Little Piney Crawfish

Little Piney Crawfish (side)
Little Piney Crawfish (top)
Little Piney Crawfish (bottom)
Fly: Marshall Porterfield, Photographs: Hans Weilenmann

Hook: Daiichi nymph hook with a bent shank (size 4-8)
Weight: Gold bead
Thread: Unithread 8/0, black
Tail: Brown raffia
Ribbing: Black thread
Abdomen: Squirrel dubbing, with a raffia shell
Thorax: Squirrel dubbing with grouse hackle, covered by a raffia shell
Pinchers: Quail soft hackle feather
Antennae: Black flash
Eyes: Black plastic/mono dumbbell
Notes and fishing instructions:
Crawfish are a very important component of the diet if trout on many streams here in central Missouri. This pattern was created to emulate the appearance of the crawfish in the Little Piney River. The black spotted pattern of the fly is created using a dark brown permanent marker applied to the raffia shell. Dead drift it into the deep holes, and the bump it up and down during the deepest part of the drift. At the end of the drift you can strip back upstream slowly. Expect violent strikes when the fish takes the fly and it works equally well on trout and small mouth bass.


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© 2003 Hans Weilenmann
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