Crawdaddy

Well you asked for it so here it is. I will make more but when I fish them I am using 30lb. braid and a sturgeon rod! :eek: It only took me 57 minutes to tie it.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...Crawdaddy1.jpg

I don't know how many I will make but I am gonna experiment with other materials. The claws and tail for this one are pheasant cress feathers. Gonna try bug skin and leather and other stuff to see what looks best. But I think the pheasant cress looks like a young soft shell with the transparent look of the claws and legs.

I know it only has 6 legs but I couldn't fit in 8! I doubt the fish will care. And I know they aren't even but I haven't decided if I will knot them or not.

What does everyone think? Any ideas on materials for the claws and tail? I am gonna try hackle next. Thinking grizzly hackle would be best match. Cut the tips off for the claws and flatten the wider parts for the tail.

This Looks Great.if I Was A Smallie I'd Eat It.i Think A Tan Or Ginger Grizzly Hackle For The Claws Would Look Great On These.maybe Some Long Hackle Fibers For The Tail Would Work. 57 Minutes,i Couldn't Do Something Like This In A Day.

Yah it needs some tweaking to make a broader tail and get the claws more out where they belong. Gonna go work on the grizzly hackle one and see if I can make it better.

Looks cool like the idea

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...Crawdaddy2.jpg

Second edition. Not sure I like the tail but otherwise it is an improvement. At least the tail doesn't come to a point and then flare out again. The claws look better and have better spacing, to me they do anyway. Now if I could find hackle in the same coloration as the body it would be perfect, well as close as I can tie one anyway.

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Originally Posted by fish_4_all

Second edition. Not sure I like the tail but otherwise it is an improvement. At least the tail doesn't come to a point and then flare out again.

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Wow! They look good. Hope you don't mind a critic, I would always rather get honest thoughts myself. I would say you don't even need the tail section added, maybe that can cut some of your time. ;) When I try to imitate a craw with a tube or beaver-tail jig, I mostly hop it off the bottom and a live craw would have his tail flipped under and out of sight. Only other thing I can possibly think is to cut the legs shorter, but thats something I would do after I saw how they fish. Just wondering if it may make em' spin in the current.

Nice work, I will pm you once I figure out what size I may want, thinking total size of 2"-3" max size with claws. Is that possible? Probably only get a few, not sure what a 1 hour jig would cost!!!!:eek:

Price for an 1 hour jig, hmmm. Minimum wage went to $8.55/hr. materials and hook, second mortgage maybe. :D:rolleyes::eek:

Removing the tail will speed it up a little but not much, lol. I can make it so the crochet ends right at the eye of the hook and is wide there so that might do it good enough for a tail. I am always open to criticism. Second one took me just over an hour but I am sure I will get at least a little faster after I get used to it and have things a little more set before I start each one.

Both of them are the same size, just over 2 inches long from tail to tip of the claws. The legs on the second one are a little more in line with each other than the first one but it is really hard to get them to lay right under the crochet. Is what I have to work on next. Somehow tie the legs in so they are held tight right at the sides so when I crochet around them the legs stay in the right position.

That's really cool. What is the body material?

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Originally Posted by 8fishermen

That's really cool. What is the body material?

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Larva Lace, same with the legs. Expensive way to go but I haven't found a cheaper material that looks the same or works the same. A lot come close but nothing yet with the same workability.

Those look awesome Wish i had the paitence to try to do something like that.

fish 4 all
THANKS for showing this. Kinda like it, the body looks sweet, l like the colors on the first 1, better then the second. But think the tail and claws, look just a hair to big, but the big thing is the legs, they have to go, look out of place, to big for that size body.
Hate to be so ruff, but you asked.

Where did you learn this method, and you do have a link ? would like to try this. THANKS

Sorry, no link. I made this one after days of working on different techniques and styles to get a good looking pattern. I have never seen one done with the legs incorporated in the lace.

As for the legs, I just didn't cut them back. Do they need to go as in a new material or just cut them shorter? Too thick, too long? The nice thing is the tail, claws and legs can all be trimmed back. Size wise they are actually small compared to the craws we catch here. A 2 inch crawdad here can inflict some serious pain with those pinchers! Should see the size of the big ones, caught one this last summer that was 5 inches long with 3 inch claws! Almost more meat in each claw than the tail.

Think they look mighty good. Nice work.

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Originally Posted by Buckeye Mike

fish 4 all
THANKS for showing this. Kinda like it, the body looks sweet, l like the colors on the first 1, better then the second. But think the tail and claws, look just a hair to big, but the big thing is the legs, they have to go, look out of place, to big for that size body.
Hate to be so ruff, but you asked.

Where did you learn this method, and you do have a link ? would like to try this. THANKS

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here is my version mike...early edition

fish 4 all you do excellent work and your jigs and flies are awesome, but I have got to say anything I spend and hour on tying will make me cry if I lost it, LOL!

SKip

Gosh those are unbelievable! Very creative. I bet you slay em with those things. Very nice!

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Originally Posted by skiptomylu

fish 4 all you do excellent work and your jigs and flies are awesome, but I have got to say anything I spend and hour on tying will make me cry if I lost it, LOL!

SKip

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I don't tie a whole lot for that reason. Have used them for trout with fair success but only in places I don't lose them. But it had been a long time since I tied one and now I remember why. I tore apart 5 of them before finally finishing one. Now I remember what to do so I can focus on tweaking and improving instead of getting flustered trying to remember how.