Crackleback?

[mickmcco]

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.

[Scruffy Fly]

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.

I tied the Crackleback pattern here FAOL - chartruese. It worked exceptionally well the three times I have used it for Rainbows, Brookies, browns, and Greenback cutthroat trout on Front Range Creeks here in Colorado. Small waters and small fish. Dead drifting as a dry fly. Did catch one skittering it at the end of a drift.

I had 5 to 7 turns on a size 12 3x long hook. I have been meaning to tie some with less turns of hackle since the most productive fly was one that the the hackle had slipped off the back of the fly. The fly looked like it had a pronounced tail and the back 1/8th of the Chartreuse Unistretch threat body did not have even one complete turn of hackle or mylar tinsel on it.

[Greg Hunsicker]

Everyone at Feather Craft is great! They will teach you to tie the crackleback for free or send you a pattern sheet for about a buck.

[bgreer]

Everyone at Feather Craft is great! They will teach you to tie the crackleback for free or send you a pattern sheet for about a buck.

I know several of the guys at Feather-Craft. That's where I bought my first rod and took my first casting lesson. (Free casting on Sat mornings)

They are very helpful. They'll teach you just about anything you have a want/need for.

The crackleback has been very effective for me in green (different shades), tan, light yellow, and sometime....white just knocks 'em dead.

.....my 2 cents