Suspended Crawfish

The top live smallmouth bait is the homely little crawfish. Hooked in the tail and tossed out on the edge of submerged rocks, this crustacean can bring in the 5-pounders like nothing else will. Crawfish are bottom-huggers all the way. The first thing they'll do when sinking to the bottom is go under any bit of cover they can find, leaving you fish-less and snagged. Try floating the crayfish above the rocks on a large floating jig on an 18-inch mono leader attached to a three-way swivel. A sinker big enough to keep the jighead down is all that's needed to keep the bait in place in current or light wave action. The crawfish will try to go deeper but suspend up where a big smallie can easily take it. The rig works equally well on big largemouth bass. Catch crawfish with a net along a rocky shoreline. You can keep them in a bucket with a few earthworms for food.