Poor Bills Soft Craw, by Frank W Zervos

Sept. 2007 Issue
Now On Sale:

Subscribe Now

Give a Gift

Subscriber Services

Magazine Archive

Advertise

Home

Fly Fisherman Store

Make Your Own Fly-Tying DVD

Subjects

Conservation

Downloads

Fly Tier's Bench

Fly Pattern Archive

Fly-Fishing Tactics

Gear Review

Gene Trump Cartoons

Rod Building

Saltwater Fly Fishing

Schools

Species Guide

Video Library

Regions

Alaska

Canada

Florida & Caribbean

Great Plains

Foreign Destinations

Mexico & C. America

Midwestern States

Northeast

Northwest

Rocky Mountains

Southern States

Southwest

Classifieds Fishing Reports Travel Center Business Directory Bulletin Boards

Fly Archive

Post a Fly | My Flies

Submitted by Frank W Zervos

Description
This is a Soft Shell Cray Fish Pattern That not only is realistic, But it raises up and flashes its Claws at its enemy when it is a rest

Click for Larger Image

Recipe

HOOK: Tmc 8089 #6 and up.
BEAD: 3mm dumbell eyes.
THREAD: Danville Plus 140 white and yellow.
RIB: Mint Danville Monocord 3/0.
UNDERBODY: 2mm foam.
BODY: Carapace--light olive furry foam
ABDOMEN: Yellow dubbing .
THORAX: Yellow dubbing.
HACKLE: 3 Large brown saddles.
COLLAR: Pincher's-Green squirell tail.
EYES: Red pin heads small.

Tying Instructions
Hi Fellow anglers..This is my first Post of a Fly here In our Web Site and I wanted to Give you a little explanation and description of this Fly I have Submitted for you to look at and Tye... I Guess you would say this Fly of mine has been in the making for about Fifteen Years...I have be slowly been evolving this for Quite a While....I make this Fly in two Variations... The Soft Craw Which you See here and the Hard Craw which only different in the color of Furry Foam I Use For The Hard Craw....For this I Use a light Tan Creamish color of Furry Foam...This is an excellent Weapon to add to your Smallmouth Bass Or Trout Arsenal....Use it with a large Strike Indicator and hold on....The Strikes are very Violent.... After a few years I added the 2mm foam to the chest and after a little Tweaking....it is what really made a Difference...The Foam Floats the front half of the fly...The pincher's pointing up...Protecting its self... Tye this up and fish it in thigh Deep to 1 and a half water were the small mouth lurk and you are going to be surprised This Fly has Dumbbell Eyes at the Eye and The Foam is at the Thorax. this keep the hook riding up..This really Cuts down on the Snags...When you do get one you are only fishing in waste deep of water...you simple Wade out and get the lure...I mean Lure because as you will see it really is a Lure. 1. ) Take hook and bend the eye to downward position. 2. )Place hook in vice at bend. Apply white Danville Plus from mid-point on hook shank to half way up the bend. 3. ) Apply Green Squirrel Tail to the Shank with thread and bind down leaving enough material to form crayfish pincher's. 4. )Apply hook in vise in upright position. Apply hook in Vice on bare section of Shank. So as not to tear up thread...It helps to have vice in up right position.. Separate claws make sure every thing is very tight and nothing rotates. 5. ) Make a thin strip of foam about one-quarter inch wide and add Foam To body about 1/16" from the base of Pincher's. Wind thread down to almost to the mid-point and wind foam down back up and back down three layers of foam. Tie foam off forming the thorax. Take dumbbell eyes and add to hook on top of eye. Right at the base were it is bent using white Danville Plus using criss-crossing thread method. Add super glue to thread wraps. at the very base of Dumbbell Eye's 6. ) Tie mint-colored mono cord at mid-point. Open spiral thread back up to the base of pincher's. Make about ten or twelve wraps to cover the white thread. 7. ) Take Furry Foam and make a pattern. Use a playing card or business card. Take a spare hook and make an outline you like using the hook you use to get the right proportions. Cut this out . 8. ) Take carapace and place to the mono cord thread and wind thread around the very tip at base of Pincher's tightly and spiral thread down to the mid point and tying off leaving carapace Free.. Do not attach carapace to body only the very tip. 9. )Tie on Yellow Danville Plus at mid-point and add an 8- inch piece for counter ribbing and hang over front of Pincher's..Spiral Bobbin with yellow thread and spiral to the Base of Carapace Tip...Dub a small bit and place three wraps of Dubbing at Tip of Carapace Then Take three healthy Brown Saddles and attach them to the body of the Crayfish, Place them as one Unit...conclave Side Facing forward...Now Dub Yellow thread and dub the thorax To Mid Point.. then hackle Thorax all three feathers at a time...Tie off Butts..Take sissors and trim hackle from top of the back of Craw... Take Yellow mono cord that was attached earlier and counter wrap hackle to make Hackle stronger.Tie off and Trim Hackle Butts Dub the rest of the body. Tie off at hook Eye... 10. ) Take a good all purpose contact cement like 527 Bond and Place a Dob of Glue on Back of Cray Fish and Back of tail...spread all around on the top..Pull Carapace down over Glued area Push tail over eye of hook and then Rib Separately Twice, Whip finish both segments ...And the then Whip the hook Eye with Green Mono cord twice..Whip Finish every thing twice . 11.) Last But not least the Eyes..Take a Set of Small Red Pin Heads Clip them about 1/8" put a small bit of Glue and Place them were the belong...Thats It...Use with a strike Indicator and It is a killer,,The strikes will be so Violent They will Scare you....

Email this link to a friend