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nicky.50

Crab patterns

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Hi all,

 

I just moved to Texas and I'm interested in catching some Redfish. A few weekends ago, I was out in Matagorda bay, and a small crab floated right past me, just beneath the water surface but high in the water column. I watched this guy drift for a while, and then saw a large fish take him, presumably a red, but the water is a little muddy here. It reminded me of a trout aggressively feeding on a subsurface/emerger pattern. Any thoughts on a fly patter that would imitate this crab? I was fishing a gurgler, and I tried a heavy crab pattern but struck out.

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Just like a trout feeding on emergers is supposed to be keyed into a "hatch", perhaps those fish were key into crabs drifting with the current. It's not pattern so much as presentation. If you had something that matched the drift, it might have been successful. ( I am just guessing here)

 

There are tons of small crab flies on the data base here and on You Tube.

 

 

Tied without barbell weight, it would float much like you describe.

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Yeah it would work. All kinds of redfish Kwans work magic. Shrimp patterns like a Drunken Shrimp, things with legs and crustacean colors will work...

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Just like a trout feeding on emergers is supposed to be keyed into a "hatch", perhaps those fish were key into crabs drifting with the current. It's not pattern so much as presentation. If you had something that matched the drift, it might have been successful. ( I am just guessing here)

 

There are tons of small crab flies on the data base here and on You Tube.

 

 

Tied without barbell weight, it would float much like you describe.

Remember that if you tie a fly like this without the barbells it will ride hook-point down, which is good. However, you would want to reverse the tying materials 180 degrees.

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A lot of crabs drift with the current, particularly on an outgoing tide. I have seen pass crabs nearly color the water brown around the passes of Tampa Bay. A top water would work but an unweighted one to drift just below the surface like the one shown would probably do even better. The thing here would be to dead drift it the way you would a dry fly. Great way to catch reds, snook, and around the passes especially tarpon

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Thanks everyone for the great tips. Permitcap, have you tried one without barbells? I really appreciate the tip of rotating the materials, i would have never thought of that.

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Drunken Shrimp, btw, now I only use 2 legs on in each side to prevent fouling, and pumpkin black speckled

 

Try it out and let me know if it works!

post-59033-0-67687200-1481227373_thumb.jpg

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Guest rich mc

does anyone ever tye or fish a small lobster pattern similar to the freshwater crayfish? ive never seen one richmc

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I would think ... any crayfish pattern, fished in salt water, would be a baby lobster pattern ... yes?

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Im going to guess, the one that moves like a crab is the bottom right one, the one that looks like one is the olive one, and the fish one are the top brown/white ones

 

Great looking bugs, redfish, bones, permit, snook tarpon trout will all eat those

 

Tight work!

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