Crab Flies

[Jim Miller]

Some crabby flies for my upcoming Eleuthera trip. Should work for stripers on the flats too!

[albacized]

Those guys in the boat can actually cast flies that big with those little flyrods??? (just kidding)

[Ray]

Jim,

The crab flies look great!! But don't you think they're a little big? They've got to be 20' across ;)

[notime]

Attack of the killer crabs. [I][SIZE=5]

Looks like a grade B movie. Poor guys didn't see the giant crabs until they were right on top of the boat.

[Jim Miller]

:brow
kinda funny ....... was not my initial intent
but.... looking at it now.... it is funny! --125-3

[Onshore]

Good looking flies, Jim. They should work well down here.

I've had good luck on Cape flats with both Merkin and Beady Crabs (Dick Brown's patterns)

[Saltydog]

Jim, good lookin crabs! I notice your HOOK DOWN, is there a reason it not tied up. are thoes FLOATERS?
GOOD LUCK GOOD FISHIN--127-3-

[Jim Miller]

Salty
I'm trying to get the weight adjusted so as to have the fly suspend or sink very slowly..... not quite there yet. ;)
but yes.... that's why "hook down".
At least for the time being. :confused:

[Marshrunner]

Jim,

I'd second tying it with the hook up. Nice looking crab.

Dick B

[Jim Miller]

Salty & Dick B
I 'll tie them hook up... I see your point about catching grass & snagging up. :)

Dick ; your books have been a great inspiration! ;) especially for me making a transition from trout & NE Salt flies to tieing these interesting bonefish flies!

[Marshrunner]

Always good to hear someone got something that helped from the books.

What's the body of your crab made of? Also, the shrimp you posted in another string is a very good fly for your destination--especially the version JJ posted. I first saw this pattern--tied by Eric Peterson in CT as his Spawning Shrimp fly--the year it seduced a ton of big fish on Andros. Tied with rabbit hair it animates very well and just drives cruising bones nuts. Still one of my favorite Bahamas patterns. Good luck on your trip.

D

[Onshore]

Always good to hear someone got something that helped from the books. D

Dick,
I've had great good luck on the Cape Cod flats with your Merkin pattern from your book and last year with your Beady Crabs that I won at NESF.

[Marshrunner]

Bill,
Those are both excellent crab patterns and I'm glad they are working for you. And while the Beady is my design, I can't take credit for the Merkin--that great pattern is the creation of the late Del Brown and in his hands has probably taken more permit than any other fly. In small sizes it is also an excellent bf pattern.

Dick

[Jim Miller]

Thanks Marshrunner
The crab body is Furry Foam w/ epoxy added to top & bottom. I was playing w/ the amount of epoxy to add to achieve neutral buoyancy.
Still experimenting. :confused:

[uncle4]

WAY COOL!

Yup, those flies will take stripers at Lambert's Cove
(SW side, just before the rocks at the point, cast
out to the bright white bar!) and at Lobsterville/
Dogfish.... mebbe even Tashmoo on a good night!

Thanks for sharing.

Uncle 4

[Marshrunner]

Jim,

Crab weighting can sometimes be tricky. If you want a pattern that suspends or floats mid-column you not only have to balance the fly's weight and buoyancy (giving it slightly more weight so it sinks slowly), but you may also find you have to concentrate this slight weight advantage at one edge, so the crab tips at a angle and slides down to the desired suspension depth. Many neutral buoyancy crabs have a tendency to float in a flat plane on or near the surface, taking way too long to get down to bottom-feeding bones or permit. That's why crabs that use a small edge weight, like a small barbell, tend to get in front of these bottom-eaters more effectively. Adjust the size of the edge weight to the depth you want: small if you want a slow mid column presentation, heavier for a faster-sinking deeper-water bottom presentation--watching out also for how much of a splash profile you're creating.

