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Fly of the Month: Bonefish Critter
Redfish are suckers for crabs. In fact, their fondness for crabs compels hungry reds to bulldog through the shallows, often exposing themselves, in an effort to root these coin-sized crustaceans out of the mud. If you are targeting shallow water reds with fly tackle it certainly pays to have some crab patterns in your pocket. There are dozens of different crab patterns on the market these days and creative fly tyers have used all sorts of materials to make them. Some crab patterns have bodies formed from felt pads, others are crafted from trimmed deer hair, and some are even built from small plastic buttons or sculpted epoxy. So, which pattern is the right one? If you ask 10 anglers you'll get 10 answers.
Perhaps one of the easiest crab patterns to tie, and certainly one of the most versatile, is the Bonefish Critter made popular by Florida fly angler Tim Borski. Borski is a talented angler, artist, and fly tyer who has designed many highly effective saltwater flies. The Bonefish Critter has a fuzzy wafer-like body made from strands of combed out and trimmed rug yarn or slender clumps of wool. The flat "yarn-type" body is a proven design, originally used by angler Del Brown to craft his legendary Merkin Crab permit fly.
The Bonefish Critter can be tied in a variety of base colors and the body parts can be shaded with permanent markers to create custom color combinations. The yarn/wool fibers have a nice fleshy look in water and they maintain their shape when wet. Another benefit of the fibers is that they cast well in the wind and make a soft landing rather than the fish-spooking "kerplunk" made by hard-bodied crab flies. The Bonefish Critter rides with its hook oriented in the weedless upright position, and a mono weed guard further increases its resistance to snags. It can be tied with either light bead chain eyes or heavy lead dumbbell eyes, depending on the sink rate desired. The Bonefish Critter can be dragged across hard sand or skipped over sparse weedy bottoms. It is a good all-around pattern to keep in your box and it will catch those crab-eating reds.
Materials
Hook: Mustad 34007 #2 to #6 (#4 shown)
Thread: Clear nylon mono or white monocord (clear nylon mono shown)
Eyes: Burned 40 lb. mono
Weight: Stainless bead chain or small lead dumbbell
Egg sac: Orange crystal chenille
Antennae/Legs: Webby brown saddle hackle
Body: Aunt Lydia's rug yarn or slender bundles of wool (orange rug yarn shown)
Weed guard: 25 lb. test mono
Shading: Permanent markers
Perhaps one of the easiest crab patterns to tie, and certainly one of the most versatile, is the Bonefish Critter made popular by Florida fly angler Tim Borski. Borski is a talented angler, artist, and fly tyer who has designed many highly effective saltwater flies. The Bonefish Critter has a fuzzy wafer-like body made from strands of combed out and trimmed rug yarn or slender clumps of wool. The flat "yarn-type" body is a proven design, originally used by angler Del Brown to craft his legendary Merkin Crab permit fly.
The Bonefish Critter can be tied in a variety of base colors and the body parts can be shaded with permanent markers to create custom color combinations. The yarn/wool fibers have a nice fleshy look in water and they maintain their shape when wet. Another benefit of the fibers is that they cast well in the wind and make a soft landing rather than the fish-spooking "kerplunk" made by hard-bodied crab flies. The Bonefish Critter rides with its hook oriented in the weedless upright position, and a mono weed guard further increases its resistance to snags. It can be tied with either light bead chain eyes or heavy lead dumbbell eyes, depending on the sink rate desired. The Bonefish Critter can be dragged across hard sand or skipped over sparse weedy bottoms. It is a good all-around pattern to keep in your box and it will catch those crab-eating reds.
Materials
Hook: Mustad 34007 #2 to #6 (#4 shown)
Thread: Clear nylon mono or white monocord (clear nylon mono shown)
Eyes: Burned 40 lb. mono
Weight: Stainless bead chain or small lead dumbbell
Egg sac: Orange crystal chenille
Antennae/Legs: Webby brown saddle hackle
Body: Aunt Lydia's rug yarn or slender bundles of wool (orange rug yarn shown)
Weed guard: 25 lb. test mono
Shading: Permanent markers