Redfish crab fly

[largemouthTLOCD 0]

Hey everybody. This is my first time trying to tie a crab fly for redfish. I plan on using it for tailing redfish on the flats. Please give me any tips or suggestions on how I can improve it (materials, size, colors, etc). I would also like to know the best way to work them (slowly dragging it, sitting stil, or small twitches). Thanks in advance for all the help.

[iFly 0]

Hey everybody. This is my first time trying to tie a crab fly for redfish. I plan on using it for tailing redfish on the flats. Please give me any tips or suggestions on how I can improve it (materials, size, colors, etc). I would also like to know the best way to work them (slowly dragging it, sitting stil, or small twitches). Thanks in advance for all the help.

 

 

Its really not bad. But there are several things you can do to make it better. You can use hackle feathers for the claws, adding some sort of flash would be a good idea, and you would get a rounder body if you moved your dumbell eyes farther towards the hook eye and figure 8ed more EP or whatever your body is farther forward. Here are some pics. The Copperhead Crab (the gold one-credit goes to Mad Mike Benson) is for the murky water in the summer mainly, the black one I came up with is for winter and has no flash due to the clear water. You can see on the black/purple crab that you can alternate colors for different effects. Make sure to add a weed guard on the fly if you are fishing in grass. For bodies, I use EP fiber, or Congo Hair, and figure 8 it to the hook shank. The Copperhead Crab is gold mylar body with lots (i mean ALOT of copper flashabou, the phone camera didnt pick it all up)

 

 

[Ridleyffo 0]

Here is a link to I fly I posted a while back. I think I used pheasant hen church pane feathers for the claws. I've also used zonkers for claws. I used some melted and markered mono for the eyes.

 

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=51930&st=0&p=415915entry415915

 

On fishing them make sure you give them time to sink and sit a bit. I then do short quick strips with a nice long wait in between.

 

Tight lines

[iFly 0]

Forgot, but when fishing for tailers, dont move it when a fish is by it. Crabs rely on camo to hide from predators, they dont naturally try to swim or get away from predators. Thats why more flash and "airy" materials like maribou and zonker strips are good for crab patterns because you dont have to move the fly to get the fishes attention.

 

 

[largemouthTLOCD 0]

Thanks for the tips. I only started tying a couple months ago so I have very little materials right now. I just used what I had to throw something together for practice so I could get advice from everybody here so I could make a better one next time. I'll take your tips into consideration to make a better one and see if the reds like it. iFly, Thank you for posting the pics, they helped alot.

[agn54 0]

I agree with what the others said. For the tail, marabou and rabbit work great but also try arctic fox. All these materials pulsate in the current and so will attract strikes even when left still on the bottom.

[iFly 0]

I agree with what the others said. For the tail, marabou and rabbit work great but also try arctic fox. All these materials pulsate in the current and so will attract strikes even when left still on the bottom.

 

 

This works really well too.

 

No problem, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask anytime.

[Markbob 0]

Another thing you can consider is putting the eyes (weight) back by the bend of the hook. That causes the "claws" to be propped up a little bit and makes it look like a defense stance. Putting the weight back there also causes the fly to scoot across the bottom better if you do have to strip it a little rather than giving it a swimming action which is not natural for fiddler crabs. I agree with the others on claw material. As far as color goes, I have been told that lots of flash and such work better for reds but dull colors like brown with little to no flash work better for sheepshead should you come across a school of them on the flats.

[ditz2 0]

Just a thought from a flatlander.....You might just trim the body to a more narrow profile and fish it. I like simple and it may just work as it is. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

I have a box full of SW flies that I have tied over the years while daydreaming of the shallow salt. I still tie a couple once in a while.

[Flies & Photos 0]

Hey everybody. This is my first time trying to tie a crab fly for redfish. I plan on using it for tailing redfish on the flats. Please give me any tips or suggestions on how I can improve it (materials, size, colors, etc). I would also like to know the best way to work them (slowly dragging it, sitting stil, or small twitches). Thanks in advance for all the help.

 

I think it will work fine. Cast it to the dark areas and bring the fly back through the light spots in the shallows. Next time you tie some, put a mono weed guard on to cover that hook point. Good luck!

[largemouthTLOCD 0]

Thanks for all of the advice. I couldn't find my mono for weedguard but I tried to improve on it. Let me know if I should shape the body differently or shorten the tail. I'm going to try it out tommorow morning on some tailing reds if I can find them.

 

[iFly 0]

Thanks for all of the advice. I couldn't find my mono for weedguard but I tried to improve on it. Let me know if I should shape the body differently or shorten the tail. I'm going to try it out tommorow morning on some tailing reds if I can find them.

 

 

 

You did a really nice job on this one! Maybe just a little too much maribou(?) but still a good tie. Good luck!

[saltydancindave 0]

Hey everybody. This is my first time trying to tie a crab fly for redfish. I plan on using it for tailing redfish on the flats. Please give me any tips or suggestions on how I can improve it (materials, size, colors, etc). I would also like to know the best way to work them (slowly dragging it, sitting stil, or small twitches). Thanks in advance for all the help.

Don't know what size hook you're tying on, but if it's a #2 the body, semi-oval to circular; should be about the size of your thumbnail. It looks like a summertime tarpon sized fly tie. Comb the fibers out before & after trimming. You could tie in an overhand knot in the claws about mid way or use hackle for the claws. Tie with the hook point up & with bead chain or heavier eyes tie in figure-8 style similar to tying in the fibers right behind the hook eye leaving about a 1/8" to tie in a weedguard if needed. Fish it SLOW in 1-4" strips as crabs don't move all that fast. The weight will poof up some of the bottom & the claws will look like it's in a defensive position.

[Markbob 0]

You can never have too much marabou.

[Lydell4 0]

Redfish are one of the favorite inshore focuses on in the Carolinas to the Sarasota Gulf Coastline, La, and to the actual Rio Great from Southern Padre Island, Tx. Reds like really shallow water till they reach regarding 10 pounds, they migrate in order to close-in offshore areas. It is while they are within their shallow water phase that they're most attractive to travel fisherman. Sight fishing is the rule. Redfish like to dirt around for prey, often using their backs sticking out of the drinking water. The jigs beneath consider Redfish.