Crayfish fly

[BlueBird]

[Kerry Pitt]

I think the appearance of pincers and the eyes are good, certainly a couple of the triggers needed.
I was playing with quick patterns for shrimp and crayfish for a couple of swaps I wanted to get into. I came up with the Wooly Crayfish, which is sort of a woolly bugger with some add-ons


I cut the pincers out of suede and added some feelers with yak hair.

[Rip Tide]

Crayfish molt in early summer and not coincidentally, this is when they become important forage
This is because fish prefer their food not to fight fight back.
Large pincers, rather than being a 'trigger' are a detriment
That's why bait fishermen break off the claws of crayfish that go on the hook.
After much experimentation I've gone to using weighted woolybugger as my crayfish imitation. You'd don't need much else.
If you "need" to add pincers, make them small and 'soft'. A pinch of rabbit hair would be a good choice.

[Kerry Pitt]

I agree with you when it comes to using a woolly bugger. I also used to use small live crays for browns in my pre-flyfishing days.
I was in a Crayfish pattern swap with a bunch of other guys who fished bass etc. (I don't) and every one of the twelve patterns came back with claws, so I have to believe that there is some merit in them. Even large crays molt and are eaten.
I am restricted to having only fished for trout with them.