Northwest Fishing Reports

We eat a lot of crawfish at my house due to my wife being from Louisiana. I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but of course I should be fishing with crawfish tails! Duh!
So I did just that the other day at Whitehorse lake near Loomis. I am wondering what sort of style do you use to present and fish the crawfish. Do you just let it sit directly on the bottom? I would think not, I would think bass want something that is moving at least in some fashion. Maybe just some slow or quick jerks. Again on bottom?
Of course that is where they naturaly hang out.
Does anybody else fish with the real deal?

Your thoughts?

I could be wrong but in order to practice catch and release you can not use live bait. I know you are just using the tails but Im not sure how that all works out.

If you were to use them I guess a jig might be a way...

i think the livebait law only applies to baitfish, but i'm not completely sure.

if it is legal, i would just leave them alive, hook em through the tail, and let em scoot around on the bottom.

We used to use lots of crayfish for bass back in Penna and eastern Canada. Worked great.

Nose hook through the horn (careful not to kill them!). Fish via Fish Chris' method.

I used to fish them quite regularly but do not any more, don't know why. I rigged them with a barrel weight to swivel on main line then tie on 2-3' of 6lb flouro. and a bait keeper hook to match bait size. Hook the little fella starting at the paddle then up into tail and out close to body with hook coming out on top of tail, this keeps them from hanging up on bottom. Cast out and let sit for a few then jig it or swim it a foot or two then wait a few, jig/swim wait, jig/swim wait. You get the idea.This method is deadly. Well I just might have to pitch the old trap out next time and try it again.

I was told to fish them on the bottom so they look natural. But break off the legs and leave the pincher's, other wise they will go to the first rock and get ya hung up. But I have never fished this way so I dont know if this is the right way.

i wouldnt break off the legs unless i just wanted it to it there on the bottom for catfish or soemthing. Most fish are gonna want that sucker lively and moving I would think.

bpm2000 wrote:Nose hook through the horn (careful not to kill them!). Fish via Fish Chris' method.

Great link bpm2000. I have had that site in my favorites for years and read the articles often. "Fish Chris" Wolfgram is an OG big bass hunter. http://www.trophybassonly.com Thanks for reminding me, I haven't visited that site in a couple weeks.



fishnislife

yea hes a really helpful guy on some of the bass boards out there! plus he throws swimbaits on spinning gear

thanks BPM i put that link in my favs. that sight is awesome. look at how many big fish that guy catches. amazing!

yea I hate those Cali guys and their giant fish ;) But he does put in his time, and calls 7-8lb bass "little".

Rig them like you rig live sand shrimp for salmon,"Through the tail", This way they still swim around and drive the big bass CRAZY!!!

danielt wrote:I could be wrong but in order to practice catch and release you can not use live bait. I know you are just using the tails but Im not sure how that all works out.
...

Luckily the bait fishing rule (dead, alive, or otherwise) only applies to trout, otherwise we couldn't use any scented or salted plastics or lures for catch and release bass fishing.

As far as live fishfor bait, the rule would have to say live fish or shellfish in order to include crawfish, since they are designated as shellfish per WAC 220-12-020.

Hold up fellas....... I sure do appreciate your replies, but I should have clarrified that I didn't mean live crawfish. You can buy live C.F. at the market in Seattle, but by the time you get them home, and then to the lake, they are not alive. Buy hey, any crawfish is a shweet looking meal.
If you were picking C.F. out of the lake and then fishing them, that might be a different story. It's kind a hard to draw the line thing... regarding the shellfish reg. crawfish do fall under the "Shellfish" in the regs. but think about this,, I buy so much of my bait at the grocery store. If you go to a killer grocery store, they have great seafood, I speak of Central Market in Seattle............ when you buy clams they are live, but again by the time you get them to the lake, how do you even know if the clam is alive,, ( I know, if the shells are open = dead,) but is the clam like in on his way to hospice? I mean how close to dead. Obviously it is much easier to be clear on when we talk about live bait fish.

Chris