Pro Tips

It was one of those chance meetings… I had posted a question on a popular internet forum, asking who was going to be in Weipa this June. After a few weeks of no replies I proclaimed to have the whole place to myself. Then Andy Altman (‘Kiwi Andy’ to the forumites) responds. Great, I thought, we’ll share it amongst the three of us!

 

As usual after dinner on the first night, the fly boxes came out. What’s been working? That looks good! We were hoping to get after some of the more difficult species on offer in the Weipa area, and I was keen to find out what had been working the previous week. One of Andy’s flies got my attention – when I asked what the hell it was, the response was ‘… Andy’s Fuzzy Crab, thingy?’! It was kind of half crab, half shrimp and looked edible – even to me...

 

Andy has only been salt water fly fishing for around five years, starting out in his native Florida Keys then making pilgrimages to Weipa following his defection immigration to New Zealand. Several trips back to the Keys, Weipa and Christmas Island have seen him land most of the dream fish on flies he dreamed up and tied himself, including Keys tarpon and bonefish.

 

Andy’s Fuzzy Crab is one of these and an adaptation of a fly that he saw on a Floridian website, Doc Hall’s Perfect Crab. He couldn’t duplicate it with the materials on hand, so he used what was available at the time. The rest is history – Andy’s Fuzzy Crab is now a proven pattern. Andy likes to build his flies on solid hooks – in this case, Mustads’ C68 SSS in size #2 to #2/0. This is a heavy hook and quite capable of being fished through rough ground to fish strong enough to leave your ankles trembling.

 

Not only does this fly utilize lead dumbbell eyes, but lead wire as well. No mucking around – this guy is to be fished on the bottom, with attitude! A small tuft of orange Arctic fox or rabbit fur is then tied in to imitate roe. The (visible) eyes are made from burnt monofilament, coloured and dipped in epoxy to make them prominent and durable. One is tied each side angled downward to the rear before a couple of turns of marabou dubbing is applied. Sili-legs are added to give more constant movement. You can substitute any kind of rubber leg here such as Uni-Stretch, Spandex, Grizzly Legs or Tarantu-Legs.

 

The body is made by palmering mink zonker strip in tan, cream or brown. If mink is unavailable Andy has used rabbit zonker strip, and I am going to be experimenting with pine squirrel for smaller size flies! Andy prefers mink due to its shiny guard hairs, but concedes with a grin that he may be splitting hairs on this one. Pun intended.

 

That’s about it for the tying – the proof is in the fishing! Drop this fly in front of cruising fish, let it sink to the bottom and give it a slow draw or slight twitch just before the fish is on it… It is a passable imitation of a small crab, shrimp – hell, it looks like food! The rest is up to you …

 

 

 

Hook:                           Mustad C68SSS #2 - #2/0

Thread:             3/0 Monocord

Weighted Eyes: Lead Presentation Eyes (small - #2, medium - #2/0)

Body Weight:               0.025” Lead Wire, tied on top of the hook shank

Roe:                             Tuft of Orange Arctic Fox or Rabbit Fur

Eyes:                            Burnt Mono, Coloured and Epoxied

Collar:                          Tan Marabou or Rabbit Fur

Legs:                            6-8 Strands of Sili-Legs

Body:                           Mink, Rabbit or Pine Squirrel Zonker Strip