Bodkin / Patterns

Crimp

Shrimp · Striped Bass · Bluefish · Jack · Tarpon · Snook · Redfish · Advanced · 1 version

Reference Recipe

  • Hook Standard saltwater flats hook, size 4 (e.g. TMC 811S), 4 (also 2-8)
  • Thread Fluorescent yellow/chartreuse Flat waxed nylon

Materials

  • Lead dumbbell eyes (small)
  • Craft fur Tan/sand craft fur
  • Spanflex 'baby bug legs' Red-and-brown (Sharpie colored) (~3 in strands)
  • Pre-made shrimp eyes Glass beads on epoxied mono
  • Sparkle/rug yarn (or EP fiber) Tan, darker tan, plus a contrasting color and hot orange
  • UV tan Crystal Flash (2 full lengths)
  • Zap-A-Gap / super glue

How to tie it

  1. Start thread and tie small lead dumbbell eyes on the shank about an eighth of an inch behind the eye with a couple of figure-eights; add Zap-A-Gap, then wrap up and around the eyes underneath the shank building 10-12 wraps, and finish by wrapping around the thread wraps between eyes and hook to squeeze them tight while the glue is wet, keeping the eyes perpendicular.
  2. Prepare a clump of tan craft fur: pull out the underfur and the longest fibers and realign the tips; trim the butts flush and tie the bundle in right behind the lead eyes, winding back all the way to the barb; trim the fibers a touch shorter (this rides point-up, so this is the crab's rear mouthparts).
  3. Take Spanflex 'baby bug legs' colored with red and brown Sharpie, about three inches long; tie them in so the red tips stick out over the craft fur, then pull the remainder back and lash it down.
  4. Tie in a pre-made shrimp eye (glass beads on epoxied mono) on each side, working the tie-in back to the lead eyes and up again, then pull the eyes out to the sides; douse the whole shank and thread with Zap-A-Gap.
  5. Build the crab body Merkin-style: over wet super glue, figure-eight chunks of sparkle yarn (tan, darker tan, a contrasting color) around the shank, pulling tight; after two chunks tie in about half a dozen Spanflex legs and wind them back toward the lead eyes, alternating more yarn chunks; fold the rubber legs back and add a final hot-orange chunk.
  6. Gather all the legs in your off hand, fold the yarn back, and trim the body to a crab shape (a mix of rounded and streamlined) using thumb and forefinger as a guide, staying within the eye-to-eye dimensions.
  7. Skip the thread up to just short of the hook eye, tie in another craft-fur clump (pull the shorts and hand-stack it), trim the butts flush, line the cut up with the hook eye, and use a loose gathering wrap before tightening to keep the eye clean.
  8. Tie in two full lengths of UV tan Crystal Flash: wrap the thread around them, lash down with two or three wraps, and trim even with the craft fur.
  9. Whip finish or half hitch, then coat the thread with Zap-A-Gap to finish.

Tying videos

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