Do you feel it quite desirable to make the claws on your crayfish flies as realistic as possible?
Are the claws a significant trigger for the fish?
Duckster,
Not for me. I like a ‘suggestion’ of claws, but find no significant benefit to ‘realism’ in such flies.
I like a craw imitation that I can tie quickly and lose thoughtlessly. Presentation seems more critical than imitation in this case.
Good Luck!
Buddy
In the March issue of Fly Fisherman therr is an article on crayfish flies. It says that fish will actually go after the freshly molted softshell crawdads which tend to have smaller claws. If you see one they have tiny little nubs for claws. I wouldn’t sorry too much about it.
David Kratville
If your going to be moving it or in rivers I think an impressionable imitation best…however if letting it sink in clear water(like on some lakes or for smallies when they are lethargic) sometimes a close imitation claw works best.JMVHO
My best pattern sports claws of Natural Wild Cottontail Rabbit fur taken from the dark stripe down the center of the back…I’ve tried many of the patterns out there and have settled on a pattern of my own design.
alot of which is barrowed from the vast aray out there…but with materials and tying proceedures I find more to my liking…I think the best anyone can do is look at the naturals where YOU fish and build from there…My weighting methods are a bit unorthodox as well…Tinker till you find what works best for you!! all part of the fun!!
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
Everyone wants to excel in this sport but at the same time we let traditionalists place restrictions on our tactics, methods, and ideas. I always assumed that fly fishing was a sport that allowed imagination, creation, adaptation, investigation, dedication, education, revelation? : Fox Statler, On Spinners (Not the dainty Dry Fly kind) “Spinner’d Minner Fly”
“Wish ya great fishing”
Bill
I use two crayfish patterns in my arsenal. One is a small fairly realistice pattern with a dubbed body and shoulder feathers from a phesant for the claws that I use for trout. My other pattern that I use for smallmouth has a olive yarn body coated in silicone with two marabou feathers as claws. Quick and easy. I tried to mimic a plastic tube wih that pattern.
Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick
I have seen times when the only way we could catch smallmouth on the Mulberry River here in Arkansas was with a crawdad pattern with one craw broken off. We fell on this one day fishing with spinning gear, had a claw on a soft craw break off and wham fish started nailing the thing and from that day forward we incorparated it into craw fish patterns and caught loads of fish on fly rod that way.
[This message has been edited by parrotheadcrb (edited 06 March 2006).]
Here is a realistic that is not too hard to make. Point is: the claws are cree feathers formed in a unique way…
Rich
Wow Rich you did well. Is that raffia as a shell back?
Thanks flyangler,
I recall using a thin sheet of urtethane. Sort of like scud back but wider.
My thoughts now are to make the arms that hold the claws out of float foam (Rainy’s soft float foam that comes in small cylindrical sticks for maknig hopper bodies etc.) That way the claws would float upwards like an defensive craw… Might even stick the foam inside a holographic braided tube for glint and texture.
Rich
“I have seen times when the only way we could catch Smallmouth on the Mulberry River here in Arkansas was with a crawdad pattern with one craw broken off. We fell on this one day fishing with spinning gear, had a claw on a soft craw break off and wham fish started nailing the thing and from that day forward we Incorporated it into craw fish patterns and caught loads of fish on fly rod that way.” “parrotheadcrb”
I have to agree with “parrotheadcrb”, the most effective way of tying a crawfish, or even a crab pattern is to remove one claw. This makes the crawfish more venerable to the fish.
I also tie my crawfish flies, so they are no longer than 1? inches (3.8 cm) in length. The bigger the crawfish, the more likely it is able to defend itself, so fish ignore the larger crawfish. Who wants to be pinch on the nose by one of those claws? ~Parnelli
[This message has been edited by Steven H. McGarthwaite (edited 06 March 2006).]