Ralph Manns posted this on another site about crawfish

He has said that bass have a difficult time catching and eating crawfish. Here is a link to a site that has video showing this factor. The ones shown seem to be larger crawfish, but who knows Thought it might be interesting to some here.

http://bassfishingstrike.com/crayfish-escape-big-bass-underwater-footage/2/

Hope this helps. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

Cool footage! I have caught several bass through the years that still had a crayfish stuck in their throat and were still trying to eat more. Think the smaller fish have a hard time eating something that fights back. Probably important that they swallow the crayfish tail first but when they are in their "defensive posture" that's tough. Big bass eating normal sized crayfish? No problem!(IMHO) Don't tell Bob Cruppi or any of those deep structure California trophy bass fishermen that big bass do not eat a nose hooked crawfish! Thanks for the footage.

Great footage. Shows why hopping a craw or a jig works so well. . .it looks almost just like a real craws movement.

They didn't show any bucketmouths. I seen footage of largemouth eating crawfish and it was no challenge. They opened their mouths and it was like someone flipped on a vacuum. Crawfish didn't stand a chance.

Very cool footage. Nature at its best. Survival is the game. Crawfish are one of their favorite meals. I'll play the odds and put my money on the bass every time.

Interesting footage. However, nothing like what I've witnessed with Largemouths.

Crawfish (not sure what a "crayfish" is) are the number one forage item in my area by volume. They are good food, but, only about 40% of the crawfish is digestable. The hard, chitonous shell is not digestable.

When the bass finds the crawfish (red swamp crawfish, Procamberus clarkii) on the bottom, claws raised in defensive posture, it first grabs the crawfish by one claw and shakes the claw off. The bass may or may not eat the claw. Then it does the same for the other claw. Once both claws are gone, the bass eats the rest in one bite.

I'm fairly certain that bass, carp, and other species become aware that the crawfish has molted, they'll all they can to get at it. I've seen bass and carp both, nose in a hole trying to "pump" a molted crawfish out with their gills.

Especially this time of year, crawfish are a very large part of the local bass' diet.

Here's the next video in that same guy's story...crawfish didn't fair so well in this video. It does appear they aren't simple to eat though.

I watched the 2nd video and noticed that after they "sucked" up the crawfish that most of the bass turned "UP" and away from the bottom. I assume it's instinct to help "Re-Catch" the craw if/when it gets away the first time. I think this might be why we often have fish "coming to the boat" or putting slack in the line when we are fishing. We typically assume that the fish will turn and run and jerk our rod away but oftentimes it is the exact opposite. This might be one of the reasons we miss many of our fish. Interesting. Just an assumption on my part.

Guy I worked with, said that years ago he had a tank with several bass in it. "The only bait that never got away was a crawfish. They never made it to the bottom."

My favorite bait around rocks, is a Mad-Man Craw-tube and a big ol' squirt of Crawfish scent. Seems like I get bit within two casts of a fresh squirt of sauce. Somebody bought out Mad-Man, but I still have a bunch. Great baits.

awesome footage. Makes me want to go throw a jig.