Crawdads

[dbltea]

I was reading the latest issue of "Fly Fisherman" and there is a article about fishing with crawdad imitations and I got to wondering whether or not any of ya'll use them. By the time I get out to AZ in the fall every year the ones I see, particularily at Reservation Lake, are Maine Lobster size. But in the early spring with the little ones "hatch" I figure they might be a hot item???

[Kevin Krai]

I have thrown them from time to time, big and ugly. No success as of yet, would be interested in seeing if anyone else has had success. Do not have a whole lot of confidence with them and only give them 10 cast tops. I think a Size 8 Brown Marabou wolly does a nice job of imitating them as well.

[Seldomseen]

Crayfish become a considerable portion of the diet of the trout in many AZ waters....particularly along the rim. Probably no more so than Chevelon.

I have not found a crawbillie pattern I have confidence in yet. Weighted leaches in crayfish colors dredged can be very effective.

[Kevin Krai]

I think those Browns at Chevelon have that really nice color because of all the crawdads they eat. 50% of all the smallmouth I catch on the black burp crawdads up.

[biscut head]

If anything else, I set a trap with two slices of bacon in it and set at dusk. Around 10 PM I pull it out and the trap is full (around 100 or more in it). I boild water and in they go, Lemon, butter and sauce and your eating Lobster AZ style.

[Kevin Krai]

...And doing your part to help the fish, yum :)

[Dana Parmelee]

The pattern I learned from 'Crawbugger', hence the name, is supposed to mimic a crawdad... when retrieved in short little quick strips, on the bottom of my favorite White Mountain lake, it has produced quite well. More times than I've put a fish in hand, I've been broken off like I hooked the back bumper of a 18 wheeler passing by. I'll post a picture in the 'fly box' when I get back into town. In a size 8 or 10, it can only mimic a pretty small crawdad but I'm almost sure that is what the trout think it is, especially when it is hit most often with the retrieve mentioned above.

[mjl]

Edited because I'm a retard and dbltea mentioned the article in the first post in this topic...

At any rate, the article and this discussion got me thinking, so I jumped behind the vice.

Below is a prototype I worked up for a simi-seal crayfish. I'm thinking mud flats at Chevelon in the spring time while the crayfish are still little and quite vulnerable. Night fishing or pre-dawn. The hook is down so it will stir silt like a real crayfish.

The fly is a bit rough, but the concept is there; simple to tie and hopefully realistic in the water.

http://www.azflyandtie.com/photopost/data/500/simi_seal_crayfish.jpg

[mjl]

Upon review, I think the next one will have a bit thicker body and some black sharpie marker eyes.

[mjl]

Slight revision...

http://skydonut.com/photog/images/fishing/flies/simi_seal_crayfish_2.jpg

[dbltea]

I'll take a dozen!

[mjl]

I tied another one up this morning before work. This time, I added a tiny pinch of simi extending forward with the antenae. I also teased up the torso a bit on top and quite a bit on bottom to give the fly a bit more movement in the water and to mimick legs.

At this point, I'm not going to tie anymore until I get a chance to fish them in the spring and see if they work!

[fshfanatic]

http://www.azflyandtie.com/photopost/data/500/crawdaddy.jpg

I like this one

[fshfanatic]

Slight revision...

Hook down will get you alot of debris..

[mjl]

Okay, so I lied... I tied a few more up with revisions.

I added scudback for a shell, instead of the thread wraps, and twisted swiss straw for antenae. They look pretty lifelike in the water - fun to watch and think about improvements.

http://skydonut.com/photog/images/fishing/flies/crayfish_3.jpg

http://skydonut.com/photog/images/fishing/flies/crayfish_4.jpg

[OnTheRise]

I tied a few of those up too after reading Flyfisherman. I intended to head to Chevellon today but Icouldnt resist trying a few on some Tonto Creek first. I was above Bear Flats all morning and afternoon braving the wind and the trout would chase em all day but I couldnt hook one w/ one. So I worked the crayfish pattern on a dead drift and they swarmed around it but just wont eat it I think it was a size or 2 too big. I was fishin a size 6. On the way back to the truck Iwent Spring creek style 7X and 20s and smaller and caught 3. All rainbows they light up like Mahi in the gin clear water. Windy as a son of a gun though all day!

[mjl]

On that note, when do crayfish typically reappear on rim-area waterways (and the White Mountains, for that matter)? I didn't see a single one at Chevelon last weekend, where there are normally hundreds.

I assume they burrow into the mud or go deep for the winter?

[OnTheRise]

I didnt see lots of crayfish like i usually see up at Chevellon but there were a few out and about in Tonto Creek yestreday. One had to be 5-6 inches no lie.

[Westy]

I'm not sure where they go in the winter, but mid spring they are out in force again. Chevelon Creek, below the dam last summer had the most crawdads I have ever seen besides maybe Bog Tank.

[CHIEF]

I'm with Biscut....


CHIEF

[Seldomseen]

They do burrow into the mud/rocks.

I don't know the specific water temps or anything when they come in or out....but at Chevelon the seem to dissapear usually around November or so and are usually back in mass by May.

[biscut head]

Right on Chief!!! We will have to cook some up at Dripping springs. I like it when you are wearing sandals and they bite you on the toes, hurts like hell. Amazing something so small can have such a big bite!!

[CHIEF]

You saddist you.....


CHIEF

[biscut head]

LOL..... yea that's why Seldom gets nervouse fishing Cats with me at night, I become a wild slithering creature that howls at anything:D

[CHIEF]

pass me the J. B., I want to howl........


CHIEF

[browntroutmon]

I have thrown alot of different crayfish patterns at the rim lakes and the White Mtns for big browns. Best patterns to date have been Kelly Gallops pattern tied with natural brown zonker strips as the claws, rootbeer juicy legs, then pull zonker strip over top of fly for shell back. Also, have tied big brown wooly buggers and split a longer marabou tail with juicy legs with great success. Gallops pattern is really cool because the pattern is lighter on the bottom like and darker on the top like a real crayfish.

[fshfanatic]

I have thrown alot of different crayfish patterns at the rim lakes and the White Mtns for big browns. Best patterns to date have been Kelly Gallops pattern tied with natural brown zonker strips as the claws, rootbeer juicy legs, then pull zonker strip over top of fly for shell back. Also, have tied big brown wooly buggers and split a longer marabou tail with juicy legs with great success. Gallops pattern is really cool because the pattern is lighter on the bottom like and darker on the top like a real crayfish.

Might you have a link or purhaps a picture? They sound interesting.

[biscut head]

Ditto I would like to see those

[browntroutmon]

http://www.myfishingpictures.com/showphoto.php?photo=17295&sort=7&thecat=500&password=

Here's a picture of Galloup's Craw.