01-09-2019, 01:50 PM
Recently I watched a YouTube video where the angler hooked a live crawfish through the tail and presented it to nearby bass. When the bass approached, the craw reared up it's open claws and the bass veered away a bit and would not go near. Another video showed a bass sucking in the craw regardless of pincers.
This made me wonder if a craw lure simulation that shows upright floating claws would be less effective at times, but then I have to go back to my belief that bass and other fish species feel the difference between a fake and the real thing regardless how realistic.
A real crawfish has parts that constantly move subtly even when the animal is stationary on the bottom: antennae, legs, tail and eyes. A plastic craw demonstrates no action except on the move and even then limited to the time of travel from spot to spot. A skirted jig with trailer that many suggest is a craw imitation, at least has a skirt that constantly moves even at rest. Whether fish are fooled by the jig is anyone's guess, but anglers catch more bass on skirted jigs and soft plastics than on any other lure type.
So, when you see a commercial or ad promoting a craw lure that has claws that stand up in a defensive position, in all likelihood bass aren't put off by them simply because the lure doesn't feel like or move like the real thing. It strikes lures for different reasons besides the impulse to feed and IMO it has more to do with irritability and territorialism.
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This made me wonder if a craw lure simulation that shows upright floating claws would be less effective at times, but then I have to go back to my belief that bass and other fish species feel the difference between a fake and the real thing regardless how realistic.
A real crawfish has parts that constantly move subtly even when the animal is stationary on the bottom: antennae, legs, tail and eyes. A plastic craw demonstrates no action except on the move and even then limited to the time of travel from spot to spot. A skirted jig with trailer that many suggest is a craw imitation, at least has a skirt that constantly moves even at rest. Whether fish are fooled by the jig is anyone's guess, but anglers catch more bass on skirted jigs and soft plastics than on any other lure type.
So, when you see a commercial or ad promoting a craw lure that has claws that stand up in a defensive position, in all likelihood bass aren't put off by them simply because the lure doesn't feel like or move like the real thing. It strikes lures for different reasons besides the impulse to feed and IMO it has more to do with irritability and territorialism.
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