"Soft Craws" live bait

I know when the water in creeks hits a certain temperature crawdads 'molt' or shed their shell and are soft for a very short period of time. I have only caught them in the soft state one time but I could not keep them on the hook. Everything tore them up, large mouth, smallies and catfish. Does anyone know about what time of year or what temperature this occurs? I know it's in the spring I would like to catch some this year. I have an older fishing buddy (67) who said when he was young they were sold out of bait shops. The temperature would be kept constant and they were always soft when sold. If you have never used them it's really amazing. A regular crawdad doesn't get any where near the amount of bites a soft one does. Thanks

[url]https://www.reference.com/pets-animals/crayfish-molt-de61da258a11dccc#[/url]

I was told years ago that once the water warmed they would molt several time a year and it was around a full moon,but don't quote me on this.

I found some early June in the creeks

I'm fairly sure that this happens in the springtime, but I'm not sure specifically. Hope this helps:cool: