Crayfish

Crayfish are a natural food the smallmouth feed on

In our fly fishing schools and guide trips a crayfish pattern is always recommended. My guides are seeing more crayfish scooting along the river bottom in the 2-feet deep water along our river banks.

Wade down the river fifty feet out from the bank and cast a Murray’s Crayfish straight in toward the bank so it lands a foot from the bank. I use a line hand stripping action which makes the crayfish lunge 4-inches every six seconds which mimics the natural running action of the real crayfish. I strip it out 20 feet in this manner then pick it up and cast it 6 feet further downstream.

Wading downstream to pause every 6 feet and repeating this crayfish action as far as the cobblestone stream bottom continues helps me catch many large smallmouths.

Recommended Crayfish Pattern

Learn To Fly Fish

We conduct “On The Stream” Full Day Fly Fishing Schools and Half Day Fly Fishing Lessons. Rod & Reel outfits are provided for the day.