Live Crawdad Fishing
by: Fish Chris, trophybassonly.com (Vacaville, CA)

How and where to fish a live dad...

Hooking crawdads through the rostrum (above and forward of the eyes) helps to keep their movement natural

I always hook my crawdads through the spine in the nose (the rostrum). They will stay alive almost indefinitely this way and it allows them to crawl around naturally. In fact, about the only thing that kills them is repeated casting or very warm water. Be sure not to hook them too far back between the eyes or you will brain hook them. They hate it when this happens! Too far forward and you will either break off the spine while working the hook through or cast off the dad. Start out by trying to work the hook through just in front of the eyes. Do this with a drilling motion. With a little practice, you should be able to figure out the best spot to hook them.

I almost always fish rocks. I will occasionally fish over plain or mud bottoms, but usually only if I have sighted a big bass in that area. Dads will work in timber or brush, but snags will be frequent and are almost impossible to get loose. When I'm fishing rocks, I expect to get snagged often. Sometimes six or eight times in one cast! But please keep reading.

When I'm working a dad, I will let it sit as long as I can on each stop. Maybe 30 seconds to three minutes or so, even longer if I'm not getting snagged too much, especially if I'm in a high confidence area. Important: Lift your rod gently, six inches to one foot or so. If you feel any tension at all (as in a snag), don't pull yourself into it. Instead, drop the rod tip back down and leave plenty of slack. Not only will the dad usually crawl out of the snag, but by not yanking against the snag you will save your hook point. Try this with a plastic worm... just kidding! If the dad doesn't crawl out on its own, you can sometimes get it out by lightly shaking the rod or repositioning the boat and pulling from a different angle. Even if you were able to "yank" the hook free, not only would you more than likely kill the point on your hook, but you will also lose the dad every time. You will go through enough dads without chumming them.

Here's a really cool thing to think about. If the dad is hooked from under the spine on its nose, out through the top, and it ends up snagged, then it is at the very least on its side and maybe even on its back. Of coarse the whole time it is in this predicament, it will be kicking around trying to right itself. And the really amazing thing is, not only are you still fishing, but I believe you are fishing even more effectively, because a dad on its side or back, which is kicking around trying to get back on its feet has got to look really vulnerable to a big bass. I can't tell you how many times I have went from a snag, to a bass on the line. It took me a long time to figure this out, but crawdaddin' has never been the same since then.

Crawdad size...

The size of crawdad you use may mean the difference between catching a monster bass and catching a 'skunk'

I used to believe that as long as the bass was big enough to get the crawdad in its mouth, size was not too important. However, more recently, I have seen many situations where finicky bass would not hit a three inch crawdad, but would hit a tiny 1 1/2 inch dad. Now days I might throw a larger dad when I first get to my hot spot, to see if there is an aggressive feeder present, but if I know there are bass there, and I can't get them to take a larger dad, I will drop down to a tiny dad, on a smaller size 1 or 2 hook, for more of a finesse presentation, even if it's just a matter of personal confidence. I really like the female dads with the smaller claws, and thinner shells. I have heard of people breaking off the claws, but in my mind, if big momma is used to eating crawdads with claws, then I want my bait to have claws, and since most dads have two claws, I want mine to have two. Sometimes I can't afford to be that picky, but that's what I prefer.

How long to let them take it...

I usually let them pick up my dad and swim off at least far enough to take the slack out of my line. Sometimes I pick up my rod tip and feel mushy weight after never detecting a bite at all. In that case I will hit them right then, as you never know how long the fish has already had the bait. Rarely do I gut hook a fish when fishing live dads, but if I have gutted a fish, this tells me to start setting the hook a little sooner. Conversely, if I'm missing fish, I will let them take it a little longer. This is something that you may have to adjust from day to day, and maybe even throughout the day.

My rig...

As of this year, I have started using a new rig which I am really exited about. Basically it's just my super line attached to a fluorocarbon leader of about 30 inches. I have been using 20 lb. Seaguar. I use a blood knot, which is kind of a three handed knot, but if you tie it about a million times, you should get pretty good at it. Rather than trying to explain it here in print, just check out any of those little knot tying guides, found in most fishing line packages.

There are two basic advantages for the fluorocarbon leader, when used in conjunction with superline. First, it is a lot more abrasion resistant than braided line. Second, it is practically invisible, which is a big concern with super lines, which are not clear.

