BirdTrout Open the map

Clouser Crayfish

A streamer, tied #4–8, a summer pattern. It is tied against 1 named insect in this book — May–October. Bob Clouser, Susquehanna River.

A bottom fly with claws: two rabbit or hen strips splayed at the rear, an olive-brown dubbing or chenille body with a rib, a shellback of turkey quill or Furry Foam, and dumbbell eyes tied to invert the hook so the fly rides point up through rock. It sits on a 3X long streamer hook in sizes 4–8, tied with brown 6/0 thread. Bob Clouser originated it on the Susquehanna River. It is bounced along the bottom in short strips with long pauses, moved backwards rather than forwards, because that is how a crayfish moves when it is frightened — a crayfish never swims across a river, and the retrieve is the part of the pattern that matters most. Carried through summer, it is tied against Crayfish, Orconectes spp., May–October at water temperatures of 55–78°F, and takes both trout and smallmouth bass in that same water.

What it looks like

A drawing, not a photograph, and not traced from one. Its proportions were read off 5 independent reference photographs of the pattern and written down as 5 measured characteristics — wing angle, tail length against the shank, how far a hackle fibre reaches — every one of which had to hold across more than one of them before it could be drawn. What survives across many photographs of a fly is the fly.

A crayfish backing away, which is how a crayfish escapes and therefore how the fly is fished. The two rabbit claws lead and the dumbbell eyes turn the hook over so the point rides clear of the rocks. Drawn at #6 — 27.4 mm of shank and 8.2 mm of gape on a Tiemco 100.
#4#6#810 mm
The bare hook at every size this pattern is tied in, all to the same scale. There is no industry standard behind a hook number, so these are Tiemco 100 measurements and another maker's 4 will differ a little.

What it imitates

Each of these is the same hatch record the app's own panel reads, so a pattern recommended on a river card in the app is recommended for one of the insects below.

Tying recipe

In tying order. This dressing is the standard one — these patterns have been in the publicrecord for decades; Bob Clouser, Susquehanna River. — and materials substitute freely: the proportions and the silhouette are the pattern, not the brand of dubbing.

Hook3X long streamer hook, sizes 4–8
ThreadBrown 6/0
ClawsTwo rabbit or hen strips, splayed
BodyOlive-brown dubbing or chenille, ribbed
ShellbackTurkey quill or Furry Foam
EyesDumbbell, tied to invert the hook

When to fish it

Bounced on the bottom in short strips with long pauses. Backwards, not forwards — that is how a crayfish moves when it is frightened.

A summer pattern. The insects it matches are active may–october, in water from 55°F to 78°F.

Target species

Rivers it fishes well

Rivers with a page here that sit in the regions where the insects this pattern imitates are recorded. It is a claim about coverage, not a report of a fish caught.

Related patterns

Same type of fly, or tied for the same insects.

Open the trout map →Every trout stream near you, coloured by today's water temperature.