How to tie 4 killer crayfish flies that work all over Canada

Whether you call it a crayfish, crawfish, crawdad, mudbug or mountain lobster, this common freshwater crustacean is an important food source for Canadian gamefish. Here are four proven crayfish flies—Autumn Splendour, Clouser Crayfish Bead Head Woolly Bugger and the Clouser Deep Minnow—along with tying notes, patterns and videos.

Although some of these patterns call for specific colours, feel free to use whatever look crayfish-y to you, or whatever you see in your local waters. However all crayfish flies should have some kind of weight, since the naturals are largely bottom dwellers. In addition, take care not to make the claws too big, since science shows that fish prefer craws with smaller armaments.

For everything you need to know about fishing these crayfish flies, see “Why big fish love crayfish flies.”

Looking for more even new fly patterns? Check out our running list of the all-time best flies for Canadian anglers at www.outdoorcanada.ca/musthaveflies. And you can see all of Outdoor Canada’s expert fly tying tips at www.outdoorcanada.ca/flytyingtips.

Autumn Splendour

HOOK: 4X-long streamer hook, sizes 2-10HEAD: Gold or copper cone, 4.5 mm
WEIGHT: Wire wrapped around shank
TAIL: Yellow or brown marabou
FLASH: Gold or brown Krystal Flash
BODY: Yellow or Brown chenille or sparkle chenille
LEGS: Yellow round rubber legs, medium
HACKLE: Orange grizzly

The Autumn Splendour is a basically a Cone-Head Woolly Bugger, with rubber legs. I like mine with a bit less flash and a little more brown than the one in the video below, but it’s up to you. One thing: working around those legs can be tricky, so this video offers some handy tips.