Reply by: FISHRANGLER      Posted: 7/28/2012 9:57:04 AM     Points: 4407    

This is one way to do it the other is slip rig jsut some ideas used to defeat the Crawdads
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 Reply by: FishingFiend      Posted: 7/28/2012 10:47:49 PM     Points: 0    

I like to use a sping loaded trebel hook, there is nothing you can do about the crawdads but the hook with spring will hold the bait on a bit longer.

 Reply by: pheng      Posted: 7/28/2012 11:28:46 PM     Points: 75    

Use a bober!

 Reply by: smallfisher      Posted: 7/29/2012 2:08:23 AM     Points: 905    

when the crawdads are out in full force i sometimes use a foamy ear plug on a slip rig. depending on the weight of the bait i cut the ear plug accordingly and slide it up the leader also accordingly. it seems to help

 Reply by: koko      Posted: 7/30/2012 8:18:49 AM     Points: 196    

Thanks for the input everybody, I really do appreciate it.

After thinking about this all weekend, I came to a conclusion that maybe the bites I'm getting are not crawdads but perhaps smaller carp. The reason I say this is because the bite hits harder than what a crawdad would do (drag and light pull). I am using a big circle hook on a slip sinker rig with a 1oz weight.

I guess I could try a smaller hook and see if I can take a better look at whats beating my bait up.

Once again, thank you for the input and suggestion.

 Reply by: Russian      Posted: 7/30/2012 12:31:01 PM     Points: 5    

The past 3 nights I have fished CC I have been getting the type of hits you refer to. In my case the culprit has been 6-8 inch channel cats with mouths barely big enough to get around my #4 hooks. I caught at least 25 of these over the weekend. Crawdads can be an issue as well once the sun goes down but a Carolina rig with a 36" leader seems to buy me some time between bait changes. jmo

 Reply by: takeakidfishing      Posted: 7/30/2012 1:25:22 PM     Points: 5315    

I agree..its not baby Carp..Baby carp are most likely deep in the rock piles along the dam eating the slime off the rocks..Down size your hooks and you will most likely find baby cats taking your bait..

Erik

 Reply by: koko      Posted: 7/30/2012 5:17:41 PM     Points: 196    

Thanks guys!

 Reply by: gillmaster      Posted: 7/30/2012 6:43:45 PM     Points: 0    

Hey @Russian...What spot was U in? Blaquemagic6984@aol.com E~Mail me.

 Reply by: koko      Posted: 8/10/2012 12:47:35 PM     Points: 196    

Thanks for info guys, I ended up finding out the culprit and indeed it was a small channel cat. Caught a handful of them yesterday during the daytime and they were no bigger than 6"-8".

Seems that the large number of small kitties make it tough to leave any kind of bait out there...