Crackleback

All about flies Fly Tying
1

Hi,
I am originally from Missouri (live on Kauai now). The Crackleback originated with Feathercraft in StLouis.

I have been experimenting with a variation of it. I am real fond of the marrying of brown and grizzly hackle like on the famous Adams

Please check these out on my little blogsite:

and let me know what you think

I have done well with the Crackleback when nothing else would move fish

Thanks

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2

Good lookin fly!

3

Nice looking pattern. Looks like it should work just fine:^) I have a fishing buddy who swears by the original Crackleback pattern…tied to spec:^) He fishes it in the same manner I tend to fish an Elk-Hair Caddis. It does well for him.

4

I know some of our club members fish that fly on a intermediate sink line, and do well on the white river in AR.

5

Byron,

I live in Missouri and the crackleback is my goto fly in the state parks and the white river system. Great fly to fish either dry or stripped on a sinking line. My favorite color is an olive-yellow body and olive grizley hackle.

Where in Missouri did you live?

Dave

6

Very fishy I am liking it

7

I grew up in Lebanon. Bennett was my playground when it wasn’t as crowded. How about you?

8

I love the crackleback fly. I often throw on one that I tie up when nothing is biting and it usually will get some looks. The one you have pictured is a really nice tie!

9

I live in Mexico,Mo but go to Bennett several times a year. I am retired so generally go in the spring and fall during the middle of the week when it generally isn’t very crowded. Still a beautiful park.

Dave

10

The Creek trout here in E. Tenn. love 'em. Nice tye!

aa

11

GREAT TIE! I would tie it just like that without the brown hackle… Just Grizzly for me! :shock::smiley:

12

Good job on that crackleback. I use a lot of them down at Bennett Springs throwing down under the stone bridge and at the hatchery outlet. I like the orange or caddis green or yellow bodies or the green or purple holographic tinsel bodies as well. I use grizzly or brown or black or olive griz with different colored bodies and I just saw one , which I intend to try, with a little red yarn or floss tail. I hope to get back down there before the season close to try it out.

13

What sizes seem to be most effective for you folks?

14

I have had success in 12 and 14, though I haven’t tried much else.

15

The Crackleback is a fine fly. It’s just never worked for me very well.
That’s just me. You know how it is…no confidence in a fly…no fish.

A palmer hackled fly that I do fish and have very good success with is the Bivisible.

A sweet old pattern that catches fish today as it did many, many years ago. Try it, you might just like it.

Thanks to Deanna for the photo retrieved from the archives.

16

Very nice tie, Byron!

The Crackleback is a fantastic fly. I’ve had good success with it on small mountain creeks in NC too.

Not to take away from this thread, or the fly itself, but I’m amazed at all the different names and credits to basically the same fly. Orange Palmer (and yellow too), Orange/Yellow Asher, Crackleback, Bivisible …even a larger Griffith’s Gnat. Yeah, a couple of them may use a little different material for the body and a rib on top or something, a tail maybe, but they are all basically tied the same.
???

17

Not sure how accurate this is, but I tried a Crackleback with a red tail. I think this one looks a little “heavier-bodied” than the first picture in this thread. Probably won’t float as well. It looks like I used only furnace hackle for this one:

18

I fished that river back in 91, I was at Ft. WOOD.
Nice looking fly I use it up here in the northeast!