Remarks by Catch Cormier:
Having grown up on the outskirts of Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin, I knew everything that lived in the swamp ate crawfish - especially us Cajuns! So one of the first flies I set out to create was some sort of mudbug imitation.
Gary Borger believes the most effective submergent flies have subtle movements in water. I wholeheartedly agree! So I used a combination of natural materials to achieve this. Consisting of feathers, marabou, rabbit fur, this fly has very good movement even if it isn't as realistic as some modern day patterns.
One thing I learned from my dad, and later affirmed as a successful tournament bass angler, is that bass much prefer small crawfish. I’ve seen them munch on small mudbugs the way some kids eat chicken nuggets! That's the reason this fly measures only 2-1/2 inches in length. Don't let the small size fool you... in 1995, it took a seven pound bass out of our neighborhood pond. The biggest largemouth I'd caught on any tackle up to that time!
It's best fished on a sinking tip line with a short leader. Originally I had to bend the front of the hook 60 degrees. When 90 degree jig hooks were available, I tied on those. Fortunately today we have a few options of 60 degree jig hooks available for tiers.
Materials:
- Hook: Daiichi 4660 jig hook, or 60 degree jig, size 2
- Eyes: Brass, large, black
- Carapace: Rabbit Zonker, Orange or Light Olive
- Claws: Indian hen hackle orange or olive
- Body: Medium chenille, brown or olive
- Legs: Strung marabou, Rusty Brown or Dark Olive
- Tailing: Rabbit zonker, Crawfish Orange (dark orange)
Best color combos: orange or olive
Instructions:
- tie thread from eye to just above hook point
- tie in eyes in front where the hook bends (60 or 90 degree)
- pull hen feather from each side of cape and tie on top of hook
- tie in the carapace. It should extend no further than halfway to end of feathers
- tie in chenille and make 2-3 wraps. Tie off the chenille.
- tie in a clump of marabou tips loosely, then allow to spin 180 degrees, then cinch tie the marabou.
- tie in another small piece of chenille and wrap to just behind the eyes and lock down.
- make a dubbing loop using the dark orange or dark olive rabbit, and wrap just behind the eyes.
- bring the thread to the just behind the hook eye and whip finish.