Sufferin Crawfish!

Fly Patterns
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1

I ran across a neat and easy crawfish pattern on YouTube, and I had to try it out. It looks great in the water, and the smallmouth Bass around here pounce on it like they’re never gonna get to eat again…

I modified the pattern slightly by adding bead chain eyes to the rear, instead of a conehead to the front. It makes it move more realistically. And, I use Renegade Craft Fur instead of marabou because it moves like marabou in the water, and I didn’t have the correct colors of marabou handy. The bass don’t seem to mind much.

And, much to my surprise, a large Brown Trout rocketed out from behind a rock and exploded onto it on my 4th cast. It scared me half to death, it was so sudden and vicious. I wasn’t aware that there were any trout in this section of the Ocoee. The trout was 22" long (according to my Zebco De-Liar scale).

Here it is…the Pancora Crawfish:

Hook: Cabelas Model 40 size 8
Thread: 6/0 Uni Thread Olive Green
Tail (claws?): Renegade Craft Fur-Orange on the bottom (it rides hook point-up) and OD Green on top.
Eyes: Large Black Bead Chain
Body: OD Green Chenille
Hackle: Brown Hen Neck-palmered
Legs: White Sparkle Silli-Legs

2

That’s what I’m talkin’ about! I’m gonna tie up a few for spring when the fish are heavy in the riprap. Thanks for posting.

3

Another simple crayfish pattern is the Red Setter from New Zealand. There’s a step by step in the FOTW archives (one of the earliest patterns).

The Red Setter is a particular variation of Fred Fletcher’s “Fuzzy Wuzzy” series, which in it’s original tie it was really just black squirrel tail for the tail, wool body, and black hackle palmered up the body. It eventually turned into the double hackle construction (one collar hackle mid body, and a 2nd at the head). Red Fuzzy Wuzzy uses red wool or cheneil for the body, Green Fuzzy Wuzzy uses green, and so forth. Red Setter’s are sometimes tied with black tails, and sometimes fox squirrel tails.

These would be tied large for crawfish in lakes, say size 6 or 4, but I’ve tied small versions in size 10 or 12, and use them in rivers with some success as well.

  • Jeff
4

Looks like that fly would work here really well to… gonna tie 2 and try out next weekend…

5

Always on the lookout for a nice looking crayfish.

What’s the YouTube addy?

And what’s “OD?”

6

i like it!
:cool:,
aquabone.

7

I think this might be it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oln_eWcI2SI&feature=PlayList&p=F67D31AB2A044337&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1

And I have to ask too… what’s OD Green?

8

Oh, and I have to say, that’s a rockin’ good fly.

9

Gigmaster, if you don’t mind telling where are you catching smalljaw bass. That’s on my bucket list and according the the health survey I took I only have about 35 years left.

10

“And I have to ask too… what’s OD Green?”

Being an Army Veteran, I would say “Olive Drab Green”. Just a guess though…

11

Sorry, everyone. I get in a hurry sometimes. OD is in fact Olive Drab Green.

The link for the Pancora Crawfish is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oln_eWcI2SI&feature=PlayList&p=F67D31AB2A044337&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1

On mine, I put weighted barbell eyes at the front (in this case, on the hook-bend end), instead of a cone weight at the rear. It makes it move more realistically. Crawfish swim tail ‘up’, and head ‘down’. I also tie it ‘upside-down’ with the hook point riding ‘up’, so as not to foul it on bottom obstructions. It makes it easier to get it into structure where bass like to hang out.

I have a few places that I fish for SMs (smallmouth bass). One of my favorites is a section of the Ocoee River, just upstream from the Devils Chute. You can go up stream and get into Lake Ocoee proper (about a 2 mile paddle in my canoe, or kayak), or go downstream and fish the pockets below fast water. There is enough fast water to make it interesting, and it freaks the Water Rats (kayakers who come to challenge the rapids) out to see me fishing there. This section of the river gets very little fishing pressure due to the fast water. On the lake, I do well right under the US 64 bridge, and around in that immediate area, where there are a lot of standing partially submerged trees. It’s a great crappie place, too. It takes me about 20 minutes or less to paddle to the bridge from where I put in on the River. My other favorite place is the Hiawassee River, just about anywhere. I usually put in near the Nancy Ward Gravesite, off of US 411, near Benton, Tn., and drift/paddle down the lower Ocoee until it merges into the Hiawassee, then I continue down the Hiawassee, sometimes as far down as Reliance, Tn. After that, it becomes mostly trout water all the way to NC. But I have found that the species overlap somewhat. SMs like a lot of the same conditions that trout like.

Both places make for some great all-day, or weekend adventures. Why just fish, when you can combine exploring, whitewater, and fishing into one great piece of living?

I love where I live…

Here is a spot almost right behind the house, on the Conasauga River, where I trout fish, and swim/frolick sometimes. I call it our ‘pool’, even though I don’t own it. It is part of the Cherokee National Forest, where I live. Anyone is free to use it, and I would’nt want it any other way, even if I did own it.

I consider myself very blessed. Life doesn’t get much better than this (IMHO).

12

Wow…that is a BEAUTIFUL spot, Gig! :smiley:

13

That’s a pretty part of the world. If I didn’t have to keep my better half close to her Rheumatologist I would consider becoming your neighbor or at least get a little closer than I am now.

14

Damn good video. I hate it when they try to talk and tell you how to tie. Just tie the damn thing already!!

Dude has tied a lot of flies. That is evident!!

15

I’ve used it several times since I’ve tied it, and it is proving to be just as reliable as my Clousers and Wooley Buggers. I nailed 4 SM the other day on the Ocoee in about 1 hour. Panfish were even attacking it.

16

I’ve tweaked the pattern just a bit more, and I think I have it like I want it now. I will try it out this weekend.

I added some OD Bucktail (very sparse) to the front to simulate ‘feelers’, and I tied the craft fur ‘claws’ to the sides to give them some seperation. I also added a gold wire rib to give some extra insurance to the hackle. I went to an orange-barred, chartruese set of ‘legs’, for more visual appeal. I think this will be a killer.