Eyes in crayfish

[ducksterman]

In looking at crayfish patterns I see some that have the eyes tied in at the tail. Wouldn't it be better to tie in at the bend [the head area] or is it done to get the tail section to ride down relative to the head?

[Micropteris]

I assume you are talking about lead eyes for weight. I tie all mine in at the tail of the fly/ eye of the hook to give the fly more of a dipping/jigging action. I think it gives the fly a more defensie posture. When I used to fish plastic tubes on spinning gear the jig head would end up inside the tube head leaving the skirt of the tube drifting up like a denfensive crayfish would. It also seems to get the fly to the bottom faster without adding to much weight to it.

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Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick

[Jgoding]

Hey Duckster,

I always assumed it was for weighting purposes only.

[ducksterman]

OK then...it seems to me that mono eyes or maybe bead chain placed at the bend [head] would be desirable and then for weight some lead wraps at the eye [tail].

It would seem another reason for weight at the tail is to help prevent snagging???

[MOturkE]

From what I've seen and read in most pattern books, the barbell "eyes" are used for weight. By tying them Clouser style, the flies ride hook up and won't get caught in weeds as easily. This method means the body of the craw is almost always tied with mono eyes inside the hook bend. The patterns I've seen don't look at all odd with barbells tucked under the fantail.



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There's almost nothin' wrong with the first lie, it's the weight of all the others holdin' it up that gets ya'! - Tim

[ducksterman]

MO,
Good point...I withdraw the lead wrap suggestion.

How about using the hooks used in this weeks FOTW?...too far forward?

[This message has been edited by ducksterman (edited 12 March 2006).]

[Ron Mason]

I most often weight mine Clouser style. The dumbbells are not put on there to imitate eyes but rather to weight the fly so acts like a crayfish in the water. I want the fly to ride hook point up and I want the tail to dip w/ each strip. That best imitates how a real crayfish swims. Trying to imitate the eyes on a crayfish is somewhat superfluous as they generally fished w/ quick strips and I seriously doubt that any fish is going to notice whether they have eyes or not. What they key on is the general color and the movement. If you get those two things right you will catch fish.

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Ron M

[MOturkE]

Ducksterman,

I do think the hook used for the FOTW would work quite well for crayfish flies. The weight would be tied in at about the point the body ends and the fantail would begin.

There's no real need to paint the barbell, unless you want it to blend with the body color.



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There's almost nothin' wrong with the first lie, it's the weight of all the others holdin' it up that gets ya'! - Tim

[Gigmaster]

I tie black bead chain eyes at the bend. I also use 2 short strips of lead wire (not wrapped) tied to the bottom of the hook shank for weight. I think my crawfish look pretty real and the move realistically in the water. It's sort my own pattern (I think). I have a weird way of doing claws. I once tried to make cricket legs by tying over-hand knots in the middle of a pair of neck feathers. it worked, and after I finished the fly, I realized that if it were backwards, the legs would look just like crawfish claws. So now I tie knots in neck feathers, trim the tips to imitate claws and coat them with super-glue.

If you want the mud-dog to ride hook-point up, then tie the wire weights on top of the hook shank. Tie the eyes on the under-side (rotate the fly in the vise to the hook-up position, and tie in the bead chain eyes).

Semper Fi!

[ducksterman]

GIG...Do you make any attempt to tie the lead more toward the eye of the hook...tail of the fly?