The Northern California Fly Fishing Board

Will be fishing the truckee next week and I've been reading reports stating that a crayfish pattern is a good bet this time of year for some larger fish. I've never used that pattern and I'm not sure what to do with it. I assume you don't try to imitate it actually swimming. My best guess is to use an indicator and have the crawdad on a dead drift. Any advice?

Sammy - fish it deep and fish it dead - with a short twitch or strip occassionally. The most important thing is to get it on the bottom - which can be difficult in the deep holes where the "larger fish" hang out...

Have fun - great time of year to be out there...

CB

Same as CB...

Fish it on the bottom, late in the day (in the evening), in the deep holes, lower in the river you'll be on...the depth at which the imitation may be on the bottom may preclude the use of an indicator and I've had success "anchoring" the fly to bottom with weight so that it doesn't travel much while fishing it against on under the banks.

Cast, hold on, & have fun.

Paul

Good point Paul - don't forget to "Hang on!"

CB

Find a riffle that drops quickly into deep water. Put your fly in the riffle then stack some mends immediately above it. You want the fly tumbling along the bottom then dropping into the hole. The grabs are almost always in that transitional zone when the fly is dropping from relatively shallow, turbulent water into the deeper calm. For such a big pattern (and frequently big fish) the grabs can be very subtle. Sharp, sharp, sharp hooks and tighten up on anything out of the ordinary. You'll have slack in the system so try to look INTO the water for a flash of a turning fish, boil of silt, or white mouth. G'luck!