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Large populations of red claw crayfish of the genus Cherax Quadricarinatus are native to Tropical Queensland and have been farmed as a food source and for stocking purposes very successfully for a number of years. There preferred habitat is still water impoundments but they also fare well in slow rivers. They are abundant in stocked dams such as Awoonga and Borumba, as well as many other dams, in Central Queensland, where they have been introduced, as well as most still waters in their natural habitats in Tropical Queensland.

In natural and introduced habitats they tend to live around structure such as drowned timber, undercut banks, in weed beds and amongst stands of lilies.

This fly is a variation to my original yabby pattern and has been designed to be fish on a sinking line. I like to fish them, in water from 1 to 4 meters deep, either as a single fly or in a team of two flies as a point fly. If fishing them in a team I like the dropper with the second fly to be 25cm long and 1.2 meters above the point fly.

My preferred retrieve is a short jerky action with plenty of intermittent pauses.

Materials

Process

A	The hook I have used here came in a packet of poppers but any other medium wire hook of similar proportions will do the job. Wind the thread in touching turns to the bend of the hook. Understanding hooks Tie in a dozen or so strands of palmer chenille at the bend of the hook that extending behind the bend of the hook a distance equal to the gape of the hook so as to represent the sieves of the natural.

B	Cut a piece of closed cell which is a bit coffin like in shap with the thickest section being about as wide as the gape of the hook.

C	Tie the closed cell foam down on top of the hook shank all the way to the bend of the hook.

D	The eyes on this fly are made from plastic bead chain that is around $0.50 per meter at the local haberdashery which in my case is Lindcraft. Leaving the fist bead in place on the string, using needle point pliers apply pressure to the next 5 or 6 beads until they crack off the string. Leave the next bead in place and trim the string directly between that bead and the next bead.

E	Take a length of cotton and thread that onto a needle.Thread the tag end back through the needle leaving a loop. Place the eyes that you prepared in step D above in the loop.

F	Lift the foam up and insert the needle where you want the eyes to sit. Pull the needle and the eyes through so that the string between the two eyes is now clear of the back of the closed cell foam. Adjust the eyes so that that they are even. Lock the eyes in place by taking a couple of firm wraps of thread over the string from the eyes that was pulled through the foam. Remove the needle and thread that was used to pull the eyes through the foam.

G	Select a hackle with barbules about twice a long as the gape of the hook and tie that in by the tip at the bend of the hook. Take two touching turns of the hackle and then tie it off. Trim away the excess hackle. Wet fly hackle Palmering hackles

H	Tie a small bunch of red marabou in on each side of the fly to represent the red on red claw claws. Whilst the red on red claw claws is on the underside of the tip of the claws on the natural these under-claws are at the base of what will become the claws and should each be about as long as the hook shank. Having the highlight of red is all about form and function.

I	Repeat that process this time tying in black marabou on each side of the fly to represent claws that are 2 to 2.5 times as long as the hook shank.

J	Tie a length of estaz chenille in directly behind the claws. Take the thread down to the 85% position.

K	Wind the hackle forward to the 85% position and lock it in place there with a couple of firm wraps of thread. Take the thread, over the body, back where the estaz chenille was tied in.

L	Pull the closed cell foam into place to form the back of the crayfish and whilst holding the closed cell foam in place use the thread to make 5 or 6 wraps of thread along the body to the eye of the hook forming segments along the body. Hold the foam out of place at the eye of the hook and whip finish and varnish the thread under the foam. Cut the foam off neatly just proud of the eye of the hook to represent the tail.

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