My last post featured a stellar outing on the Provo River with great success deep nymphing a cranefly larva pattern. I don’t think there are many places that sell a cranefly larva, so you may have to tie it yourself or pay a buddy to do it for you. This fly can be tied in a number of different color variations. I favor patterns in the light gray, light tan, and light olive range. I like to tie on hooks with a slight bend to give the larva a bit more natural look, such as:
- Tiemco 200R
- Dia-Riki #270
- Mustad C53S
I think to imitate a cranefly larva successfully, you need to make sure you have a few things in your fly, a short marabou tail, a lighter colored body about 2/3 to 3/4 the length of the hook with a good ribbing, and a darker thorax/head. For the body I like to blend my own dubbing using some synthetic and some natural fibers like angora. You want a body that can frizz out a little bit to give the impression of a semi translucent body and I like to tease out the fibers a little bit with a small hooked piece of Velcro. Additionally I like a few colored fibers such as blue, red or green to give it a rich colo. For a rib I use wire (heavy gold or copper) and ostrich herl usually just a natural gray. I also add a few wraps of lead under the body so that this fly gets down deep.
Here are a couple of color variations that I fish. The top fly is a little more tan and the lower more olive, although the difference is pretty slight. So here is the recipe:
Hook: Size 4-10, Tiemco 200R, Dia-Riki #270, Mustad C53S
Thread: Waxed monocord in colors that fit with thorax, gray, olive, brown, etc
Under body: 3-4 wraps of medium lead
Body: Blended dubbing in shades of tan, gray, or olive
Ribbing: Brass or copper wire and ostrich herl darker than the body
Thorax: Darker dubbing than body, I prefer to use died squirrel so that the guard hairs poke out
Good luck and good fishing!
and Nymphing from the library as often as I could talk mom into taking me there. So without further ado, here are my two entries so far:
