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/ Black / Brown / Chenille / Copper Wire / cray / Dubbing / marabou / Ostrich / Pheasant /

F.S. Cray (Simple)

 
tied by B.C.TroutHunter
Fly Type: Bucktails/Deceivers, Inverted Hook,
Target Species: Freshwater Bass, Pike, Trout,
Recommended Region: Northeast US, Northwest US, Southeast US, Southwest US, Central US, Western Canada, Eastern Canada, Central Canada,
Imitation: Crayfish,
Material List:
Hook: Mustad 5x or 6x long shank (4x will do if 5x or 6x is unavailible) size 6 or larger
Thread: Brown 3/0 or 6/0
Claws: Two feathers from a Speckled Brown Hen neck
Antennae: Two Pheasant Tail fibers
Eyes: Melted 40lbs(?) fishing line (mono?)or store bought black mono eyes
Shell back: Clear Ziploc(R) piece
Legs: Brown marabou
Tail: Feather tip from Speckled Brown Hen neck
Dubbing: Brown Dubbing (or "peacock and brown" or light brown ultra chenille in place of the dubbing)
Ribbing: Copper Wire
Swimmerets (the little hair like things on the bottom of a crays tail): Brown or tan ostrich herl
Weight: Small or Xtra Small lead eyes
Tying Instructions: 1. Insert hook normaly into the vise (or with the hook tip below the shank)
2. Tie lead eyes near the eye of the hook, but leave three times the hooks eye length between the Dumbel eyes and the hooks eye
3. Measure pheasant tail fibers against the hook shank, they should be the same length as the shank
4. Tie in two pheasant tail fibers at the rear of the shank (the area on the hook where the hook starts to bend to the point), one on each side of the hook
5. Measure hen feathers against the hook shank, they should be a little over 3/4 of the hook shanks length
6. Tie in the hen feathers with the shinney side down at the rear of the shank, again one on each side of the hook, and don't let the feathers overlap each other
7. Place hook upside down on the vise (with the hook point above the shank) and continue tying as if you didn't turn the hook around at all
8. Tie in a 1/8 inch by 1 1/2 inch strip of Ziploc on the rear of the shank

9.a. If using Chenille instead of dubbing, tie it in at the rear of the shank and go to step 9.b. If you are not using Chenille, skip this step and go directly to step 9.b.

9.b. Tie in eyes at the rear of the shank
10. If you are using dubbing, dubb the thread and make a few wraps in front and over the eyes. If you are using Chenille, make a few wraps in front and behind the eyes and secure with three wraps of the thread.
11. Dubb well a two hook eye length area right behind the eyes (if using chenille, give a few wraps so that it also covers two hook eye length area right behind the eyes. Secure with three wraps of the thread)
12. Measure marabou against the hooks shank, the marabou should be half as long as the hooks shank length
13. Tie in the marabou as close as possible to the area you dubbed in step 11. Tie in the marabou facing towards the claws and the give a few wraps in front of the marabou so that it stands at about a 45 degree angle to the hook shank.
14. Tie in a 2 1/2 inch piece of copper wire and a single strand of ostrich herl next to the marabou
15. Dubb thread well and dubb the area between the marabou and the dumbell eyes, also covering the lead eyes. If using chenille, also cover the area between the marabou and the lead eyes, and cover the lead eyes, but with wrapped chenille. Secure the chennile well and cut of butts.
16. Wrap the ostrich herl 8 times around the abdomen starting at the marabou and ending with one turn behind the lead eyes. Secure with several wraps of the thread.
17. Take the piece of ziploc and tie it in between the dumbel eyes and the hooks eye, remember to keep the ziploc tight across the fly.
18. Take the copper wire and give 5 evenly spaced wraps towards the eye of the hook, with the first wrap starting next to the marabou and the last wrap right next to the lead eyes and a sixth wrap after the lead eyes. Secure the wire with several wraps of the thread over the sixth wrap of the wire.
19. Tie in a 3/8 inch top segment of a hen feather next to where you ended with the ziplock, letting it go past the eye of the hook. Or you can tye it in on the bottom so that the tip faces towards eyes, letting it go between the lead eyes.
20. Whip finish, and apply head cement to the whip finished thread and the hen segment of step 19
Presentation Tips: Fish like you would any other crayfish pattern, close to the bottom with long, kind of fast strips, but leave rests between the strips so that it can sink to the bottom again.