Dick

[FishHawk]

Another product that might help is called Deep Powder. It's powdered tungsten. Steve Farr uses it on his flounder pattern. You mix the tungsten with the epoxy and apply it to the bottom of the fly. FishHawk

[Jim Miller]

I like the concept/design of the Orvis "Hover Crab". Same deal .... they seemingly worked at it till they found a balance of foam against hook/epoxy/weight. But...It seems the "float" of the furry foam is pretty tough to counteract with just epoxy.
But hey...... experimenting gives me something to do! (#$119)
FishHawk: This tungsten powder idea is promising. Does Steve F. have it up on his website?

[MKDeceiver]

Nice looking crabs...

FWIW-I exclusively use almost half-dollar sized Flexo Crabs for Stripers off the Cape Cod flats. They outfish anything else in my box and I've tried Merkins on those fish also...The water passes through the flexo quickly, this gets the fly to the bottom fast. They also don't hit the water too heavy...Use prismacolor markers to color the body too match the bottom...

I see all these floating crab patterns but I have to ask this question...How many times have you seen a crab in the water not on the bottom? If I don't have a Flexo in the sand on the bottom when a 38 inch striper swims up, he makes a B-Line for the deeper water

I plan on bringing a bunch of much smaller size flexos on my first Eleuthera trip. I'm confident they will work but it's not in the bag...

I think those Merkins work well because of the movement of the yarn and the fact they get to the bottom quickly, but I still think a Flexo looks more realistic in the water...

Let us know how those work...

If your interested, I have put some posts up about Flexo Crabs...You can see the pattern on Orvis website...It's not the easiest pattern to tie, perhaps that's why I don't hear more about people using them on the board...

[Jim Miller]

MK
Flexo looks neat....I'll check that pattern out! Thanks.
I've had good success w/ Toms Rattle Crab on the Cape Flats.... again fished on the bottom. Along w/ the merkin & other standard patterns.
What I was trying to add to my flybox was a pattern that I could fish over a grass or snaggy bottom in a foot or two of water. I'm trying to have it sink a lttle bit (slowly) ....but not bury in the grass. Tough problem.

[FishHawk]

Saltwater Edge, Bear's Den and I believe Down N'Trout carry the Deep Powder. Did not see it on Steve's web page. Perhaps I missed it.
FishHawk

[ChemFly]

MKD-
Do you have a tying/pattern list for the Flexo Crab?
I want to try this pattern in the marshes here in Jersey.
Thanks
JW

[MKDeceiver]

Chemfly,

Did you see the picture on Orvis website so you know where your trying to get to?

This is what you need:

Body: Flexo, Match size to hook...There are usually 2 strands of white thread you have to pull out. These threads reinforce the Flexo, but if you pull them out, the flexo flares better for making a crab body. When your done putting all the pieces of the crab together, use prismacolor marker to shade the body...On some crabs I add a little softex and clipped krystal flash mixed in to give glitter effect...

Legs: Use Sili legs, color to match body. Knot the legs halfway up.

Claws: Use pheasant feathers. Clip them to shape of claw and then paint them orange/red. Coat with Dave's flexament afterwards...

Eyes: Burned mono, then dip them in black paint..

Oh yeah, make sure you add dumbells or lead near hook eye...


Tip: If you plan on tying 4-5, or more....Make it like an assembly line...Make all your bodies, then do all your legs, then make a ton of claws and eyes, then piece it together...I use Zap-a-gap when gluing them together...It can take hours to make them, that's why I say to make it like an assmembly line...

[MKDeceiver]

Jim,

Hmmm...Yeah, I wouldn't try to fish the flexo over grass in 1-2feet of water...Now I see why you were looking for that effect...

It's frustrating as heck to pull through grass...It can drive you nuts when you snag up and also it's hard to see the fish grab the fly. Those weedless borski crabs work alright...Let us know how your pattern works....

Usually what I try to do if fishing a grass flat, is locate the sandy patches in between, or fish the edges...

