Craw patterns...

[Paul F]

I picked up some stuff to try and tie some craw looking flies... I bought one at cabelas to try to copy but I'm pretty much just gonna jump into it and try it.

 

 

 

 

Anyone else tied anything that looked good? Let see some pictures!!

 

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

[Rob G]

You know, after tying countless craw patterns that were designed to look like the real thing, and not being successful often enough, I eventually found that the more interpretive patterns which exhibited better movement are move productive for me, but I do keep trying.

[Paul F]

Good to know, I tied one that looks pretty good. I guess I'll have to see if it produces fish though, 'cause lets face it.. Thats what counts

[kbickley]

I agree with Rob. In my experience, a fly that gives the right "impression" to the fish works better than a fly tied to look like the real thing--"part for part," so to speak. So I've had success with bead-head, brown woolly buggers tied with "pumpkin"-colored rubber legs in the tail and on the shank. I've also experimented with Tim Holschlag's "Hackle Fly", but I've found it to be frustrating to fish. I've been tying Clouser minnows in preparation for the Fall "frenzy", and, since I'm in rhythm, now I'm ready to tie some Foxee Red flies (for next Summer) because they're meant to imitate crayfish.

[Rob G]

Finally getting around to reading Tim Holschlag's excellent book, "Smallmouth Flyfishing" and he emphasizes movement and action of the fly in the water and not the appearance of the fly in your box. So maybe we're on to something here.

[kbickley]

I've read parts of two of Holschlag's books on fishing for smallmouth ("Stream Smallmouth Fishing" and "Fly Fishing for Smallmouth") and I've spoken to him (once), and I think that he favors a kind of "impressionism" when it comes to tying smallmouth flies. So I'd say that I've benefitted from his expertise, and I agree that tying crayfish flies so they have the right movement in the water makes a lot of sense.

 

Just a suggestion. In the last chapter of his book "Good Flies", John Gierach discusses a pattern he calls the "Mud Bug" (a fly that resembles Clouser's Foxee Red minnow) that he based on his experience of watching crawdads' behavior. He came to this conclusion when it comes to crayfish flies: "I got to watching crawdads in trout lakes and decided that most patterns were way more detailed than they had to be to catch fish, and possibly too visible, as well." I take this to mean that, not only must a fly have the right movement, it must have the right (i.e. muted) color as well.

[Paul F]

I figured I'd better stop back in and let you all know that thursday night I caught a fish that had to have been 20 inches on my craw pattern. It had enough weight to sit on the bottom if needed or to go with the current if needed. I was pitching it at the side of a bridge piling and picking pulling it off the bottom to let the current do its thing. 3rd drift the current took it right into the eddy created by the piling, followed by a hard and immediate strike.

 

Didn't take an pictures because I was alone though, but it was a nice fish!

 

 

[kbickley]

It sounds like you've tied a good pattern! Nothing like the feeling of catching fish on something you've tied. On what size hook did you tie the "crayfish" and what colors did you use, may I ask? Recipe?

[Guest airbornemike]

I've read parts of two of Holschlag's books on fishing for smallmouth ("Stream Smallmouth Fishing" and "Fly Fishing for Smallmouth") and I've spoken to him (once), and I think that he favors a kind of "impressionism" when it comes to tying smallmouth flies. So I'd say that I've benefitted from his expertise, and I agree that tying crayfish flies so they have the right movement in the water makes a lot of sense.

 

Just a suggestion. In the last chapter of his book "Good Flies", John Gierach discusses a pattern he calls the "Mud Bug" (a fly that resembles Clouser's Foxee Red minnow) that he based on his experience of watching crawdads' behavior. He came to this conclusion when it comes to crayfish flies: "I got to watching crawdads in trout lakes and decided that most patterns were way more detailed than they had to be to catch fish, and possibly too visible, as well." I take this to mean that, not only must a fly have the right movement, it must have the right (i.e. muted) color as well.

I've caught everything under the sun on Tims HHF fly, I dont know if its the yellow rubber legs or the bright orange eyes but the channel cats in my local creek love the thing.

[Paul F]

It sounds like you've tied a good pattern!  Nothing like the feeling of catching fish on something you've tied.  On what size hook did you tie the "crayfish" and what colors did you use, may I ask?  Recipe?

I tied it on a 1/0 hook... I wrapped the back end of the hook (near the hook eye) with .020 lead wire... I used zonker strips for the "claws" then tied on some red dumbbell eyes along with a few strands of rubber skirt material from a flippin jig and made the body by wrapping pseudo maribou around all of it. I then wrapped the mass of it with neck hackle and trimmed it all off on the top and bottom as to only allow it on the sides of the body imitating legs and such. I then cut a piece of thin skin and glued then wrapped it onto the top of the body.

 

 

Also, I should add... Do not tie the eyes on the "inside" section of the hook, if you do then the fly will have a tendency to turn over onto the wrong side and the hook will drag on the bottom instead of facing upwards. I am fairly new to tying but so far this year all my best fish have been on flies that I created.