Picture: Jay/Flickr
The place I grew up, we known as them crawdads. I’ve heard them known as crawfish, however most people appear to decide on crayfish because the official time period for these fascinating freshwater lobsters. No matter what you name them, crayfish are an vital a part of the eating regimen for a lot of trout, particularly these residing in tailwaters. They’re a high-protein meals supply, and a few of my greatest fishing days final 12 months got here when fishing crayfish beneath an enormous foam hopper.
Should you select to tie your individual crayfish, you’ll be in for a bit extra time on the vise than you usually spend with mayflies or midges. These are meaty flies, and most of the patterns are sometimes complicated.
It may also be difficult to know which crayfish sample to strive, since there are such a lot of of them. That’s the place this story, by Stephen Might over at Fly Fisherman Journal, comes into play. He picked the seven greatest crayfish patterns primarily based on their biology and bodily look, which is a superb place to begin. As Might notes, “many well-liked flies should not nicely designed. Some flies have enormous claws popping out of the fly’s head and float or drift with the hook pointed down, able to snag the primary piece of particles it encounters. Regardless of this, crayfish are such an vital meals merchandise on many rivers, and fish see so few imitations, that they may hit a mediocre imitation with shocking regularity. When you begin utilizing well-proportioned crayfish patterns, your success will certainly improve, and you’ll at all times have a number of patterns in your fly field prepared for motion.”
His seven patterns are all ones I most likely must strive, as they’re a bit extra anatomically right than my go-to, which is the Zirdle Bug.
May particulars the best way to fish these patterns, as nicely. His article is a improbable useful resource for studying extra about these under-utilized flies, and I extremely suggest studying it, particularly when you’re bored with tying mayflies, midges, and caddis.
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