Bodkin / Patterns

Galloup's OG Bent Cripple

Dry Fly · Trout · Intermediate · 1 version

Classic Recipe

  • Hook Daiichi 1100 dry fly hook, shank bent to imitate a crippled emerger, #12-20
  • Thread match body / Danville 6/0 or Powersilk 10/0 6/0-10/0

Materials

  • Tails Micro Barred Fibbetts (Mayfly Tails) (split, few fibers each side)
  • Body Superfine dubbing (dubbed, color to match hatch)
  • Wing Poly/CDC or deer hair (1 tuft, pulled forward flat)
  • Hackle Dry-fly hackle (few turns, trimmed flat underneath)

How to tie it

  1. Bend the front third of the hook shank slightly downward so the finished fly sits with its abdomen hanging in the film like a stuck emerger.
  2. Split-tie a few Micro Barred Fibbett tails on each side for outrigger balance.
  3. Dub a slim tapered Superfine body up the bent shank to match the natural.
  4. Tie in the wing material, then pull it forward and lay it low/flat over the front so it rides in the surface film rather than upright.
  5. Wrap a few turns of dry-fly hackle at the thorax for flotation and trim the bottom flat so the fly sits low.
  6. Whip finish behind the eye; the bent shank plus flat wing makes it ride half-drowned like a crippled dun.
  7. Tie in PMD, Olive, Yellow, Brown, and Grey to cover the common mayfly hatches.

Tying videos

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