I am getting ready to go on a cruise to St. Thomas and Tortola. I am bringing my fly rod in hopes I have a little free time to do some casting. I got the recipe for this fly here in the archives.
Alan
Very, Very Nice. Would you like for me to try them for you? 
Wow very nice job
Hi,
Those are great looking crabs!
- Jeff
Ah yes, the Velcro Crab. Very nicely done Alan. Those fish are in trouble : )
Wow! Very nicely done! Very nice!
BC
Very realistic! I would eat them… 
IF… I wasn’t allergic to shellfish! :roll:
Great flies!
Well done!
Great looking crab pattern. I especially like the claws. I would watch out with the hooks though as they do not look like traditional salt water “friendly” hooks. Just a thought…
Jim Smith
Alan-
Just add some Old Bay seasoning and a few cold ones and you’ve got the fixin’s for some serious crab pickin.
peregrines
Thank you for all your comments, especially Dr. Fish, since it was his pattern! I realize that the hooks are not saltwater hooks, but as long as they last two days, I’ll be happy. I had to laugh as I was making them because they turned out so real looking. I also had to laugh at some of the material I substituted. Instead of Antron yarn that sells for $1.50 for 3 yards at the local fly shop, I used nylon yarn from Walmart?10 yards for 25 cents. Instead of Silly legs, I used some of the skirt material from a bass jig that cost 55 cents.
Thanks again,
Alan
I’m surprised no one asked exactly how you made those claws
Looked to me like a little slit in a rubber band and then maybe some material was “chewed” out then a little black marking???
The claws are rubber bands. I started by tying the rubber band in a tight knot. I then clipped the tag end to about 3/8" long. I then snipped a V in the end and the rubber band did the rest. My book on crabs has some of the warmer water species with black on the inside of the claws, so a Sharpie did a passing job for that. The rubber band has a tendency to curl so I decided to mimic the defensive posture of a crawdad that live in my creek and have the claws point up. I also made the body more in the shape of a executioner’s axe head, like those used in the movies to behead unwanted wives and other folks. The body was colored with permanant clothing paint pens. The eyes are 50 pound test catfish line that I melted over a candle, then colored with the Sharpie. I stuck the whole thing together with Zap-a-gap as the Velcro adhesive didn’t stop the crab from rolling on the hook. I also added some non-lead wire to the hook shank to give it a little hump, and a little weight to sink.
I will know how well it works in two weeks from today!
Alan
Ditto the NICE!!!
I am back. If you want to read the full report look in the saltwater forum.
However, for anyone else heading for the eastern Caribbean, the crab I saw was froggy green and had long legs. It was on the rock at low tide in Samana, D.P.
Alan