Todd's Hi Lo Crabby Shrimp

Todd's Hi Lo Crabby Shrimp

Hook: 24007 #4-6
Thread: Danville White Flat Wax Mono
Eyes: Melted Black La Bella G String "Folk Singer" Nylon or Plastic Barbell eyes or Black No-Lead Eyes
Pincers: Grizzly or Barred Cree Hackle Tips (Hen OR Cock) AND a PAIR of Sparkle (or whatever) Rubber Legs, TWO strands of Crimson Krystal Flash

1. Start thread at the eye and cover shank to a point 1/2 way between the point and the barb
2. Tie in Hackle tips, legs and Krystal Flash
3. Using the tie in of the above in #2 as a "bump" tie in eyes as indicated in my BLOG for tying in lead eyes
4. Dub (using the same material as wing, I use Ice Wing or any matching dubbing will do) the tie in area of tips, legs, Krystal Flash and eyes.
5. If you are using Ice Wing or Magic Wing or similar, go back to the BLOG and do the pinch and roll and tie in a sparse batch on top, lock in, advance thread a couple of wraps more and do the same on the bottom.
6. Shampoo, Rinse and Repeat #5 as often as necessary til you get to the front. Tie off, whip finish and CEE Ment.
6.a. If you are using doll hair or Craft Fur or Rabbit, simply tie in batches top then bottom, alternating until you reach the front. Tie off, whip finish and CEE Ment.

BIG HINT:

If you are using ANY synthetic without a taper. ie: Magic Wing, Ice Wing Fiber, EP Fibers, etc., do NOT worry about length. Magic Wing and Ice Wing Fiber and be simply "pinched off to length forming a taper.

IF you are using EP fibers, Doll Hair (not THOSE kind of dolls, the toy dolls, NOT the inflatable ones) or Fishair, again do NOT worry about length. This is easier to show than say but...

Open up the fingers on your RIGHT hand like a fan. Keep your forearm parallel to the table. Place your wrist at the point of the hook with your finger tips toward the bend of the hook. TEASE, COMB or whatever ALL of those fibers in that shape (almost a semi circle with the center of the semi circle being the point of the hook. Trim the fibers into a letter C. with your scissors. When you stroke them back into position you have a PERFECT taper. (Stuart, you have to turn this around cause your "backwards" (you Catskill LH Hillbilly, you!), so the C is a backwards C. IN BOTH CASES, the tips should come almost to about the same point as the tips of the hackle tips, rubber legs and Krystal Flash.

Swing it in the current. Put it along side rocks and short strips, when you get a follow strip faster and faster. Blind cast (fan cast) until you hook up.

Bones, Pompano, Croakers, Baby TahrPoons, and smallmouth love em (in Olive and Orange).

Saltwater, stick with Tan, WHITE (yes white), Pink and Orange (or mix Pink and Orange)

How To Deal With Ice Wing Fiber II

Take your other hand and gently rub both hands together (as if you were warming your hands) and create a LOOSE ball of material that can then be folded over the thread and wrapped on to the hook.

How To Deal With Ice Wing Fiber I

Pinch and tease an amount of fibers and place in the palm of one hand.

Charlie Step 14

Overwrap the butts (take your time and let the glue/cement seep into the butts), make a smooth head, whipfinish, cut off, and cement.

Charlie Step 13

IF you are using Calftail or Rabbit, I had told you earlier to leave the thread just in front of the eyes. Measure length of material and cut BEFORE you tie it to the hook. Let the butts hang a BIT over the eye of the hook. Take 2 gentle wraps around the butts, and you can pull rearward till the butts clear the eye (this way you don't have to do a "haircut" once you finish the fly. IMPORTANT: Before you do any more wrapping, apply head cement or cyanoacrylate glue to the butts before winding so the wing doesn't pull out when you are fishing. (When Calf gets wet it is VERY slippery and will pull right out if you don't use a bit of glue/cement).

Charlie Step 12

When using Ice Wing, you don't use scissors to adjust the length of the wing, you just pinch off the excess till you get what you are looking for. The wing shouldn't go much past the bend (this prevents "fouling")

Charlie Step 11

Charlie Step 10

While wrapping thread around shank, allow material to "slide" up and to the top of the hook. (Remember how I told you to have the thread just behind the eye for the synthetic?)

*Notes on how to use Ice Wing will follow later

Charlie Step 9

IF you are using synthetic, fold it around the thread.

Charlie Step 8

Advance the thread to in front of the eyes, pull the Body Braid, UNDER the shank, forward and take a couple of winds over the Body Braid in front of the eyes.

IF you are using a synthetic (and folding it over the thread) advance the thread to 1-2 wraps just behind the eye. IF you are using Calf, etc., LEAVE the thread right were it is now.

Charlie Step 7

Wrap forward, one wrap in front of the other, to just behind eye. Follow with Body Braid making SURE that the first wrap of Body Braid is against BARE HOOK and the jump up onto the thread base. This helps protect the thread wraps at the rear (as it conceals the thread-an old timey wet fly tying technique). Wrap right up to behind eye and take 2 wraps over.

Charlie Step 6

OVERwrap the body material, one wrap behind the other, to INTO the bend of the hook. (Just past the barb on a 24007).

Charlie Step 5

Tie in Body Braid right behind eyes.

Charlie Step 4

Pull the eyes into a 90 degree to the shank and take 5-6 wraps from the near side of the bar (where you stopped last step) toward the far side, bringing the eyes into place. Take 4-5 more in the opposite direction (always wrapping NEXT to the wrap before, NOT on top). Reverse toward the opposite with 4-5 more).

HERE'S the part that's easy to do and hard to say: PARALLEL to the table top, take tight clockwise wraps AROUND the wraps that you have put around the bar/shank, taking those wraps BETWEEN the shank and the bar (this squeezes those wraps even tighter). I do NOT use glue, I use the stretch and strength of the Danville to keep it in place. I seem to have better luck with the eyes staying in place without glue or head cement. NOW... if you wanted to grind the shiny hook shank with a diamond file and crazy glue the wraps, THAT would make a difference. I like fishing more than tying. No glue.

Charlie Step 3

Hold the eyes at a 45 to the hook shank and take 3-4 wraps from the far side of the bar (think of the eyes as "bar bells") to the near side, one wrap next to each other (as opposed to one on top of another or just "any old way")

Charlie Step 2

At the 1/2 way point, with 5-6 wraps of thread make a "bump". This is the "backdrop" for the eyes.

Charlie Step 1

Tie in thread behind eye and wrap rearward to 1/2 way point on the shank.

Not Too Crazy Charlies

This is pretty much the basis for most of my Bonefish Flies. Favorite colors are pale pink, tan, olive, and amber (for off color water).

Recipe:
Hook: Mustad 24007 Stainless #4-6
Thread: Danville Flat Wax Mono Floss WHITE (red is used here for visibility)
Eyes: Depending on depth and current, either bead chain or No-Lead (brass) eyes
Body: Body Braid, usually Pearl. If you want to vary color, you can change your thread color and it shows through the Pearl. OR... Pretty neat way is to use #1 Holographic tinsel as an underbody and then overwrap with #20 clear mono.
Wing: Tied in "upside down" (Clouser Style). Faves: Ice Wing or Calf Tail or Rabbit Slip