Different Camera, Same Fly

The EP Crab is one of my favorites. Been shooting with a Canon EOS Rebel over a Sony Cybershot recently. Below is the pic and tips on how to tie the fly, which works well on Tampa Bay reds.

Materials

Hook: Size 4, standard 34007

Eyes: Mono (medium or large)

Tail: Marabou plume (brown, tan or green)

Body: EP Fiber (sticks of tan or green). EP Tarantula brush (green)

Weedguard: 30-pound hard mason

Thread: Flat waxed nylon (light green or red)

Instructions

Use color combinations at your discretion. I prefer light green thread with a tan body; and a dark green body with red thread. The above photo uses light green and tan.

 1) Insert hook into vice. Start thread near the eye about where you prefer to tie in the eyes. Wrap thread back to beyond the bend.

      2) Grab two clumps of marabou. Strip the fluff. Tie in the tail along the bend to form the claw.

      3) Take approximately two inches of EP tarantula brush and tie in over where you tied in the marabou, palmer forward three, four wraps. This part of the fly serves as the transition from the tail to the body. You can use regular hackle. I like the EP brush because of its fishy texture.

     4) Tie in mono eyes near the eye, but make sure you leave plenty of room to tie in a good, durable weedguard.

     5) Take a strip of EP fiber. This can tricky. Work from the outside in. Grab a half a pencil length. Cut this section into 2-inch sticks.

    6) Tie in each stick with cross wraps, as you would lead or mono eyes. Place each stick as close to the previous one as you can before you tighten. IntheRiffle.com has a good video on this. Continue toward the eyes.

    7) When you get to the eyes, tie a half-hitch. Cut your thread.

    8) Comb out the EP fibers to straighten and blend. Trim at the mono eyes in a traditional toad shape. I like the squarish toad shape, because it’s easier (at least for me) than a circular Kwan. Longer scissors seem to work better and give straighter, cleaner cuts.

   9) Re-attach the thread in front of the mono eyes. Tie in your weedguard. I use Puglisi’s style. There’s a good video of this method on YouTube. I like it because it’s durable once you get the concept of thread pressure.