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kajay920

Craw Pattern

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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

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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.      

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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 .

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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

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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.

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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!

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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... B) 

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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.

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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......

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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/

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