kajay920 Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Gonna have a little fun with this. What is with the craw pattern craze? We paint crayfish patterns on the side of a fish? I get, the blanks are cheap or easy to make in a fish body. It is all the rage but come on, its still on the side of a fish. And craw dads, they swim backwards so why are you wasting a pair of 3D eyes on it's butt? Their eyes are on the other end! At least dress the trailing hook to look like pincers or antenna. Don't get me wrong some of theses things are incredible works of art. And most of the people on here are pretty impressive. So why can't we come up with a body that looks like a craw? Do we need to find a blank that at least looks like a craw? Do they even catch fish differently or better? kajay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mohawkman Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I've been wondering that myself. They look really neat though. There are many patterns that look nothing like a fish that perform amazingly. I can't say I've ever seen a fish look like a chartreuse spinnerbait but it almost always works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mohawkman Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 But I too am curious how well they work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncustered Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I think it's a cross between making the lures attractive to fisherman and "matching the hatch"... Do they work? Heck yes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltshaker Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I heard about this thing called a Wiggle Wart. They claim it works. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Glenn Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Saltshaker X 2. That is a terrific pattern at times and really catches fish. Musky Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Those " too fishy" craw patterns work for me, especially in the spring before the spawn and on into summer too. I sometimes make a 'carved craw' crankbait that has the body segments carved into the bait for a more realistic profile. It doesn't seem to matter where I put the eyes as far as bites go. The best fish catching bait I ever made was a carved craw flatside - but can anyone say with confidence that bass eat crankbaits with the most realistic body shape better than those just painted in a craw pattern? I think there are too many variables in any crankbait to say that. It certainly can't hurt. Maybe it can help. Maybe it's not important at all. I think if you are trying for more realism in a craw pattern bait, you should tone down the use of the wild accent colors I see on many examples. Of course, there is the opposing school of thought that "something different", including those wild accent colors, will get noticed faster and bit more often. Who's right? What we need to do is transplant a pea sized bass brain into a human host so he can tell us what's up. Fill up the excess room in the cranium with Styrofoam peanuts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowhunter Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Good call Bob P. But some might argue, with great conviction, that the pea sized experiment has already been done, and this site has been infiltrated !!! Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kajay920 Posted March 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I think we are all right BobP. That is what gives this hobby its allure. Catch the fisherman not just the fish. I think they are some of the coolest lures on here, I just think the eye on the butt is silly. Those that go for the carved lures do so for their own pleasure of overcoming a challenge while others see this lure pattern and ask themselves if they can do that too. Carve on or paint on gentlemen, enjoy the challenge . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltshaker Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I got the peanuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassguy Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Ill bring the popcorn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltwater Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I understand the notion of a bait for the fisherman and not the fish. As a scuba diver I learned long ago that color underwater is different than color out of water. When I see the color red on a bait I think of red snapper fish. They are red because underwater red is invisible. Red snapper are red to be hidden from predators. And grey? Sharks are grey so the can't be seen by their prey. So if you want to hide your bait from fish, paint it red or grey, they won't see it.... But hanging from the rack in a bait and tackle shop your red and/or grey bait will surely catch a fisherman. LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Good call Bob P. But some might argue, with great conviction, that the pea sized experiment has already been done, and this site has been infiltrated !!! Douglas Let's not bring politicians into the argument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltshaker Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 saltwater, I doubt you'll convince the "Rayborn Red" guys. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltwater Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 saltshaker, you're right my friend. The "Rayborn Red" guys do a great job catching fishermen. I was poking kayjay92, his pictured bait has a red mouth and a grey body. Just like him I'm having a little fun. We all know it is much more than color which attracts fish. I have read that most fish are color blind in a human sense. My experience tells me fish are caught not because they have little or no intellect, it is their emotions that drive them to strike. So I agree that bait making is an art not a science. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt M Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I painted my first craw pattern because everyone else was. I liked the way it looked and continue to do it. I did question the whole crawfish swiming forward thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltshaker Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 I will never tell my customers that these "Kajun Kraws" are invisible to the bass they're tryin' to catch. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuskyGary Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 The baits I paint look like crap compared to the professional bait painting a lot of guys does, but simple paint jobs catch fish. The best wiggle wart pattern I have is a flo. green bottom and Sienna brown sides and top. No eyes. Likewise a pearl white shad rap (I do put eyes on it) catches a lot of fish for me. So what ever you like; paint on; it's a great hobby! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltwater Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 saltshaker, it's the yellow spots that get them every time. They stand-out from the invisible background. Seriously, your Kajun Kraws are beautiful and red or no red I'll bet they can catch the limit. Again I was just kidding around, no offense meant. I let physics get the best of me... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bois d'Arc Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 There's a company that makes a rattling vibrating style craw bait thats in a teardrop shape. The pattern is oriented just like a swimmimg crawfish. It looks great. No idea if it makes any difference to the fish.....just sayin". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt M Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 There's a couple Australian bait makers that make a bait called a Yabbie. It looks like a crawfish and the bait swims backwards. Some even have articulating claws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 On the subject of color, we all know that bass living deep develop a lighter color, and it takes them a while to get darker when they come up shallow. We all know that nature does stuff for a reason. I'm sure this is an adaptation to the lower light penetration at depth. It must help them be harder to see. So I wonder if their eyes adjust, too, to make them more successful hunters in low light. To me, that would be just as helpful as the loss of pigment in their skins. If their vision does adapt, maybe they are much more sensitive to red when they first move shallow, before their eyes readjust to the shallow water light penetration, and that's why it's such a good late winter/early spring color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keysd13 Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 I paint for a few elite series guys and can honestly say that weekend warriors are picker about the colors they throw. The colors I paint for pro guys are some of my worst selling baits because they are run of the mill normal paint schemes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishingRaptor Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 On the subject of color, we all know that bass living deep develop a lighter color, and it takes them a while to get darker when they come up shallow. We all know that nature does stuff for a reason. I'm sure this is an adaptation to the lower light penetration at depth. It must help them be harder to see. So I wonder if their eyes adjust, too, to make them more successful hunters in low light. To me, that would be just as helpful as the loss of pigment in their skins. If their vision does adapt, maybe they are much more sensitive to red when they first move shallow, before their eyes readjust to the shallow water light penetration, and that's why it's such a good late winter/early spring color. Great analysis Mark! Never thought about that...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kajay920 Posted March 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 I am less concerned with color right now and more focused on shape or profile and action.I'm working on a carved craw lure that is similar to a rebel craw. My next step is to make the claws more lifelike and maybe movable so the clatter on the retrieve. Right now I can't set up my airbrush to paint them so I go with shape. Besides my painting skills aren't that great anyway. I'm working on a 3 1/4 version of this 2 3/4 mahogany craw http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/gallery/image/13766-carved-craw/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
