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Christopher K

Ned help with a crab fly

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A customer wants some crab flies, but for bonefish, not permit. All the flies I've seen are tied so the crab moves backwards, should it not move to the side? What do you guys think about patterns for bones in Mexico?

 

Thanks,

Chris

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There are lots of patterns that represent crabs moving sideways, but IME, the “backward” type are more apt to look realistic in the water. A crab's defensive posture consists of sitting on the bottom with its claws raised, facing the attacker. That's why crab flies with dumbbell eyes behind the hook eye and claws at the rear have proven to be so effective. Swimming crabs can use their speed to escape predators sideways, but most species don't have that option. It's either stand and fight or burrow into the mud. Predators expect to find crabs on the bottom, either stationary or backing slowly away from them. There are a ton of established crab flies for bonefish; you shouldn’t have any trouble picking out all you need, and best of all, you don’t have to get fancy. I don’t fish for bones, but the best crab flies I’ve used for other species are relatively simple, made of natural materials.

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Interesting, i would figure out what types of crabs the bones are eating and match the hatch....me personally would go straight here and do a few of these http://www.epflies.com/estore/category/4738 probably like a micro crab....i love going onto flats at low tide to check out critters, permit were munching these things on a past trip.

 

P4082105_zps7ad98fb7.jpg

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Oh and a pair of mono eyes. I used EP eyes for that guy

Now If I wanted to tied that guy weightless what do you think would work best? Maybe just a little bit of wire instead of dumbells?

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Try a pops bonefish bitters. I sub elk hair for the deer and color the epoxy grey or olive and add some black dots for realism. It works well. The elk hair makes for a slow fall.

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Wire or some kind of keel would give you enough weight to get it below the surface - it's otherwise gonna be a pretty buoyant fly with all that deer hair. Another alternative is spun wool, which has no buoyancy once it's wet. Whatever you use, you're gonna have to test it under fishing conditions to get it fine-tuned. The last thing you want to do is send a customer off on a fishing trip with an experiment.

 

If you like to scratch around for ideas on any saltwater fly, there are three books I find absolutely indispensable:

 

1) Saltwater Fly Patterns, by Lefty Kreh.

 

2) Innovative Saltwater Flies by Bob Veverka

 

3) Flies for Saltwater by Dick Stewart and Farrow Allen

 

I've been tying since I was a kid, but there isn't a day that goes by that I don't refer to at least one of them, and often all three. It's not so much a matter of copying patterns, but if I have an idea, I like to see if anyone's had success with something similar, and all the flies in those three books have proven track records. Saves a lot of trial-and-error testing. The latter two books are out of print, but they're easy enough to find on Amazon. All three have outstanding crab patterns galore, which should supply you with numerous ideas to build on.

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Wire or some kind of keel would give you enough weight to get it below the surface - it's otherwise gonna be a pretty buoyant fly with all that deer hair. Another alternative is spun wool, which has no buoyancy once it's wet. Whatever you use, you're gonna have to test it under fishing conditions to get it fine-tuned. The last thing you want to do is send a customer off on a fishing trip with an experiment.

 

If you like to scratch around for ideas on any saltwater fly, there are three books I find absolutely indispensable:

 

1) Saltwater Fly Patterns, by Lefty Kreh.

 

2) Innovative Saltwater Flies by Bob Veverka

 

3) Flies for Saltwater by Dick Stewart and Farrow Allen

 

I've been tying since I was a kid, but there isn't a day that goes by that I don't refer to at least one of them, and often all three. It's not so much a matter of copying patterns, but if I have an idea, I like to see if anyone's had success with something similar, and all the flies in those three books have proven track records. Saves a lot of trial-and-error testing. The latter two books are out of print, but they're easy enough to find on Amazon. All three have outstanding crab patterns galore, which should supply you with numerous ideas to build on.

Well there's no way I'll be able to test this thing any time soon, no open water anywhere, best I can do is a sink. The reason I wanted to make it light is because I emailed some guides and they told me to go weightless or very little weight as most of the flies they see are way too heavy.

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Whitner..love that fly. The simplicity of it makes it even better to me. Going to try one out myself

 

 

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Whitner..love that fly. The simplicity of it makes it even better to me. Going to try one out myself

I'm with Ben, nice looking crab and simple is very good for me.

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Hey guys. This is my first post here. I have been tying for a very short while and enjoy it very much. I have been developing a deer hair crab and this is where I'm at. I appreciate comments and critiques. it's on a size 4 hook with brass dumbbell eyes for weight.

 

IMG_0005_zps12ead771.jpg

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That's a killer looking crab pattern. You may want to try some with lead eyes to make them a bit heavier and to counter the buoyant deer hair but that one will drive the reds nuts

 

Welcome the forum

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