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Crab Flies

Posted: Sun May 23, 2021 8:18 am
by bones72
Well I remember a while back professor salt was wearing em out on crab flies so I thought I'd do some up. Cant wait to get back down to the coast and give these a whirl. May be to small for reds and to big for sheepshead as they are a #4 Mustad hook but it will be fun finding out.
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Re: Crab Flies

Posted: Sun May 23, 2021 8:50 pm
by GoDoe
#4 is fine for reds. That is what I use all the time. Nice looking flies.

In these flood waters I use a small dumbbell eyes so the crab slides along the bottom of the bare sand.

We are fishing in places that only cows were utilizing a few weeks ago.

Re: Crab Flies

Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 6:23 pm
by bones72
Did up a few more after seeing some smallish fiddlers.
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Instead of the usual Mustad hook I went with a Gamakatsu B10 S mainly because they are scary sharp. Small dumb bell lead eyes as well.

Re: Crab Flies

Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 11:55 am
by Prof. Salt
Good looking flies! I kept experimenting and finally ended up with an EP version that is really durable. My taco crabs would swim fairly well but would usually only survive one fish. The current fiber crabs swim well and survive trip after trip. I rarely make claws now because the fish don't seem to care one way or the other.

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Re: Crab Flies

Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2021 1:58 pm
by GoDoe
Those look great. You can save yourself some time if you don't want to do the eyes or the wigglie legs either. The fish don't care.

I use frayed yarn instead of EP fiber and usually a wad of craft fur for a tail. No complaints from the reds

Re: Crab Flies

Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2021 2:49 pm
by Kayak Kid
Prof Salt, what ya' got there is a hand full of outstanding permit flies. Those darned permit care about the eyes and wiggle legs.

I had a guide in Mexico who was an extremely successful at putting fisherman on permit. He tied a fly very similar to yours, and I used it with great success on several fishing trips. The permit laughed as they swam away from the crab flies I tied.

Re: Crab Flies

Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2021 8:29 am
by Prof. Salt
Thanks! One thing that I've observed over the last year or two is that redfish will almost always stop to eat a crab fly if you can get their attention but when resting they sometimes seem less inclined to chase a shrimp or minnow imitation. I keep tinkering and developing every time I have the urge to sit at the tying bench, and here are a few of the latest crab efforts. These are downsized to work with the 4wt and 2wt on those slot sized fish that don't take long to get to the net.
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Below is a comparison of the fluffy size I throw on the 6wt and the little Merken style I use with the 2wt.
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Re: Crab Flies

Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2021 8:31 am
by Prof. Salt
bones72 wrote:Did up a few more after seeing some smallish fiddlers.
Those look great!

Re: Crab Flies

Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2021 8:34 am
by Prof. Salt
bones72 wrote:Well I remember a while back professor salt was wearing em out on crab flies so I thought I'd do some up. Cant wait to get back down to the coast and give these a whirl. May be to small for reds and to big for sheepshead as they are a #4 Mustad hook but it will be fun finding out.
How have those worked for you? I love the look, and wondered if you had any better luck than me with durability. The glue I was using was hard but brittle and would break after one or two strikes, leaving my taco flies destroyed. I found some fabric glue that should work much better but haven't gone back to make any of that design.

Re: Crab Flies

Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2021 8:26 am
by bones72
They survived two undersized sheepshead. I was using Loctite superglue Gel control and seems to be less brittle than most and have since switched from the Gorilla glue superglue. Haven't been to the coast since June and I am dying to get out.