I was in St. Louis last week and spoke to Ed Story about the Crackleback. It was, in fact, invented over 50 years ago, well before son Bob (now in his 30s) was born. Ed called it a "Dry Woolly," so it's a strange mixture of dry fly and woolly worm that works well above and below the surface.

The FAOL pattern called the "Crackleback" differs from Ed's original in several respects. The original had no tail or rib and was tied on a 1XL dry fly hook. While you can use many different materials for the body, Ed now ties it exclusively with turkey rounds, and his favorite is still a size 12 with PMD colored body.

I tie the fly with and without beads in sizes 8-20. Favorite body colors are PMD, orange, chartreuse, brown, and olive. Be sure to use a sparse saddle hackle and wrap it with no more than four or five wraps (shiny side back as you would a dry fly hackle).

I've caught all sorts of fish on this fly, but my favorites were two grass carp, one 29" and one 31", caught on a five weight and a #14 beadhead Crackleback, "matching the hatch" of buds falling from a tree that was overhanging a small lake in suburban St. Louis. What a hoot!

So I always have a crackleback in my flybox, wherever I fish.