# soft craws



## mooreman (Jul 7, 2008)

I am going to try to look for some soft craw for bait and was wondering does anyone have any idea on the best time to look for them.


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## RiverDoc (Mar 12, 2010)

The soft craw that you refer to is grown commercially. The ones that you find in the creeks and rivers are hard-shelled and are beginning to make their summer appearance. It seems that their numbers peak in July and August and then start to decrease in September. You can turn the hard-shelled into soft-shelled (which is a molting stage) by manipulating the water temps in conjunction with lighting. I don't recall the specifics, but you can force all crayfish to molt if you know what you are doing. There is info on the web for this.

I've used both hard and soft shelled in the same day and found both adequate. The only difference is, is that you might be able to get away with placing a smaller hook in the tail of the soft craw. Hopin' this helps. RiverDoc


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## dacrawdaddy (Aug 31, 2008)

I don't think there is a certain time when you can find large numbers of soft craws in the wild. They're soft after molting and molting depends on growth rate. Craws can molt several times during the growing season. While seining hellgramites a couple weeks ago I got 2 craws that were soft as Jello.


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## mooreman (Jul 7, 2008)

I was wanting to know the moon phase that they shed.


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## RiverDoc (Mar 12, 2010)

Of course you will find soft-shelled (post-molt) crawfish in the wild anytime. I was making the point that if you bring in hard-shelled crawfish out of the wild and manipulate their light and temperature within the tank, you can induce molting and have your own soft-shells. I couldn't find the web reference but have done it in the past.


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## RiverDoc (Mar 12, 2010)

There doesn't seem to be much information about the effects of moon phases on molting. A lot of work has been done with blue crabs and has proven inconclusive. Not much info out there.


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