Phil's Hare-Ball Crab

[Peterjay 0]

Here's another Phil Chapman creation. This pattern has been around for more than 20 years, and has had a huge influence on the way I tie crab flies. A few of these are definitely going in the tarpon box for next summer.

[Mudskimmer 0]

Hey, that is another cool one. Are there any instructions posted out in web world on that one or something similar?

[Woodinfliezz 0]

yes yes please enlighten us lesser tiers

[Woodinfliezz 0]

i think im going to make a new FTF rule that any thing you or dave post must be accompanied by a SBS a material list. awesome fly though very envious of your skills.

[hector 0]

Nice flies!

[Chefben4 0]

Nicely done PJ! Interested to see how this differs from his Hare-Ball shrimp..

I just found in a book a bunch of Phil's recipes. Alien-ator, Boca Grande Tarpon Sand Perch, Dahlberg Shrimp, Hare-Ball Shrimp (dark), Hare-Ball Shrimp, and Terminator Shrimp. I expect PJ to tie all of these and post them here. Thanks dude!

[Woodinfliezz 0]

Nicely done PJ! Interested to see how this differs from his Hare-Ball shrimp..

I just found in a book a bunch of Phil's recipes. Alien-ator, Boca Grande Tarpon Sand Perch, Dahlberg Shrimp, Hare-Ball Shrimp (dark), Hare-Ball Shrimp, and Terminator Shrimp. I expect PJ to tie all of these and post them here. Thanks dude!

 

complete with videos every one in favor say I

[Peterjay 0]

You guys are far too kind. (sometimes, LOL) Unfortunately, I doubt you'll find tying instructions for any of Phil's flies online. Don't know why, because for my money, he's one of the best ever. That's one of the reasons I decided to tie up some of his patterns - they deserve more attention than they've been getting lately. That and the fact that they're deadly. I don't know if I'll tie all the flies that Ben mentioned, but I'm gonna definitely do some of them.

 

Phil's Hare-Ball Crab:

 

Hook: 4/0 Mustad C68SZ or similar

 

Mouth: a few short strands of copper crystal flash under orange calf tail, followed by a turn of black rabbit fur, forming a skirt

 

Claws: two brown neck hackles and a grizzly neck hackle curving out on each side

 

Eyes: 6mm orange or yellow (or whatever) plastic beads, on 80# mono, dipped in black acrylic paint, then Liquid Fusion or epoxy

 

Spreader: couple turns of orange chenille (this step isn't entirely necessary, but it might help the rabbit fur to flare a bit.

 

Body: palmered rabbit fur strip

 

Head: dark red or whatever

 

Notes: This is a big fly I tied with tarpon or bull reds in mind, but I'm sure it'll work fine in smaller sizes for just about anything that eats crabs. I've caught stripers and pup reds on a #1 version.

 

You can substitute fluffy saddle hackle or schlappen, or bunches of various kinds of hair for the rabbit strip. (I've used coyote, Finn raccoon, badger, etc.) The point is to make a fly that pulsates when you give it a twitch. I used crosscut rabbit for the body, but it isn't necessary. The hair's gonna flow back in the water anyway.

 

A lot of Chapman crustacean flies have oversized eyes, which I also like - you just have to make sure they're made of light plastic or burnt mono, rather than glass, or anything heavy enough to flip the hook.

 

Hope this helps. These flies are not difficult to tie once you get the hang of it.

[Kudu 0]

Very cool. On the eyes, the way that you and Ben make them is by slipping a plastic bead over mono and then gluing them in, right? Is there anything else to it? Thanks!

[tidewaterfly 0]

PJ, I'm glad you posted the recipe. With your wife gone I was afraid you were trimming the hair on the dogs!

[Peterjay 0]

I just slip them onto a piece of mono and melt the end - before the mono hardens, push it down onto the bead and make a plug to keep it from falling off. Repeat on the other end. Be careful not to burn yourself - you'll have to wait a few seconds. I then put a drop of flexament on the mono to hold the bead in place. When that dries, I dip the beads into acrylic paint to make the pupils. The final step is to dip the eyes into Liquid fusion and let them dry. I use a drying wheel so the LF/paint won't sag. Sounds like a lot of trouble to go to, but I make them in big batches, one step at a time, so it's not too bad.

 

Jim, don't tempt me. A couple of these guys have pretty good pelts. I've got a lot of dubbing walking around here.

[Chefben4 0]

Very cool. On the eyes, the way that you and Ben make them is by slipping a plastic bead over mono and then gluing them in, right? Is there anything else to it? Thanks!

 

PJ does it different then I do.

 

I use glass beads glued onto a piece of mono. I do not use any uv glue for this process as it doesnt hold up to the beating. I use a product called 2P-10. It has incredible strength and the gel formula makes it easy.

 

If you dont want any weight I suggest PJ's method. Or go to the craft store and you can rolls of plastic beads that work great (if Panama Dave chimes in I believe he taught me this).

[tidewaterfly 0]

I've made eyes similar to the method PJ uses, but after gluing the bead & the glue hardens (Superglue Gel works great) dip them in epoxy & put them on my rotator. The epoxy can be tinted with a mixture of black dye & alcohol or black acrylic paint, which doesn't require anything further or the epoxy can be coated with either black nail polish or a permanent marker. As PJ said, it's a bit more involved, but very durable. I also make them in batches, sometimes as many as 50 sets.

[Mudskimmer 0]

I got a very basic beginner question. Are these eyes tied on as an individual mono stem per eye or as a pair of eyes on the same mono stem? Thanks!

[Panama Red 0]

Damn if that crab doesn't get me…Very emotionally ahhh, lets say physically involved. Thanks post posting the directions, I was wondering if you palmered a strip or put it in a loop.

 

As Ben mentioned, plastic bead chain (the kind found @ hobby lobby) is a simple, uber cheap, way to make lightweight shrimp or crab eyes.

 

Cut a length of three off the spool, crush two beads leaving a long stem with one bead at the top. coat the stem with supper glue, UV, or standard epoxy to…ahem, stiffen the stem. You can also dip the bead in paint to change color or epoxy of your choice to make bigger eyes.

 

Mudskimmer, you can make them on a single stem of mono or a V shaped pice of mono with eyes on each end.