My line...

I used to use a "big name" braided line, but they spend a ton of money on advertising, and they need big dollars to pay for it. So with that said, I have been using TUF-Line Plus by Western Filament for three years now. Since they spend a fraction of the money on advertising, their line is a much better value. I usually use 30 lb. test, but I will use 12 lb. test micro-braid on my U-L gear for finicky fish, and where hazardous cover is not a problem.

As for line color, I almost always use white. This makes line watching easy, and since I am using a fluorocarbon leader, there is never a problem of visibility at the fish's end.

Hooks... Gamakatsu!!!

I am a hook fanatic! Everything matters, sharpness of course, but wire diameter and a bronze or black finish is also important. I must have tried 15 different Gamakatsu styles and ten from other assorted companies. I was really starting to get frustrated in trying to find the "perfect hook," but I have finally settled on a Gamakatsu Octopus hook. I prefer a size 1 for larger dads, but will use as small as a size 6 for tiny dads on U-L gear.

My rod and reel...

I use a med-light to a medium action 6 1/2 ft. spinning rod. I prefer Fenwick, but any decent quality graphite rod in this action should be fine. Remember that dads can be cast off pretty easily, and a rod with a light tip can significantly reduce this problem. As far as reels go, I have settled on Okuma Epix 20's for my medium weight set ups, and Okuma Epix 15's for my ultra-light fishing.

When to use a live dad...

A dad will work all year long, but they seem to work best in the spring when big momma is trying to nourish all those little future hogs in her belly. In deep lakes with planter trout, most of the really big bass move back offshore after the spawn to feed on the trout. Of coarse then they become harder to find and are much less likely to be feeding on crawdads. However in shallower lakes such as Clear Lake, CA, bass feed big time on dads all year long.

Crawdads can be easy to catch in numbers if you're looking in the right places

Catching live dads...

Some bait stores sell live dads, however not only are they expensive, but you are likely to get a lot of the large clawed males, which I mentioned earlier. But still, for someone who doesn't get to fish too often, and doesn't have time to collect their dads, this might be the best option.

Many people use store bought or homemade traps, but I have been using a method, for quite a while now, which I will share here. First find a ditch with a good population of dads in it. Many irrigation ditches are great. But you might have to do some scouting to find the best ditches near you. Note: Try to find ditches which have at least some water in them all year.

Start by taking a strip or two of bacon and tie it to a length of heavy monofilament. You will have to weight it down with a little lead to keep the bacon from floating up. Throw it out and wait just a few minutes. If dads are there, they will be on it quickly. Slowly pull the bacon, with dads attached, to the surface, then gently slide a net under them and pick them up. It's that easy. I usually will set out three or four of these setups, and I just rotate through them. By the time I get back to each line, I may have four or five dads on it. I can usually get 100 to 150 dads in an hour or two.

A tank setup like this will keep thousands of crawdads for extended periods of time

Keeping live dads...

I have constructed a really cool live dad housing facility which will hold 300 to 1000 dads indefinitely, with minimal cleaning and upkeep. However, I would not expect a lot of anglers to go to this extreme to keep dads. Dads can be kept in any kind of water tight container, with about a 1/2" of water. Do not fill your tank deeper than this or the dads will poison themselves to death with carbon monoxide! The water will need to be changed daily at first, with fresh dads. Then as their waste production decreases, you can cut back to every other day or even less. Just be sure that the water does not become cloudy. If any die, remove them immediately. They can be fed if you are planning to keep them around for a while, and will eat practically anything, meat or plant, but their water will need to be changed more often.

One final note...

I have run into quite a few guys who believe that crawdad fishing, and for that matter, live bait fishing in general, is a dead giveaway. Funny how most of these guys have never tried it themselves. But the fact of the matter is, there have been too many times that a big bass has cruised up to my dad, looked at it, and then just turned around and swam away. Talk about frustrating. And you know what? There is not a darn thing you can do. You can lead a horse... In situations like this, a reaction lure like a crankbait or a spinnerbait might actually be a better choice. The only problem is, really big bass rarely feed out of reaction, but instead are much more deliberate and usually only feed when hungry. Don't let this discourage you though, big bass don't get that way by not eating. The key is to be there and be ready when they do decide to feed.

So go on and sling a few dads, it really does work. But please remember to 'catch and release.' Good fishin' to ya',

Fish Chris

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