Dead Drift Crayfish

Originally inspired by Ralph Cutter's black and orange "Goblin" streamer, Tim Haddon tinkered, fished and refined his crayfish pattern to catch the really big browns and rainbows in the Truckee River of CA and NV. In the dog days of summer, when the water warms and the hatches are fewer, the crayfish begin their molt. And the bright sun screen days of August became Tim's favorite time of year to tempt the river's biggest fish, many well over 20", with his deadly Dead Drift Crayfish. And that is how he fishes it…dead drift, often with multiple split–shot, slow and deep, right near the bottom. And to cover all bases, he frequently fishes a small nymph du jour as a dropper. And heed the experience of Truckee River guru, Ralph Cutter, when he says, "Don't even try to imitate the action of a swimming crayfish. I've never seen any retrieve that looks remotely realistic. Less is better when fishing these crustaceans." Fish this fly dead drift upstream, not stripped or swinging like so many other streamers. In the few years since this fly's creation, and resounding success, Tim's remarkable fly has developed a cult following, not only in the Sierras, but northern California, and even the Madison in Montana, where Tim has landed some impressively large trout fishing his fly. In fact, this fly is highly recommended for any stream that has populations of crayfish. This pattern will score some of the biggest fish of your season, and not just trout. Wait till your smallmouth get a look at this.