"Robert11" wrote ...
Hello,

Have a few months to go yet, but fun looking forward to it.
Live in Eastern Mass. Like to fish the Quabbin Reservoir and Deerfied.

Read that Crawfish are good for Smallmouth Bass. True ?
What other species like them ?

If so, how are they fished ?
On the botton ?
Do they come weighted if this is the way to fish them ?
What sizes ? Styles ?

Any hints or thoughts would be most appreciated.

BTW: haven't been flyfishing for quite a while.
What's a "good" low cost source for mail order flies these days ?


I've had great luck with this pattern:

http://dupageriversflytyers.org/DRIF...?In_fly_nbr=57

It's a fairly simple crayfish imitator. Pretty sure it was developed for use
in various Illernoise rivers, so I can't speak to its efficacy out east. I
have used it in northern Minnie-soda with pretty good results -- I've pulled
in many a smallie, a bunch of pike, and quite a few largemouths, too.

I fish it on a sink-tip line. Cast it at shorelines and weedlines, let it
sink a bit, then I do a jerk-and-stop retrieve.

I don't know if it's available commercially, but it's a fairly simple tie.
Alter the color of the bunny fur to match the local crayfish.

If you want to target smallies, look into the Sneaky Pete, too. A great fly,
and almost certainly available commercially. Hard to go wrong with a good
old Dahlberg diver, too.

-Dan