Craw patterns

Near'Nuff Crayfish, Brown

HOOK: TMC 5263, sizes 4-8
THREAD: light brown or orange, 3/0
ANTENNAE: orange KF, pumpkinsee Sili Legs, black Spanflex; 3 pair; paint
tips fluorescent red orange
EYES: Mason mono, burnt
PINCHERS: two grizzly hen; paint fl. red
LEGS: webby hackle dyed orange
THORAX: brown rabbit, gold antron, gold flashabou dubbing, mixed
WEIGHT: lead eyes painted brown
NOSE: golden brown rabbit fur

it was posted here a few yrs back. someone asked bout it i think

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"Quitcha B****IN' and lets goooo fishin'!"-COOL CHANGE, Capt. Joe Nash






[This message has been edited by Bass_Angler_04 (edited 16 January 2005).]

[Jambalaya]

I use small plastic crayfish as well. And as mentioned cheap. I like 'em mostly 'cause you can always match the hatch at any particular lake with them as they come in assorted colors. They've outfished all other crayfish patterns I've used... this doesn't include woolly buggers or any of the patterns that mimic a lot of stuff. I'm talking specifically tied crayfish patterns to match what's in some of my local lakes.

I've gotten some pretty strange looks and comments from others using these guys, but when the rod starts bending it turns eyebrows. Just started using these this year and I do love 'em.

Later,
Jambalaya

[Flytyer37]

TYER Frank Reid
HOOK Mustad 37160 size 2/0 to 10
WEIGHT lead wire
THREAD contrasting color, heavy
FEELERS about 10 to 20 deer hairs
ANTENNA Matching color rubber legs (about 1 to 1 1/2 inches long)
EYES plastic bead chain
BODY chenille
SHELL plastic raffia covered in 5 minute epoxy
CLAWS Zonker (rabbit for size 6 and larger, mink or pine squirrel for 8 and smaller)
COMMENTS Colors of the thread and body parts are what you want to match the local crawfish. Tan is a good general color.
Hook up in the vise, tie in the deer hair on the bottom of the hook, just back of the point.
Tie in the rubber legs on top of this (if you stretch it away from you at a 45 degree angle going down, it will come out even).
On top of the hook (inside), tie in two plastic bead chain eyes. I have about 100 yard of the stuff in orange from the craft store. Figure 8 two in (one either side of the hook). Its easier to leave them as part of the chain until you've tied them in, then snip off the rest.
Tie in about 2 inches of plastic raffia right behind the eyes. Bring the raffia forward between the eyes, along the top of the hook and tie in again forward of the hook. Bring the thread back behind the eyes.
Tie in a six inch piece of chenille behind the eyes.
On top of that tie in two pieces of zonker, fur up at a 45 degree angle from the hook. On a size 4 hook, these are about 3/4" long. On a size 10, about a half an inch. I add a drop of super glue on top of the thread here to hold them in place.
Bring the thread down to the second bend (towards the eye).
Wrap the chenille around the base of the zonker, then forward, between the eyes, around once and back around the base of the zonkers again, continuing down to the second bend (towards the eye). Two wraps of thread go around the chenille at this point.
Lightly loosen the hook in the vise, and bring it down so that the shaft with the eye is parallel with the tying bench. Wrap thread to the eye and bring the thread back to the second bend.
Wrap the last third of the shaft with lead wire. Don't use much more. I'll explain later.
Continue wrapping the chenille to the eye (the thread is at the second bend).
Bring the raffia back along the top of the body to the second bend and give it a couple of wraps of thread. With the raffia laying along the shaft to the eye, use the thread to section this in about three sections to the eye, with the final wrap just behind the eye.
Lift the raffia and tie off the thread behind the eye. Clip the raffia PAST the eye, and splay it out. This makes a nice little tail.
You can now use head cement, fingernail polish or epoxy on the raffia to give it some sheen and harden it up. Epoxy works the best.
I use a loop type knot on this fly. That gives it a bit more wiggle. The weight at the last third of the hook sends the eye down and the zonkers hold the front up. Thats also why I use plastic beadchain for the eyes. I don't want extra weight up front. This imitates a crawdad in the defensive "fightin'" position, which is how a fish would see it. Also, the hook is up. I've dragged it through brush many times without a snag. The bottom part of the hook is now an instant hook guard. Fish it in short jerks, let it settle and then jerk it again. This immitates a fleeing crawdad.

The size 10 works real well on large trout where there are crawdads in the stream or lake. The size 2-4 is great for smallies and largemouth. I have one friend who caught an 8 lb rainbow and a 6 lb bass on two successive casts with a size 4 in a southern Utah resevoir.
A picture is at [url=http://www.gula.org/roffswaps/recipe.php?page=FS2000&id=2:7320a]http://www.gula.org/roffswaps/recipe.php?page=FS2000&id=2[/url:7320a]
Good luck.
Frank Reid

Wow thanks alot for all those posts i got a lot of great tips and patterns.

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The way to every flyfisherman's heart is through his fly





[This message has been edited by Bass_Angler_04 (edited 19 January 2005).]

[LigonierA1]

Flytyer37, neat pattern of Frank Ried's that you posted. Now then, were in the world do you find a Mustad 37160 size in 2/0? Oddly , none of my local resources had this hook in anything larger than a #12

[Flytyer37]

Sorry so late in replying, didn't see your post till today.
The 37160 is also called an "English Bait Hook"
Cabela's has the to 1/0.
Frank Reid

[LigonierA1]

Thank you sir, I hadn't even thought of checking Cabela's. All my local shops looked at my with an odd glance when I asked for size 2 "caddis pupa hooks", heheheh.

[ozarkflyflinger57]

I have been looking for a craw pattern as well that is easy to tie but doesn't require a bunch of materials. On another list there was a discussion about woolly buggers and that they probably imitate a crayfish to trout under some circumstances. So I was thinking if there was a way I could represent a cross between a bugger and a craw. I came up with a pattern but haven't fished it yet and though I'd share it here.

What I did is use a 6X long hook, and started the thread at the bend of the hook and tied in the chenille and wrapped it forward a turn or two then tied on a set of dumbbell eyes in black. I then wrapped the chenille criss-cross across the eyes and then took a turn behind the eyes. Then I tied in the marabou (2) feathers, one on each side so that the eyes spread the marabou out like pincher's. I then tied in the hackle and wrapped the thread back to the eye where I tied in a short piece of marabou with the feather covering the eye as a tail fin. Then I wrapped the chenille to the eye. palmared the hackle to the eye and tied off.

In a large bowel of water I think it acts like I wanted. Anyone ever done anything similar? I'll try to post a picture later.

Dan

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ozarkflyflinger57,
Im doing a virtual warm water swap. All you do is email me a pic, recipe, directions in and then i foward all the email i recieve to the swappers. I think you craw bugger is just the thing for it. Email me it if you are interested.

Thanks for the reply
-zac


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The way to a flyfisherman's heart is through his fly

[ozarkflyflinger57]

Craw Bugger, What do you think (1st try to post picture)