Favorite Crawfish Color Patterns for Crankbaits

Crawfish are a popular forage for bass and other gamfish. As such, lures that mimic the appearance and movement of crawfish can be very effective when bass fishing. One type of lure that is commonly used to imitate crawfish is the crankbait. 

Crankbaits come in a variety of colors and patterns. The four most popular patterns for mimicking crawfish are the natural green and brown crawfish, red crawfish, and chartreuse crawfish. Often times these main color patterns will have either an orange, red, or chartruese underside to enhance the color contrast and trigger bass into striking.

The most common natural patterns are brown or green. These two colors typically mimic the color of a live crawfish in most waters at different times of the year. This pattern can be very effective in clear water or when trying to "match the hatch" when bass are feeding on crawfish in your lakes, ponds, and rivers.

Crayfish: Favored Forage of the Bass Family

It’s that time of year again and the water has either warmed enough to bring the crayfish from their wintering haunts or we're in one of the warm water periods!

Crayfish are one of the favored forage species on the bass’ menu.   So the next time you head out to your favorite honey hole and include a few “crayfish-type” baits in your box …

Here are a few pointers to consider when selecting “crayfish-type” baits for your tackle collection:

1. Though crayfish patterned crankbaits work well for largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, the best color patterns vary by season.  During the spring bass fishing season crayfish are often colored with green or green-blue hues, while red or dark colors tend to work best in summer.  Select different shades of brown being tops through the fall season.
2. Plastic crayfish imitations work well from spring to fall but remember to use the color patterns mentioned in tip #1.
3. Never forget to add a few jig and pig combos to you tacklebox in colors ranging from all black, black/blue, black/green and brown/orange.

Here is a short video from the folks at Wired2Fish discussing crayfish color transitions…

Why Crawfish Change Colors

Most of us have walked the shorelines of our local pond and streams, flipped over a few rocks then suddenly see a crawfish or two scurry away.

When that happened, did you ever notice that the color patterns of the different crawfish are often different?

I know I have & always thinking it was simply a color change to help the crawfish blend in with the environment and escape detection of roaming predators…

Well according to bass pro Michael Murphy, it’s actually a little more complicated than that as he explains in the following short video… enjoy!

So I guess the next time I am working a crawfish bite, I’ll pay a little more attention to the water clarity, presence of vegetation, etc. to help select the best bait color for those conditions!