This post was last updated on August 5th, 2021 at 02:54 pm

Trout Love to Eat Crustaceans

I think most animals that eat meat enjoy eating crabs and crustaceans. The crawdads will spend a lot of their lives hiding underneath rocks and debris for protection from predators, that’s because they are great food! I am certain that most places that have brown trout or trout in general, will have a decent crayfish population.

The crawdad will be too much for many trout, but the large fish can easily take down a crayfish quickly. When these crustaceans are startled they will use their tails to propel them backwards in a flurry of short bursts.

Crawdad Trout Flies and Lures

This evasive action taken by the crayfish will often trigger a response from trout. There are several trout lures that mimic the crawdad very well such as a rebel crawdad, there are also some great fly patterns. There are many streamers that will replicate the crayfish easily in coloration. I have found that these will entice many of the largest trout to eagerly take the fly. It just so happens that the short strips of fishing a streamer, almost perfectly match the natural movements of a real crayfish. If you don’t have any streamers that are crawdad colored, you probably need to hit the vice and tie some up. The smaller baby crayfish will often be found in clusters and can easily be replicated by a small muddler minnow or sculpin pattern.

Habitat and Other Crawdad Facts

Crayfish will be found in most rivers and streams throughout the US and Canada. They seem to prefer areas with large boulders that they can easily hide in, or crawl under. The crawdads will lay several eggs each year and will hide them under their tails until hatching. You will rarely ever find crayfish in areas that don’t offer some type of cover for them to hide under. If the bottom of your trout fishing area is sandy or muddy, you will not likely encounter many crayfish there, however most good trout fishing areas will have a rocky bottom.