Crayfish...SW PA best color?

[Steeltrap]

I'm tying up a few small (size12) crayfish using motted turkey for the shell back and pheasant tail for the mouth\antenna, along with some long rabbit fur...olive which I've colored the tips with a brown marker. Grey body dubbing.

I've read somewhere to stay away from green or reddish brown when using this pattern on SW Pa streams. Meadow Run, Laurel Hill, Loyalhanna, etc.

Any thoughts on colors?

Thanks

 

[Steeltrap]

A few I've tied up:

 

[Dave_W]

Steeltrap wrote:
Any thoughts on colors?
Thanks

In my experience, most crayfish in PA are in the dark olive color range with legs a shade lighter.

Nevertheless, they can vary a bit, especially the larger ones. Some have a good bit of orange, rust, or even blue, along with red or black claw tips.

I fish a lot with crayfish flies and I have not found that color makes a great difference, but I keep my crays in the olive/brown earth tones.

(Make sure to tie 'em heavy - when you think you have enough lead or tungsten, cram some more in. When it's so heavy you're afraid to cast it with a fly rod, then you know they'll work. )

 

[Steeltrap]

Thanks for the tips!! My pic doesn't show the true colors of those crayfish. They are olive with brown turkey feather.

I've got dubbing and pheasant tail in ginger to make a reddish cray as well.

I'll just tie 'em up and see what does and does not work.

Again.....Thanks!

 

[Steeltrap]

Hard to really see those crayfish in the pic above. I've adjusted the color exposure to see if it's any better.

 

[chromid]

I have had really good success using a cream or light pink dubbing for the underside of my crayfish. Dub before hackling and tying down pheasant tail shell.

 

[Steeltrap]

Thanks for the tip!!

 

[JeffK]

Also, cream/tan crayfish can do fine as a shedder pattern. When I was a bait guy no bait worked on big browns for me more than a soft shell crayfish. Tan flies don't work as well, but they are an option.

Same thing with nymphs. Cream/tan nymphs were popular at one time to imitate "soft shell" nymphs.

 

[sandfly]

I came up with this pattern for the crawfish in this area.

 

[sandfly]

another view

 

[Steeltrap]

Sandfly....I can only assume they work well as you have enough of 'em.

 

[sandfly]

Steel trap I gave away some to a few guys fishing pine and not doing anything last year. Came back around 30 minutes later and each had caught at least one trout or more.
Yes they work

 

[Fly-Swatter]

Sandfly: I like them! They look like they have a ton of movement.

Is the "hackle" a self-made dubbing brush?

Do you think the shellback (I assume rafia?) is necessary? We fly tyers tend to be detail oriented. However, if you consider the success of tube jigs, for example, maybe such details don't increase the appeal to fish.

I ask because I am fiddling with a crayfish pattern that's essentially tied in the round using marabou, rubber legs and chenelle (and maybe a bit of flashabou). I'm going for simplicity, movement, and effectiveness. It worked well on smallies first time out last weekend.

 

[sandfly]

fly-swatter,
yes the raffia makes a difference. I use FTD dubbing stacked on hook.

 

[sandfly]

a few more pics, swimming and the proof it works...

 

[PennKev]

JeffK wrote:
Also, cream/tan crayfish can do fine as a shedder pattern. When I was a bait guy no bait worked on big browns for me more than a soft shell crayfish. Tan flies don't work as well, but they are an option.

Same thing with nymphs. Cream/tan nymphs were popular at one time to imitate "soft shell" nymphs.

I've had tan or cream colored Pat's Rubber Legs stones (Turds) work very well at time. This pattern is way underrated as a crayfish imitation.

I've also moved away from patterns that have oversized claws.

 

[Steeltrap]

PennKev Posted on: Today 8:14
Quote:

JeffK wrote:......

I've also moved away from patterns that have oversized claws.

Yes. I've read (somewhere) where trout.....like people....don't like to mess with crayfish with big claws. If a crayfish has "lost" it's claws, the trout will eat 'em like a worm.

So, it makes sense to tie crayfish patterns with no large claw imitation.

 

[tomgamber]

If I need a crayfish I tie on a big tan bedhead wooly bugger. I have a few that are over-weighted. That bead keeps it in the right position on the bottom and swimming backward on the retrieve.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

Good stuff, Sandfly. Thanks!