When there on Rice with a little andalais sausage mixed with.
RB

If you look in that site, it will list species by state. It showed Washington as having the following:

Pacifastacus Gambelli
Pacifastacus Leniusculus Klamathensis
Pacifastacus Leniusculus Leniusculus
Pacifastacus Leniusculus Trowbridgii
Procambarus Clarkii

They were all in (CS) Currently Stable condition.
I would learn more about these sub-species to find your color choices for different seasons.

I have only seen one live crawfish in the last few years (on Steele Lake) and it was bright orange.  I guess when I saw the package in the store, they looked so life-like that the "marketing machine" worked to catch me. 

They come with football jigs attached to hooks and the directions show rigging the hook through the body and out through the back.  I checked the action in shallow water and found short hopping it off the bottom seems to be an enticing action, but I don't know if that is representative of their movement or not.

Thanks for the crawfish link, Steve.  I see that thing comes from my Alma Matter so it's GOT to be good! 

I think I read something once about that crawdad molting thing once. Usually bigger, mature crawdads with hard shells will have a better chance of being orange. But that they are harder to eat for bass than the lighter brown craws that have just molted. They are softer, and easier to digest.

I've only seen live crayfish twice. Lk. Washington in September, they're battleship grey with pale red and pale blue splotches. In a small lake in E. Renton, they were black with red splotches, Spring or Summer, can't recall. The ones in Lk. WA were about 9" long, 1 1/4" across the shoulders. The others were about 12" long, and maybe 2" across.

FWIW, I think the black and orange craws will work, if you put them in the right place, and drag them along the bottom. Splitshotting is a suitable method for shallow, football jighead for deep.  Check the Crayfish Website. Didn't know they were online, didja? http://crayfish.byu.edu/index.htm ;  

C&R, Steve

Usually they're orange when directing traffic around road construction projects.



Ya, ya.. ok. 'nuff joking.  I think there's something like 100 subspecies of crawfish, and each species can have different colors depending on season AND whether or not they've just molted (not sure if that's true or not, just "dock talk" I've heard).  When are they orange?  Well, crud.... depends on lake, season and molting stage I guess.      

I find color isn't as important as people seem to think it is.  If fish are short-striking or just following my lure, THEN I start changing colors.  Just my own observation tho.

I have found that traditionally, when Crawfish get into my bag of Cheetos they end up with that bright orange coloration....seasoning rather than season seems to be the culprit.........

Dip,

Depends on the lake? I have seen them blue,green, brown,purple, and sometimes orange-but not bright. They work in silver lake Cowlitz county in that color all year long. Especially the Guido Bugs in that color. Best flipped and pitched to heavy cover.
RB

Thanks Rich, that's a great article! 

DipSnort,  in my vast experience they are usually orange just before I dip them in the red sauce and SUCK out the juice

Rich

Check this out

http://espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/s/b_fea_bm_0404_bass_forage.html

I have a package of these, but they are bright orange with black on top.

http://www.vtackle.com/store/usangler/default.cfm?i=products.cfm&mo=Rattle%20Hot...

I understand that crawfish are only orange on a seasonal basis, but are brown most of the year.  So when ARE they orange?  Has anyone ever used these baits?  What is the typical movement behavior of crawfish (i.e. how should I fish them?).

This is your chance to help out the "slimer fisherman".