Have always had an interest in crab flies but must confess to have never used them. All the familiar flies get in the way first.

Clark, do you tie crab flies?? Can you show us an easy version??

Craig.

Hi all,

Just back from a good fishing holiday. Craig, read your interest in using crab flies. Just out of curiosity, where would you be fishing these in NZ and for what species? Up here in Aussie we fish for the flat head using a crab type pattern loosley based on Del Brown's Merkin pattern. Have given flies to blokes fishing Seychelles and Christmas for bones and they have all come back with good fish on this pattern.

Super simple to tie, nothing much to look at, but boy does it work! A lot of the super realistic ones look great, but they fool more fisherman than fish.

Hook is straight eye standard length. I use the Mustad 34007 in varying sizes.

The tail which incorporates the claws is simply a bit of flashabou or krystal flash tied sparse and then 4-6 tan/light brown hackle tips that are splayed outward. Some guys also put a pinch, and this is literally a few strands of calf tail in with the flashabou or krystal flash as well.

The legs for the crabs, I use that crazy rubber. The traditional method is using white pieces - 3 pieces tied figure of eight style across the shank - to give the impression of 6 legs. (viz 3 either side). The ends are marked with a permanent marker red. I have found that chartreuse legs are easier to see and hold a better interest for the fish (just a personal thing) Whatever you want really.

The body is super simple with just alternating strands of brown and tan yarn or fuzzy wool. Obviously you can change the colour of this if you want. A lot of the small crabs around the mangroves here are darker, so a darker yarn is used. (Have seen pink crab patterns that have worked well!! Yeah I know, sunburned crabs or something seriously wrong!!)

For the eyes, tie in dumbell eyes on top of the hook so it rides upside down with the hook point up. Saves a few hooks in a day believe me. Some guys use a snag guard but as most of the fishing where crabs usually live is sandy bottoms, I don't bother.

The thread colour I use is usually some hideous luminous colour again for standing out. Pink is good as is chartreuse. You don't usually see the threads in the body as the yarn hides it, but it sticks out over the head area where the dumbells have been secured.

Easy to fish - relatively short leader with super sinker over the sandy bottom. Let it sink and then 6-8 inch strips to 'puff' sand up off the bottom. Bingo!

Doesn't get much simpler. Good luck.

Kev

Yeah Craig, I have tied a few along the lines of what Kev is recommending and have some really simple patterns which I'll try to post tomorrow night. I am heading out to the lodge for 5 days guiding (This freshwater work is seriously interfering with my SWF fun [;)] but I can tie and upload out there so will try to do it in the evening.

I haven't had a chance to fish them extensively but I reckon some real small ones would be deadly on flatfish here and the snapper would eat them surely? I think there are a whole host of species that would be into them....

Quote: Originally posted by Cicada on 10 January 2006

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(This freshwater work is seriously interfering with my SWF fun [

And I've just been gamefishing for two days which seriously interferes with my SWF fun..

Kev, thanks. Yes, I'll have to give the Del Merkins a go. I'm still not convinced it looks anything like a crab but obviously fish think so.

Snapper are big crab predators and I'm thinking a good crab pattern might tempt larger snapper.

Still interested to see what you come up with Clark.

Craig.

I am working on a pattern as we speak. A really small one I want to use for flounder... and a really big one for snapper.

I have a hunch it might be a real ******* to cast in the bigger sizes, but I reckon, if we are targetting big snapper, we'll want a big fly....

Karm, I let you know... I really don't like to sell a fly until I really know it works...

Quote: Originally posted by Cicada on 14 January 2006

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I am working on a new pattern as we speak. A really small one I want to use for flounder... and a really big one for snapper. The merkins I have traditonally tied and used have been too big for flounder and not big enough for BIG snapper.

 

I have a hunch it might be a real ******* to cast in the bigger sizes, but I reckon, if we are targetting big snapper, we'll want a big fly....

 

Karm, I let you know... I really don't like to sell a fly until I really know it works...

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Beggining of the quest for a BIG SNAPPER crab pattern. (This is tied on a 4/0 Tiemco 600 SP).

Makings of something good there.

Just thinking ahead......with those hackles so long, will they not twist or catch around the hook when being cast. Sometimes guys tie up flies with long tails and they twist around the hook shank. Just a thought Cicada.

The eyes could be realistically made by using a short piece of 300lb mono and burning the ends to imitate the crab eye that looks like a bit of black goo on the end of a small twig.....descriptive words escape me <grin>

Top effort mate.

Kev

Thanks for the compliemtn!

Yeah I thought about mono eyes but I doubt the fish will care, the realistic eyes are just a bit of fancy really.

The fibres are marabou as opposed to hackle... I think hackle would wrap, these shouldn't.

The rationale is to create lots of movement as most crab flies I see are a bit too static with only the legs moving, I wanted LOTS of movement as although crabs are hardshelled they are pretty animated when getting floated about....

Good one Clark. Dunno about the doll's eyes but have to agree on the movement thing. I have just attempted a crab fly in leather. Only took three hours! Finished item looks like a brown rock. Probably casts like one too. There is not a lot of leg movement and this is a concern. Don't think I'll be posting any piccies of this one. Stage two might have thinner more supple legs with lots more wiggle. No doubt it will look like a rock too.

Do they have a mental institution somewhere for failed crab fly tiers...

OK, here's my 1st attempt. Added some more legs and better eyes and I'm happier with it. Lacking movement though and tied on a Gamy 4/0 SL12s so it's fairly big.

I was a bit worried the leather would float but it seems to sink ok. Casting this thing will be interesting.

Damn but they look great!

Vig

Blue, were you using the Berkley gulps with the secret scent?? Shocking things really.

I have noted that I could cast those things on a fly rod but the purist in me   won't let me do it. The boy does evil things with those plastics. But it's mostly about the stink. He even fishes them like a bait. Figure if I use those I may as well use a chunk of pilchard. I'm actually going to put my tweed cap on soon, march to parliament and ask Aunty Helen to have them banned. 

I wonder what will happen when the glo-buggers start rolling their glo-bugs in berkley juice down on the Tongariro. With a stink that smells like old socks it might be a bit hard to prosecute..

You mean you HAVEN'T tried a chunk of pilchard?

Not even once???????

Smudge, I have tried flies dipped in fish oil! It actually seemed to reduce my catch rate. Also all the little nippers start chewing on the fly when it is soaked in oil. This stops the fly sinking down to where the big fish are or makes the fly look like a little bit of food in another fishes mouth.

I have outfished the terrible teenagers occasionally thanks to an unscented fly's ability to avoid small fish. They'll still nip at it but if the hooks big and the fly is big they won't get hooked. Consequently you don't waste time landing and releasing undersize fish, your fly stays in the water longer, and you catch more fish.

But even a big fly that stinks will have the little guys chewing on it. So don't add scent to any flies.

Fly fishing is a visual strike thing. Fish see the fly, strike, and spit. You've got to hook them before they spit. That's half the fun. Adding scent changes the whole system.

Agreed Craig, I tried the ultra bite spray on a fly and even the piper started chewing on an Anchovy Bomb!!!  Good stuff on the burley basket but not the fly and I too will be tweed hatted and puristic .

If am after a feed and not getting anything on fly I will put out a bait, but in my case I am either baitfishing or fly-fishing I don't mix the two. I would fish bait maybe twice a year...

Clark