Craw Fishing: A Staple Springtime Bass Fishing Tactic

Whether you are fishing in the dog days of summer, harsh winter conditions, or somewhere in between, the craw bait has proven to produce results no matter what time of year when wetting a line. In the springtime, the craw is one of the best lures to toss when targeting some pre-spawn bass or even fully spawning bass. It can often be difficult to decide what type of craw to use, what color, or even how to rig it… so today, our team at Smartbaits will be giving you two tips to help you cash in on some big bass with the craw as your go-to lure this spring! 

Color is everything!

• Oftentimes it can be difficult to decide what colored craw is best for where you are fishing, especially when your body of water doesn’t even have crawfish living in it. Over the years, there have been countless claims of what the best crawfish colors are to toss in the spring, but in our eyes, it really depends on where you are fishing! When the water is clear, natural colors with a tint of red or orange are often best in the spring. But if the water is stained, darker colors such as black, blue, and purple often produce the most results. Sometimes it takes a bit of experimenting to figure out what color the bass are biting on so don’t be discouraged if it takes a while to get them dialed in! Be patient and test out different color combinations on different rigs. Usually, those guidelines are all you have to follow, but the spawn does provide some unprecedented circumstances that definitely affect your craw color choice. Often during the spawning season, the key to catching bass is by fishing beds. When doing so, we recommend using a white craw so you can see where your bait is located while flipping beds… it really does help!

Rigging

• Along with color, it can also be difficult to decide how you should present your craw to get the most bites possible when fishing your waters. Typically, during the pre-spawn in the spring, bass are looking to bulk up; they will be on beds or guarding them for about a month, so throwing a bulkier presentation like a jig and craw is often the most ideal rig to hook some hogs! During the spawn… well that’s a different story! When bass are on beds they often don’t eat anything unless it’s a threat to their eggs, so a simple Texas rig craw flipped on the bed can often be the best way to get the spawning bass to bite!

All in all, it can be rather tricky to track down the bass no matter what time of year it is, but especially in the spring. Just remember, you can never go wrong with the good old craw, especially the Smartbaits Brainy Bugger! We hope these tips on fishing this staple springtime fishing lure help you fish smarter this month and maybe even catch a new PB!