Mudbug

Tied by John Stoeckel

This fly is inspired by Shane Stalcup's Crazy Dad and John Gierach's Mudbug (from his book "Good Flies").   It is similar to both of these patterns, but I've blended and molded the two recipes to my own liking. 

I haven't fished this fly yet, but after seeing numerous crayfish on certain streams last fall, I got to thinking about adding a crayfish fly and this is what I decided on.  I intend to fish it next year for trout, bass and probably for those carp that I've been meaning to give a try.

Here's the recipe for the fly as I tied it:

Hook: #6 straight eye streamer hook
Thread: 3/0 brown
Weight: 1/30 oz lead eyes
Tail / antenna: 4 strands root beer Krystal Flash, approximately shank length
Body: amber Polar Chenile
Legs / claws: 2 strands rubber hackle, approximately shank length
Wing / back: brown bucktail