# Crawdad Fly



## HillCountryBasser (Aug 26, 2008)

After Mikes post about the crawdads, I was inspired to take my first shot at tying up a couple. I have one that I bought a while back, and its a smaller size (about sz 10), so the bluegills at Dunlap just destroyed it! 

Started with a size 6 long shank hook....a little bit of lead wrap and black beadchain eyes. Tied in a couple pieces of hackle for the claws, and a piece for the tail, then started a pearl-brown sparkle chenille for the body. Whip finish and a good coat of head cement for durability!


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## flyfishingmike (Nov 26, 2010)

*Crawdad*

Your crawdad looks lipsticking good! Let's go try it out.

Attached is further evidence, from my photo archives, that fish love crawdads.


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## Joe. T. (Jun 7, 2008)

nice fly HCB,simple easy and effective.i bet a red fish would hammer the **** out of that fly.


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## flyfishingmike (Nov 26, 2010)

*Hill Country Crawdad Recipe*

Thought you might like this recipe from my friend Michael Brown. Enjoy and good fishing.

Hill Country Crawdad

Materials

Hook: Wide Gape 2x Strong, 2-4x Long. Personal favorites are Salmon Fly Hooks, and Stinger Hooks like the Gamakatsu B10S
Weight: Small or Extra Small Dumbells (I flatten the dumbbell with a hammer for aesthetics)
Claws: India Hen Saddle to match local (I use a ruddy brown)
Head: Burnt orange rabbit fur
Antennae: Motor oil colored silicone legs
Body: A shaggy dubbing of your choice to match the local (I used to use brown olive angora fur, before I discovered Waspi's Crawdub)
Thread: 140 denier (6/0) to match dubbing

Procedure
Tie dumbbell eye to top of hook approximately 1 eye length behind the eye.
Rotate hook
Cut a small strip of rabbit fur and tie in just before the bend of the hook (adjust fur to go off the end of the hook )
Cut a piece of silicone leg material to be approximately 5 inches in length
Tie in leg material at just behind the rabbit leaving the same amount on both sides of the hook
Add dubbing to thread and wrap a ball over and through the leg material to provide a smooth transition
Select two matching hen feathers, and remove fluff from the end of the stems
Tie the feathers to the hook with the concave side facing outward to provide a natural looking claw, (make sure you securely tie these in)
Add additional dubbing to thread and dub a tapered body to the eye of the hook (I like to figure 8 a couple of wraps of dubbed thread around the dumbbell)
Whip finish
Cement thread if desired

Note: I have tied this fly with eyes made of melted monofilament and found that the fish didn't care one way or the other, It's one less thing to tie on a crowded hook.

Hope you enjoy fishing these as much as I do -- they really work well where ever there is a gravel bottom and bass.

Michael


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## HillCountryBasser (Aug 26, 2008)

Thanks guys! Can't wait to give them a shot....trying to squeeze one more bass fishing trip in before trout season!

Hey Mike...in that 3rd pic, what is the material used for those red claws? Looks like plastic?


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## flyfishingmike (Nov 26, 2010)

Those are red feathers with a tiny plastic tube, about a third of the way up from the body, to give separation. Picked it up at Gruene Outfitters about a year ago.


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