Think Decapoda’s (Crayfish)!

Crayfish are direct relatives to marine crabs, lobsters and shrimp!  There are more than 200 species residing in North America alone!  Crayfish usually hide in burrows or under objects during the day and primarily feed on plant life and small critters at night.  They can be found in lakes, ponds, rivers and streams…and predator gamefish find them very tasty to say the least!

 You have probably not seem many crayfish tube flies but they’re out there especially in the fly boxes of those anglers pursuing smallmouth bass and carp on the tube fly.  A good friend of mine, Steve May, from across the border impressed the heck out of me with his crayfish creation in tubular form!  Steve May resides in Ontario, Canada and works for Grand River Troutfitters where he guides and ties all sorts of fly patterns even tubes!  Mr. May is a wealth of talent and his creations with feathers and fur are first class!

May's Cray

 I’ve tied a variation of May’s Cray using some realistic “Craw Claws” cut out of microfibre cloth or Bug Skin material.  This gives my imitation a larger silhouette when it’s slowly pulled along the bottom of the water column.  You can also use a fabric marker to add color markings to the claws too!  Many years ago, I designed a deer hair spun crayfish called the “MC²” which stands for “Mini Carp Crayfish” for my carp addiction.

 This hollow haired critter makes a soft landing/entry into shallow water areas when I am putting on the stalk for river common carp.  Because it is semi-buoyant, the crayfish imitation gently falls in front of a feeding or slowly cruising carp.  And, if not spooked, they usually approach the fly for a taste!  Having a crayfish pattern in your arsenal is essential during the warmer part of the fly fishing season when these crustaceans are the most active!  Try tying your favorite in tubular form…you won’t be disappointed!

Mini Carp Crayfish

 

TFJ Poll #4

Trash or Treasure?

Last week I had the opportunity to fly fish the salt waters of the Sebastian Inlet near Vero Beach, Florida prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.  My brother-in-law and I hired a local guide for the morning with hopes of catching a few of the areas renowned saltwater gamefish.  Our main goal was to target Snook near the mouth of the inlet at sunrise but we had a slight delay and several other boats beat us to the spot!  After an hour or so of trying to jockey into position amongst the others, we decided to deploy plan B. 

 I’ve been fishing this area over the past several years with other local guides and know if plan B goes into affect then you need to be prepared for a whole bunch of “spot” jumping.  It seems to turn into hours and hours of searching for “biting” fish and then the stories of what was caught yesterday seem to materialize!  You know the old story of “you should have been here yesterday”!  I do a little guiding myself but I never go down that path with my clients!  If I can’t get you into fish…then you don’t pay for my services!!!

 The inlet has an array of predator fish (less attractive species) to pursue on the fly but are considered “trash fish” by the locals.  I’m referring to jacks, ladyfish and skipper trout to name a few, which too me, are fun on a light fly rod outfit.  And, at this point in the trip…anything that’s willing to bite is worth fishing too!  This brings an old saying to mind…”one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”!  I was just glad to make the best of the opportunity and enjoy the experience at hand!  Poor Man’s Tarpon (Ladyfish) and Skippers (small Spotted Sea Trout) saved the day for this tube fly angler!