a crayfish that has recently molted, or can they be any color?

[Steeldrifter 0]

Not a dumb question at all atb2. There are always exceptions to any rule, but for the most part softshells in the water are a lot darker right before they molt. Before they even shed their shell they get what I always refer to as "crunchy ones" I call them that because their shells get real loose and you can actually crack their shells open with just one finger if you wanted to. They are just as good for fishing in the "crunchy" stage the day or two prior to molting as they are when they actually come right out of their shells.

 

So to answer the color question, darker colors would look more like a ready to molt crawdad, and then when they molt they are pretty much the same color as the hardshells.

[LigonierA1 0]

Any update on the write up? Such a good looking critter, I'm anxious to see if I can really knock 'em outta the vice in 2 minutes. It's worth 5 minutes from what I can see

[day5 0]

olb I tie a # 4 3 to 4x And the big browns on the dowagiac seem to love em about 2.5 to 3.5 in total. And never forget the power of a craw fly when fishing for skamaina in the St joe My no 1 fly every day. Also on the 4x try adding a venom glass rattle (mini mag) WOW will that get attention!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!