DF's Streamlined Cranefly Larave

This is a fly that was born out of a problem, like many of the good flies out there. You see on the limestone spring creeks we have here in PA there is a common abundance of crane fly larvae.

 Now is most situations the venerable Walt's Worm would get the job done with flying colors. However one of the "Waltz" strongest attributes is its' buggy hares mask body which seems to drive fish crazy. Even though crane fly larvae are not buggy in the slightest trout still seem to find waltz a good match for them and many other aquatic insects. But, the buggy body has a catch, it slows the sink rate of the fly. You see, all the guard hares and fibers create drag when the fly hits the water causing the fly to sink to the bottom, not shoot to it like a bullet.

In many situations this is fine, and even a plus at times; But sometimes when you are fishing fast pockets and riffles a fly that slices the water column quickly, but uses less weight, is key as you can achieve a more natural profile and drift. To combat this I would simply weight the waltz more causing it to sink quicker. This worked, but caused the fly to have a unnatural profile and also made the fly larger that the fish really wanted.This fly was created for that very reason. Although the Waltz is still my go-to anchor in many situations, this guy can be the key to a better drift and more hookups. The fly sinks quickly and is a good match for many of the crane fly larvae in our streams. It is quick and easy to tie and also is near bombproof. With all that said, here is the fly.




Hook - TMC 200r BL or any longer shanked hook 14-8
Bead - 2.5 Millimeter unfinished tungsten bead (Adjust bead size to fit hook)
Weight - .15 Lead or Lead free wire
Thread - UTC 70 in Olive Brown
Feelers - Natural Brown CDC
Body - Bronze or Honey Flexi Floss, Life flew will also work
Collar - Brown Olive SLF Squirrel Dubbing or anything to cover thread collar

Place the bead on the hook and secure it in the vise.

Take 8-14 wraps of .015 wire and slide them up to the bead

Start your thread and secure the wire with a few wraps, end near the bend of the hook.

Select a natural CDC feather and tie it in to form a short tuft of fibers at the hook bend. This step is optional and probably doesn't increase the effectiveness of the fly, but is something I like to add.

Snip a section of Flexi Floss from the pack, you need less than you think you do.

Tie in the Flexi Floss behind where the wire ends and wrap back to the CDC, pull of the floss in the process to maintain a smooth underbody.

Spin the bobbin counter clockwise to flatten the thread, UTC is the best thread for this. Once the thread turns into a floss make a smooth lightly tapered underbody to wrap the floss over. 

Wrap The Flexi Floss forward stretching it has you wrap, secure it behind the bead.

Find some dubbing for the collar, this is simply to prevent a nasty looking thread collar.

Dub a short noodle on your thread.

Wrap the dubbing to make a small collar.

Whip Finish the fly and snip the thread off.

And there you have a completed DF's Streamlined Cranefly. I used the bronze floss in favor of imitating a olive colored crane fly. Below is a size 14 tied with the honey colored floss. Both are effective.