parker085 Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 When you are creating a soft plastic to imitate a crawfishdo you want to lay flat on the bottom or do you want to rise up off the bottom? Rigging will be Texas rigged, so it really wouldn't be “floating”,it would be the back part of the bait “raising” off the bottom? This question was something that came to mind when talkingabout how much, if any, salt to put in a split tail (beaver). I personally use a lot of salt in my beavers, for weight and to keep them from floating up. From some old post I found on here it lookslike a lot of people don’t add too much salt. So if you don’t add salt is thatfor color reasons or so the baits floats up? My opinion, not saying it’s right or wrong, is thatI want my beaver flat on the bottom. My thinkingbehind this is, the only time a craw is going to be pinchers up iswhen it's fighting or when it's protecting itself. I agree it would need to protect itself if itwas cornered by a bass, but in most cases a crawfish will try to hide before itfights. So this means most of the time acrawfish is going to be moving along the bottom trying to blend in.I think the bait looks more life like when it holds tight to thebottom. I found video,http://vimeo.com/7106409, of crawfish moving a long the bottom that supports my theory So how does everyone else imitate a crawfish? Also feel free to pick apart my theory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basscandy92040 Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 I your beaver an open/top pour type RTV? if so try maybe just salt the bottom side of the bait while plastic is still hot... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker085 Posted February 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 I your beaver an open/top pour type RTV? if so try maybe just salt the bottom side of the bait while plastic is still hot... No the mold I'm using is two piece aluminium mold from Basstackle, so I add all my salt into the plastic to give the bait it's weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basscandy92040 Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 No the mold I'm using is two piece aluminium mold from Basstackle, so I add all my salt into the plastic to give the bait it's weight. gotcha....Have you tried checking the dif sink rate with dif amounts of salt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker085 Posted February 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 gotcha....Have you tried checking the dif sink rate with dif amounts of salt? Yes I have check everything in a 55 gallon fish tank I have. I like my baits with lots of salt (weight) b.c I think that if i'm imitating a crawfish the bait should be glued to the bottom the whole time, until I twitch it up. When I tested beavers without salt they float up off the bottom at a 45 degree angle, which is OK for some situations but not my favorite way to present this type of bait. I guess my question is more of what people prefer in a beaver style bait, salt or no salt and why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuzzyGrub Posted February 6, 2011 Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 My preferance for craw and other trailers are slightly bouyant or neutral. My reasoning is that it can be seen from further away and it wil get slight movement from current. Lying flat on the bottom, the fish has to be already hovering over it. In the case of baits, you want to imitate the part of the gene pool that doesn't make it to the next year. But, if sinking works for you, there is no denying succes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker085 Posted February 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 My preferance for craw and other trailers are slightly bouyant or neutral. My reasoning is that it can be seen from further away and it wil get slight movement from current. Lying flat on the bottom, the fish has to be already hovering over it. In the case of baits, you want to imitate the part of the gene pool that doesn't make it to the next year. But, if sinking works for you, there is no denying succes. Thanks for the feedback. I do agree with your point on why having your craws buoyant would make it easier for the fish to find them. I also agree it's what works for you, just wanted to see what worked for other people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
