Loosely based on Craig Mathews’ Guide Cripple (another fly inspired by Bob Quigley’s original); just because it’s a cripple doesn’t mean you can’t use foam to make it float. Tied here in Adams colors; change to suit your needs.
hook -Dai Riki 135 #12
thread - UTC 140 grey brown
core - 8lb mono
Shuck - Congo Hair brown
abdomen - 1mm foam grey
wing - Congo Hair white
hackle - grizzly/brown
Part 1
put a loop in one end of the mono
mash barb, start thread; flatten other end of mono, brush on a little Super Glue and tie in
tilt hook down, put mono loop on gallows; tie in CH
tie in foam strip
brush on a little Super Glue (not to much- it’ll wick up thru the CH too far and fuse the fibers of the shuck together); wrap foam up (shank length) - adjusting tension as you wrap up creates a tapered effect (not necessary but not hard to do either and it creates a nice effect)
Brush on a little more glue and wrap back down to hook; tie off/trim foam and shuck (gap width)
tie in a hank of white CH; take a few warps in front to set wing angle
It’s a polypropylene yarn, similar to EP Fibers, Widow’s Web, Poly Yarn, macrame yarn, etc. I like Congo Hair because it’s inexpensive and comes in a wide variety of colors.
I finally tied a carnage! Carnage green drakes in both parachute and cripple styles. They don’t look as good as Scott’s (no surprise), but both caught fish, even without a drake hatch, and both floated great. They stood up well to several fish.
Now that I’m hooked, I’m off to buy some nylon bushings and build a gallows tool.
Scott - thanks so much for your fantastic carnage SBS’s. I would never have attempted this style without your detailed photos and instructions.
