How to Match Crawfish Profiles for Multi-Species Creek Fishing

Choosing the right crawfish lure and presentation can trigger great days of catching many different types of fish from creeks and rivers.

“Cast across the creek and a little upstream and reel back steadily, reeling just fast enough to feel the crawfish wobble.”

I’ve given that instruction to all my children and to many friends over the years when we’ve stepped into a creek or river and I’ve handed off a lightweight spinning or spincasting combination. The instruction has been the same because the lure has been the same: a Rebel Crawfish.

Depending on the stream and season, the target species might have been rainbow, brown or brook trout or smallmouth, shoal or redeye bass. Or, we might have been fishing for whatever bit and expecting a nice variety. The Rebel Crawfish excels for all of the above. I commonly choose this bait when I’m taking someone fishing because of the ease of use and effectiveness. It isn’t only for teaching, though. It is also the lure I tie on for the broadest range of stream applications and species.

The Rebel Crawfish comes in several sizes and with different lengths of diving lip. All have the same highly natural body shape, which imitates a crawfish in a defenseless, craw-tucked position, and all dive and wobble enticingly when put into motion.

Along with the bass and trout species mentioned above, Rebel Crawfish are outstanding for rock bass, walleyes, white bass, bluegills, goggle eyes and much more. In truth, virtually all predator species in creeks and rivers feed on crawfish and are therefore apt to hit a highly natural looking crawfish imitation.

Rebel Crawfish Selection

The Rebel Crawfish series is extensive, with seven models that range from the MicroCrawfish, which measures only 1 5/16 inches in length and runs only 2 feet deep to the Big Craw, which is 2 5/8 inches long and dives to 10 feet.

The Teeny Wee Crawfish and Deep Teeny Wee Crawfish, both 1 1/2 inches long, have the broadest multi-species creek applications. At times, though, bass and walleye favor a little bigger offering, or larger waters dictate a bigger bait, causing the original 2-inch Rebel Wee Crawfish and Middle Wee Craw (which is between the Teeny and original in size) to come into play.

Stream size, current strength and water color are important influencing factors for picking the best Rebel Crawfish model, with strong current, stained water and bigger streams that commonly call of longer casts all pointing toward larger sizes.

Species mix is also an important factor. The Teeny Wee and Deep Teeny Wee are easily the most likely to draw the interest of virtually everything that swims in a creek.

For picking sizes and colors, it never hurts to “match the hatch” if you’re able to find shells that have been shed or claws from dead crawfish or if you can spot any crawfish in the creek.

Most Rebel Crawfish colors are natural, matching different color phases of various crawfish species and providing options for different water colors. A few, like Chrome/Black Back and Fire Tiger, are attractor patterns that are designed more for high visibility and to prompt reaction strikes, than to match natural color crawfish colors.

Crawfish Presentation

As already noted, often the best approach to fishing a Rebel Crawfish is to simply angle casts upstream and across and reel back just fast enough to make the bait dive and keep the action engaged. That approach allows the current to aid in a natural presentation but allows the lure’s built-in action to do its job.

I almost never snap the rod tip substantially to add action to a Rebel Crawfish. I will mix up speeds, incorporate hesitations or add occasional slight twitches, briefly altering the action just enough to trigger bites from fish that might be following the lure.

Specific conditions that call for variances in presentations include slack or non-existent current, extra fast current and water that is shallower than the lure’s natural running depth.

Slack water allows for slower presentations because you need not stay ahead of the current to keep the action engaged, but sometimes quick retrieves are still important because creek fish can be fussy in calm water. A lack of current also opens angles more for casting upstream, across the creek or downstream because fish won’t necessarily be oriented in the same direction.

When the current is too swift to keep up with the flow, I like to cast straight across or even slightly downstream, extend the rod and tighten the line. The lure will naturally swing out as the current pulls it downstream and will dig and dive, creating very appealing presentations in areas that are hard to work with many lures.

Where the water is extra shallow, I’ll slow the presentation when the bait hits bottom and then move it just fast enough to keep the bait wobbling on the bottom and kicking the gravel or sand. Sometimes it’s more of a slow drag with the rod than a cranking presentation. The Crawfish kicking along the bottom suggests a foraging crawfish and can be extremely effective.

Crawfish Fishing Tips

• Aim casts upstream of current-breaking cover and work past the cover so fish waiting in ambush position get their first look at your lure as it passes the cover.
• Watch behind your lure. If you see fish following that won’t quite commit, change colors.
• Carry pliers or hemostats. Tiny trebles do the job well, but they can be menacing when you’re unhooking fish.
• Pay attention to where fish are holding. Creek fish are very pattern oriented, and patterns can vary daily with no obvious change in conditions. Consider current strength, cover type, bottom type and depth when fish hit, and look for similar situations.
• Travel light. Carrying minimal gear allows you to cover more water and to get away from the creek sections that get the most pressure.

Crawfish Tackle

I like a 6-6 ultralight fast-action spinning outfit and 4-pound test for fishing a Teeny Wee Craw or Deep Teeny Wee Craw but might choose 6-pound test and a light rod based on the cover and the size of fish I expect to encounter. Don’t fret about specifics, though. Part of the virtue of fishing a Rebel Crawfish in a creek is its simplicity, and any light or ultralight spinning or spincasting outfit will do the job just fine.