Crayfish Patterns: Big Flies, Big Trout
Do you like to catch big trout? Does ripping an articulated streamer all day wear you out? What if you could fish a moderately large fly with or without an indicator, without exerting an excessive amount of effort and provoke predatory trout to eat said fly? If that sounds good, consider the crayfish.
A surprising number of trout anglers don’t consider crayfish despite the fact that you will see evidence of them along the river banks and in the water. There are lots of crayfish in the Missouri River and crayfish are basically a shrimp. Everything loves a shrimp.
Perhaps many fly fishers don’t think of crayfish because they don’t think of imitating a crayfish with a fly. In the words of fly fishing sage Hank Patterson, "A fly does not need to be a fly to be a fly." We have crayfish flies.
I was out fishing last Friday and I did not consider the crayfish. I worked the water with some previously productive nymphs and basically drew a blank. Then Johnny came in behind me and deployed the crayfish under the indicator and showed me what I’d missed... his blog about fishing crayfish & best highwater tactics is below.
Check out a complete guide to high water fishing tactics for tailwaters.
One of the best times to fish the crayfish is right about the time you notice caddis getting active. That’s because 50 degree water is the temp that gets those crayfish out of their winter burrows and clacking around the rocks.
Here's a snapping crawfish pattern we know works.
Males are looking for mates in the spring and in order to find them, they must expose themselves. Their increased vulnerability to trout is further increased when runoff level stream flows push them around.
The trout are watching and they are eating. Especially the large ones.
A great way to find out if the trout are taking crayfish is to drift one under an indicator. To hedge your bets, you can drop a caddis pupa off the crayfish. Don’t be in a hurry to pick up your flies after the drift. A tight line might provoke the bite as they lift. Both your crayfish and your caddis pupa will still be fishing on the rise.
When fishing from a boat, you can do a long drift with frequent upstream and downstream mends, to lift and drop the flies. While a dead drifted fly presents an easy target, a little rise and fall action can provoke an eat.
Here's a clouser crayfish pattern that we sell online for $2.99.
You can also fish your crayfish without an indicator. Cast up and across and high stick it with a tight line. Focus on rocky areas and fish slowly with occasional twitches and fast strips. Crayfish typically crawl unhurriedly unless startled. Then they will flee quickly, pulsing several feet at a time.
Big trout love crayfish like Bubba Gump loves a shrimp. Consider the crayfish the next time you are chasing big trout. After you catch that two footer you’ve been after, you can tell your buddy you were fishing the "Cambarus Hatch."
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