Svend’s Cray Cray

From Svend Diesel:
“It is a combination of many patterns I have tied and tested over the years and finally love the way this one fishes and is tied. There is nothing new about some of the things I have done with this Crayfish that make it different than others besides the 3 cones of hackle to create the head and minimize the arm fouling. Along with using the tab legs to create a shell, which isnt new, but using the mono to not cut the tab legs and covering in a good resin makes this fly bullet proof to last many many fish piercings.

I cover the eye in UV resin because I am usually stripping and jigging this in through the rocks or shallows on a floating line. It can be simply dropped and jigged, the weight will place it in a defensive position and the arms being made of rabbit will naturally trap air causing them to rise making it vulnerable to any fish looking for a snack.

It is more time consuming than other Crayfish patterns I have fished, but this is way more effective and way more durable than others I have tied while also minimizing materials needed. I love this Black/Orange Magnum Rabbit strip color and also fish them in dark olives can crayfish orange.”

Materials list:
Hook: #Ahrexhooks TP650 26 degree hook
Thread: #Semperfli waxed thread 8/0
Hackle: #Whitingfarms American Hackle Rooster Orange grizzly
Large Antenna: #harelinedubbin Grizzly legs
Antennule/Legs: Voodoo Fibers
Claws/Body: Rabbit strips
Shell/Tail fin: Tab rubber legs
Ribbing of Abdomen: 20-30 lb mono
Shell: #Semperfli no tack uv resin