Crane Flies

Too often ignored by American anglers, but not by fish, these patterns are deadly for large trout.

by Robert H. Boyle

Matching the Hatch | Lake Trout

Patterns

There are many ways to approach fly design for imitating crane flies. With the traditional spider, form indeed follows function, because the long, stiff hackles allow the fly to ride high and skate across the water’s surface. In this age of genetic hackle raised for the teensie-weensie dry-fly market, it is difficult to find the stiff, long hackle required for a spider, a skater, or a variant, but it is available if you’re willing to look.

Other crane-fly patterns are not designed to be skittered across the surface, but rather to sit flush in the surface film like a spent natural and are tied with materials that move in the currents and are lively when twitched. [See Andre Brun’s pattern in this month’s Fly Tier’s Bench. The Editor.]

The distinguishing characteristics of crane-fly adults are the long, thin abdomen; the large, transparent wings; and the wispy legs.

I have tried adult patterns down to a #14, but ordinarily I tie crane flies that imitate the big species, such as T. abdominalis, because I want fish that want a mouthful. Basically, my adult crane-fly imitations are of two kinds. One kind has a hollow-quill stub body,

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