I began fly fishing back in May. Most of my experience has been on top water or lightly weighted flies. Since the onset of colder weather I have not been very successful with those flies. So this afternoon I took a heavy craw fish pattern and fished the golf course ponds. I caught 10 bass and 5 bluegill on the pattern.

Share your favorite craw fish pattern.

mine; called the Reznikoff fly:


really good springtime pattern when craws are smallish-p-

This is one I came up with.

Wow, those look good.

Awesome ties!!!

Keep them coming. Links to easy patterns would be appreciated as well.

I like it! I like it!

that is awesome looking!

Thanks 2FlyFish4,

I always learn a lot by watching tying videos. My challenge is they always have some type of materials and tools I don't currently possess. Rattles, soulpin heads, arctic fox and a torch are not part of my current collection of tying materials. Learning why a particular feather or material is used in a tie and what types of materials can be substituted is something I'm still clueless about.

-u should be able to pic the rattles up at academy in there hook and sinker section
-you could sub the arctic fox with craft fur or the back of a bucktail.
-the eyes are not needed in this pattern in my opinion but add a nice touch. you can use a lighter instead of the torch and make your own eyes with 40lb mono
- you could trade out the sculpin helmets for large beads

lmk know if you have any other questions

Great information 2FlyFish4, Thanks for the help.

crappy cellphone pic
made a dubbing loop and used dubbing instead of chenille
used the the back of bucktail instead of arctic fox
used hawg legs for claws instead of rabbit strips


black/blue and tan/brown

One of the great things about being a member of a fly club is that you get to learn in person from some extremely creative people. At our last BVFF Club meeting Fred taught me a crawfish pattern that he has been using with great success. Below is a picture of my first tie. The dimensions are off and it's poorly done but you can get the general picture. It is simple rabbit hair design.

But what makes it really creative is the type of hook it is tied on. It is tied on a Daiichi 1730 Bent Shank Nymph hook. As we all know, when you step up to a crawfish it will raise up and protect itself. This design uses that same concept to try to emulate a crawfish lifting up to protect itself.

The more I learn about fly fishing, the more I am convinced it is an art, rather than a sport. Which presents quite a challenge for me as I am more of an athlete than an artist, LOL!!

Anywhere we cand find directions on how to tie this?

I don't have the hooks or supplies to post any pictures yet but I will do my best to lay out the tie. You can google Bill Miller crawfish pattern to see a tie on this type of hook. Other than the hook, this tie is much different and far easier to tie.

1) Tie in the lead eyes on top of the hook close to the bend of the hook, about 4/5ths the distance from the eye to the bend.
2) Wrap thread back to the point of the hook or just past
3) Tie in a few pieces of flash on top of the hook
4) Tie in a silly leg on each side of the hook
5) Tie in the claws on each side of the hook (cross cut rabbit)
6) Tie in a 1/8" wide piece of cross cut rabbit zonker and move thread to in front of lead eyes
7) Wrap the rabbit zonker forward making one wrap in front of the eyes and tie off

I found the hooks at Feathercraft

DAI-RIKI #700B - Bill Miller crawfish hook