Thread: 140 Denier Thread in
Olive or Brown or Wood Duck.
Body: Copper Ultra Wire Brassie.
Thorax: Peacock Herl 3-4 strands.
Collar: Pheasant Feather or Hen Feather, mottled
brown.
This is a great ‘attractor’ fly. For myself, and some of my friends, it has
been one of the hot flies on the upper Housatonic this Fall (2024). Most fly shops don’t sell wet flies, and on
the rare occasions when they do, you won’t find a fly like this. The copper wire gives it a flash in the water
and helps keep your fly a little lower in the water column. When I tie it to smaller sizes, I don’t even
put a Thorax on it. I also prefer to use
Hen feathers for those smaller wets. I
also don’t rib it. You might also want to
tie it on a variety of different hooks.
Pictured here are a couple variations of this fly.
To tie this fly de-barb the hook and place it in your vice. Start your thread behind the eye and take a half
dozen securing wraps. Cut off the butt
end. Next, tie in 2 strands of copper
wire. Tie them in about an ‘eye’ length
behind the eye. Once secured, start
wrapping down the bend making ‘side by side’ wraps. Wrap down to the bend in the hook. Now palmer your wires forward with spiral
wraps to create a rib. When you reach
your wire tie in point, tie it off, and ‘helicopter’ off the butt ends.
Next, tie in 2 strands of Peacock Herl. Take 4-5 wraps to create a ‘balled’
thorax. Tie off the peacock and cut off
the butt ends. Next, prepare your hen feather
for your collar. Strip off the fuzzy end
of the feather. Now pull 1 side of your
feather fibers off the stem. Doing this resolves
the problem of putting too much hackle on your fly. Stroke the remaining fibers back except for
the very tip of the feather. Tie the feather
by the tip with securing wraps. Cut off
the butt end (tip) of the feather. Take
3-4 wraps of the feather to create your collar.
Tie the feather off. Cut off the
butt end. Create a finished head with
your thread. Whip finish, cut off the
butt end, and apply a drop of head cement if you so desire.
Holsinger's Fly Shop has an excellent video on how to tie this fly below:
If you have any questions about this fly, or would like to submit a fly of the month, I can be contacted at pdinice@frontier.com .
This is an essential fly here in New England. Crabs are a
substantial part of the stripers diet, yet many don’t fish crab flies. Part of the problem is not knowing where
& when to fish them. I fish a few
different crab flies, but this is the most productive of all of them. The color can also be modified to match the
bottom environment. The size can also be
varied depending on the size of crabs the bass are feeding on. When fishing a crab fly, keep it in the ‘zone’
a lot longer than you would a bait fish.
Make sure it gets down. If you
strip it, short intermittent strips with pauses can induce strikes. When tying this fly I usually add some head cement
or UV Resin on my wraps to enhance its durability.
To tie this fly begin by placing your fly in the vice. Start your thread at the bend of hook and
secure it with 9-10 wraps. Cut off the
butt end. Prepare a ½ ‘pencil’ sized
clump of craft fur for the mouth of the fly.
Tie it in at the bend of the hook.
It should extend approximately a hook shank length beyond the bend. Next, tie in your mono eyes. You can either purchase them or make them by
burning the ends of heavy mono line.
When you tie them in, make sure they splay outward. They should extend halfway down the Craft
Fur Mouth at the bend of the hook. When
tying them in remember that this fly will fish with the hook up. The eye should be pointed up slightly. Once they are secured, cut off the excess.
Next, with a few strands of your EP Fibers or Congo Hair,
create a short dubbing noodle on your thread.
Dub a small ‘ball’ around the hook shank at the tie in point at the
bend. Select and prepare 2 feathers for
the claws of the crab. Keep in mind that
for a ‘green’ crab, 1 claw is larger than the other. Both claws should splay outward and slightly
‘upward’, approximately a ½ hook shank length beyond the Craft Fur mouth. Cut off the butt ends and cover your securing
wraps with another dubbing noodle on your thread.
You are now going to tie in a tuft of EP/Congo Fibers under
the hook shank, over the claws and eyes.
It should be approximately a pencil in thickness and extend ‘upward’ and
beyond the bend to the eyes. Once
secured and the butt end is trimmed, prepare another tuft of Fibers to begin to
form your crab body. The length should
measure at least 1 ½ inch on each side of the crab (to be trimmed later). Secure the Fibers, laying 1 side along the
hook shank, take securing wraps, and sweep rearward. Now take the other side of the Fibers and
place them over the hook shank, sweeping them rearward on the other side of the
hook. Secure the Fibers with some
wraps. Repeat this process up the hook
shank. It may take 4-5 tufts of Fibers
to complete the body. Remember to leave
room behind your hook eye for your Dumbbell Eyes. Once your Fiber body is completed, tie in your
Dumbbell Eyes behind the eye of the hook (Reverse your hook in the vice and
mount them on what is normally the top of the hook shank). Use figure 8 wraps to make sure they are
secure.
Next, behind the Dumbbell Eyes, tie in 4 Silly Legs (again,
on what is normally the top of the hook shank).
Once secure, bring your Silly legs over the Dumbbell Eyes to the other
side of the hook shank. At the same tie
in point on the opposite side of the hook shank, secure them with thread wraps. They should extend approximately to the Claw
tips on what will be the bottom of your fly.
Finally, behind the Dumbbell Eyes and Leg tie in point, add 1 more tuft
of EP/Congo Fibers on each side of the hook shank. Whip finish your fly and add some cement to
your wraps.
Now it’s time to trim your crab. Begin by preening out your EP/Congo Fibers. With your scissors round out the edges of
your crab to create a semi-circle on each side of the hook. Advice in trimming your Crab Fly—Take your
time. It’s better to trim off a little
at a time than too much at once. Please
be careful so that you don’t trim off any of your legs or claws.
Maine Fly Guys have an excellent video on how to tie this fly below:
If you have any questions about this fly or would like to
submit a Fly of The Month I can be reached at pdinice@frontier.com .