[ChemFly]

MKD-
Yes, I just took a look at the pattern on the Orvis site. I now recognize the pattern, just was not familiar with the name- now it all makes sense! --125-3

Jim-
You might want to research the soft body crab designed by Capt Tom McQuade.
It's built with trimmed, stiff hackles, Softex and a weed guard. I fish it "weightless" in very shallow water. You can find the pattern in "Contemporary Saltwater Flies" by David Klausmeyer.

I Did very well with it during my last trip to South Andros. I'll be using it again two weeks from now :brow --127-3-

[Jim Miller]

Thanks Guys!
I really enjoy the discussion.
Chem: I do not have that book (yet). Is that pattern posted anywhere? or can you post a photo?

[ChemFly]

Jim,
Here are a few pics of my version based on what MqQuade showed me when I fished with him a few years ago. I was very happy to see this pattern in both Klausmeyers book and illustrated in a issue of Fly Tyer

The pattern is called "The Other Crab"...
As listed in Klausmeyers book:

Hook: Size 2
Thread: Tan or Green
Eyes: Melted Mono
Body: Add weight/lead wire if needed based on depth being fished. Palmer barred hackle up the hook shank. Clip hackles to form basic body shape. Coat body with Softex. Leave the face-side of the crab exposed and uncoated (air bubbles seep out of the exposed fibers...)
Legs/Claws: Barred hackle paced in fresh Softex.Color tips and body with marker peb. Wed Guard: 30 pound mono or flouro.

It's a cool pattern and easy to tye. It catches all sorts of fish. I'm waiting to chuck one at a Permit a few weeks from now. :brow

Cheers!
:-%
JW

[Jim Miller]

Thanks
thats a pretty cool pattern!

[notime]

[QUOTE=MKDeceiver]Nice looking crabs...

The water passes through the flexo quickly, this gets the fly to the bottom fast. They also don't hit the water too heavy...Use prismacolor markers to color the body too match the bottom...[I]

Another option is using black plastic screen door material. I've used it for flounder imitations and it gets to the bottom very quickly and without the big "kurplop" of some of the heavily weighted flies. Similiar to the flexo crab it has "vents" so the water passes through. I haven't tried it yet with crabs but am in the process of tying a few up. It works especially well if your bait blends in with the sand since the "vents" allow the sand to show through the fly. Flounder and calico crabs for instance. If fishing a bait that doesn't blend in with the sand, i.e. green crabs where I fish, you'd need to put some body material to match your crab.

[zippy]

here is my 1st crab. Still in the works stage.

[gilly09]

It's my experience if a crab pattern isn't weighted, it won't produce.

For some reason those fish get curious when the sand gets kicked up.

[Jim Miller]

MK
I tied up some of the flexo crabs .....
great pattern, no doubt they will work. ;)

[MKDeceiver]

Great!! Let me know how they work for you...

I have a few I have to repair but hopefully I still have enough from 2 seasons ago when I tied almost 2 dozen. It really is tough when you lose them, more often than not it's to a big striper but...

One tip I have about fishing the bigger ones is you should always hold the crab in your hand when wading the flats. If you just leave it dangling, the wind will blow it and spin it around weakening your fluro. That increases the breakoffs and can mess up your presentation when the fluro coils up...

[Jim Miller]

Something else I tried was to wrap some chenelle around the hook shank & dumb bell eye before tieing in the tubing. The color of the chenelle shows thru the mesh. Tan tint, white tint, green tint ect.
Thanks to you & Adrian (on the other board) for the scoop on this pattern. I tied a half dozen each in nickle, dime & quarter sizes. :-% in tan, white, & green.

[notime]

For a crab that stays above the weeds, try the Hover Crab. Or at least thats what Ovis says. Saw this and thought it might be of interest.

http://www.orvis.com/store/product_choice.asp?pf_id=38KT&feature_id=&dir_id=1236&group_id=1267&cat_id=5454&subcat_id=6528&shop_id=