15/12/2022
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Anglers have long known that crawfish are high on the menu for bass and with crawdads in every state in the lower 48, it makes sense that most of us have some sort of lures that mimic mudbugs. Some tournament anglers have been known to set out a crawdad trap prior to tournaments to see the size and color of the local population of crawfish to match their lures. The attached pic can give you a general idea of colors based on seasons, but know that different regions will have their own variations. Florida has a a blue crawfish species while Texas and Louisiana are known for variants of red. Crawfish in the Great Lakes are known for vibrant orange pincher tips. Molting will also have a big impact on their color.
Water temperature dictates a lot for crawfish activity. For example, they are mostly dormant when water temps are below 45°, but a climb to 50° in the Spring will bring them out to mate. This is the perfect time to fish the rocks with crawdad imitations since this is when the males will climb out on top of the rocks looking for love. Spring mating is no surprise, but don't ignore the Fall mating cycle. Many will tell you that Fall mating is much more intense for crawdads, especially in Southern latitudes.
Where will you find crawdads and where will bass stack up to eat them? Rocks. You can find crawdads in mud and around vegetation, but you will find the biggest populations around rocks.
Excellent article about crawdad colors and habits:
https://www.bassmaster.com/how-to/news/understanding-bass-forage-crawfish/
This article gives a very good detailed discussion of the color changes and why/when the color changes happen: https://sportfishingbuddy.com/crawfish-colors-by-season/
Another good read on crawfish and specifically how they are different from one state to another: https://www.lurenet.com/blog/bass-fishing-101-matching-the-hatch-on-crawfish-color/
