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Large populations of dark olive Yabbies of the Cherax Genus have developed in both Lake Jindabyne and Lake Eucumbene and many other places. Many anglers suggest that the Yabby has been responsible for changing the feeding habits of trout in the lakes as the populations of Yabbies have increased. In fact in both Lake Jindabyne and Lake Eucumbene you seldom catch a trout with a full stomach when the contents doesn't include yabbies. Yabbies live around the margins of the lake with the preferred habitat being muddy banks and shallows. They live in holes that they borrow into the banks and shallows and move from hole to hole as the water levels change. Whilst they are sometimes active during daylight hours it is the dusk to dawn that they prefer. They move out of their holes to relocate, to forage for food and to find mates. All of these activities make them vulnerable to trout. Juvenile Yabbies are available from February and trout targets yabbies of all sizes.

Over the years I have experimented with various Yabby patterns and whilst some have looked great unfortunately they have all been “dogs” to fish or more correctly to cast. Generally rather than using them I have reverted to fishing a weighted woolly bugger instead. Well all that has now changed and I now have a Yabby in my fly box, in both a floating and sinking version, that I have confidence in. Whilst this fly is hard to tie it's well worth the effort.

In the floating form it should be fished with short a leader of around 6 feet on a full sinking line.

	Have a look at Floating yabby

The best colour in the sinking form appears to be olive but a black version is good for dirty water. The sinking Yabby is best suited to shallow water fished under floating line with a leader of around 9 feet.

For both the sinking yabby and the floating yabby retrieve using a jerky pumping action or twitch it in using a figure of 8 retrieve.

Materials

Process

A	The hook I have used here is a Tiemco 3761 but if I were using this fly for bass in brackish water I would use a similar shaped stainless steel hook. In either case its important to use a relatively heavy wire hook to create a good keel on the fly so that it will swim the right way up. Understanding hooks Wind the thread in touching turns to the bend of the hook then bring the thread back to the 75% position and tie lead wire in toward the middle of the hook shank. I have used 10 wraps of .020 lead wire on this size #8 hook. Tie in 5 or 6 barbules from a Peacock herl sword as sieves extending a distance equal to the gape of the hook over the bend of the hook. Tie in a length of copper wire about a third of the way along the hook shank.

B	Tie in a length of zonker strip that has had all the hair stripped off.

C	Tie in a bunch of olive marabou at the bend of the hook. Wet the marabou and split it into two equal bunches - each representing a claw.

D	Take two lengths of 40lb mono and burn an eye onto the end of each. Similar burnt monofilament eyes Tie the two sets of eyes in along the top of the hook shank.

E	Trim the excess monofilament. Dub on a body of seals fur dubbing from the bend of the hook to the 95% position.

F	Pull the spent zonker strip over the top. Whilst holding it in place take tight evenly spaced wraps of the lead wire to lock the spent zonker strip into place and to form body segments on the yabby. Lift the excess spent zonker strip up and take two final wraps of the copper wire directly behind the eye of the hook. Whilst still holding the spent zonker strip out of place worry the excess wire off and whip finish the thread over the copper wire.

G	Cut the spent zonker strip off neatly just proud of the eye of the hook to represent the tail.

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