Bodkin / Patterns

Near Nuff Crayfish

Streamer · Smallmouth Bass · Largemouth Bass · Carp · Intermediate · 1 version

Classic Recipe

  • Hook 3X-long nymph hook, 4-10
  • Thread tan 210-denier

Materials

  • Weight Dumbbell eyes, small-medium, tied on top of shank (1 pair)
  • Eyes Melted mono nylon (2)
  • Antennae Pumpkin Sili Legs plus brown/orange flash (2-4)
  • Claws Pheasant body feathers or grizzly hen hackle tips (2)
  • Body SLF Crayfish dubbing, golden brown or orange (1 pinch)
  • Legs Tan barred saddle hackle, palmered (1)

How to tie it

  1. Tie dumbbell eyes on TOP of the shank one eye-length behind the hook eye so the fly rides hook-point-up. A bottom-crawling crayfish must not snag.
  2. At the hook bend (which is now the crayfish's head) tie in two melted-mono eyes, Sili Leg antennae, and a couple of flash strands.
  3. Tie in a pheasant body feather or hen hackle tip on each side, splayed outward, as the claws. Keep them slim and no more than half the body length so they suggest a fleeing, not fighting, crayfish.
  4. Dub a shaggy carapace/body of SLF crayfish dubbing from the bend toward the dumbbell, palmering a tan barred saddle hackle through it in 4-5 turns for legs.
  5. Trim the hackle flat on top (the side that rides down) and figure-eight dubbing around the dumbbell.
  6. Whip finish behind the hook eye and pick out dubbing along the sides; add a drop of cyanoacrylate at the head.

Tying videos

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