Fish the Cambarus Hatch

Do you fish the crayfish? A surprising number of trout anglers don’t. Have you ever noticed crayfish when you are wading? Have you seen them around the boat landings? There are lots of crayfish in the Missouri River and crayfish are basically a shrimp. Everything loves a shrimp.

One of the best times to fish the crayfish is right about the time the caddis are getting active. That’s because 50 degree water is the temp that gets those crayfish out of their winter burrows and clacking around the rocks. Males are looking for mates in the spring and in order to find them, they must expose themselves. Their increased vulnerability to trout is further increased when rising stream flows push them around. The trout are watching.

A great way to find out if the trout are taking crayfish is to dead drift one under an indicator and then drop off a caddis pupa. Don’t be in a hurry to pick up your flies after the drift. A tight line might provoke the bite. Both your crayfish and your caddis pupa will still be fishing on the rise.

If you want to fish the crayfish streamer style, focus on rocky areas and fish slowly with occasional twitches and fast strips. Crayfish typically crawl unhurriedly unless startled. Then they will flee quickly, pulsing several feet at a time. By the way, big trout love crayfish like Bubba Gump loves a shrimp.