The Half and Half: A Great Fly for Freshwater and Salt




The Half and Half in an always-popular red and white dressing.

The Half and Half is a combination of Lefty Kreh's famous Deceiver and Bob Clouser's Deep Minnow. It features the Deep Minnow's familiar deer-tail fiber belly and wing along with the Deceiver's saddle-hackle tails. This fly is deadly in a variety of sizes and color combinations, in both freshwater and salt.




This head-on view of a wet Half and Half reveals its bass-tempting baitfish profile.

Like other Clouser-style flies, the Half and Half makes use of weighted eyes, long deer-tail fibers and a generous amount of flash to create an irresistible baitfish imitation. The long body materials flow in the water and the heavy eyes ensure that the fly is always in motion. Unlike the Clouser Deep Minnow, the Half and Half also has a saddle-hackle tail for added bulk and action.
The Half and Half is commonly fished with long strips and pauses. This retrieval technique causes the fly to rise and fall in the water column. Like many weighted streamers, you will find that this motion often causes fish to strike the fly between strips.



This crayfish-colored Half and Half makes a fine deep-water presentation.

Another useful technique for fishing the Half and Half is to let it sink and hop it along the bottom like a crayfish. Again, the weighted eyes and long body materials add realistic action to this type of presentation. The additional bulk of the saddle-hackle tail helps create the illusion of a big, meaty crayfish darting about the streambed.



The Half and Half is a great fly for bass in lakes or rivers.

As mentioned, the Half and Half was developed by Bob Clouser and Lefty Kreh, both of whom are well-known saltwater anglers. This pattern is popular for large, aggressive saltwater species like striped bass, in addition to freshwater black bass. Be sure to use lead eyes and stainless-steel hooks if you are tying Half and Half streamers for salt.



Putting the Half and Half together.

The Half and Half is no more difficult to tie than an ordinary Clouser Deep Minnow. If you are uncertain about tying these flies, I strongly recommend the book Clouser's Flies by Bob Clouser. His masterful step-by-step instruction and great photography make this book a must-have for both novice and experienced tiers and anglers. For years I unknowingly tied Half and Half and Clouser Deep Minnow streamers incorrectly, never quite being able to match the flies I saw in books or magazines. Clouser's Flies shed a new light on the technique for tying these flies. Here is the recipe for the Half and Half:

Half and Half

Hook: Mustad 3366, size 2/0 through 6
Thread: Danville Flymaster 6/0, color to match the body
Eyes: Lead or brass dumbbell eyes with large, black painted pupils
Tails: Six saddle hackles, 3X the hook length
Collar: Bucktail, 2X the hook length
Belly: Bucktail, 3X the hook length, tied before and after the eyes
Flash: Flashabou or Krystal Flash
Wing: Bucktail as long as the collar, tied in at the hook-eye
Head: Tying thread coated with epoxy

Be sure to coat the head, eyes and thread wraps with epoxy for maximum durability.

Although the Half and Half is a lesser-known combination of its famous predecessors, it is a brutally effective streamer pattern. Feel free to post any pictures of your Half and Half flies as well as any stories of great fishing with this Clouser-and-Kreh creation. Tight lines till next time!

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The Tiny Tungsten Crayfish

The Tiny Tungsten Crayfish

I love to tie and fish big crayfish flies. Whether my flies are realistic or impressionistic, they always seem to get action on the stream or at the lake. There are times when a big crayfish fly is a bit too much, however. In small streams I often turn to the Tiny Tungsten Crayfish when larger patterns land too hard and spook the fish.




A little weight gets this tiny fly down where the fish are.

The Tiny Tungsten Crayfish has a hidden tungsten bead in the thorax. The bead not only adds weight, but its placement keeps the hook point riding up and adds realistic bulk to the thorax. I tie this pattern on a size 10 TMC 200R hook, which is slightly curved. This allows me to tie the claws with a bit of angle, giving the crayfish a little more action. 

The Tiny Tungsten Crayfish is a go-to fly for small-stream trout.

The Tiny Tungsten Crayfish is great for small-stream trout and panfish. Fish it as you would any crayfish pattern, either swinging downstream or hopping along the bottom. The tungsten bead is heavy enough to get this little fly down deep. You won't have to worry about a big splash spooking all of the trout, either.

Putting the Tiny Tungsten Crayfish together.

The Tiny Tungsten Crayfish can be a little difficult to tie at first. You must first put the bead on the hook, slide it down to the eye and secure it with a piece of tape before you can start tying the claws. Once you get the hang of it they go pretty quickly. I hope you get a chance to fish this one. Whether you tie your own or purchase a few, you won't be disappointed.

If you have any similar tiny crayfish flies that you would like to share, feel free to post or link to them in the comments. If you would like to purchase the Tiny Tungsten Crayfish just follow the link below.

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The Monster Marabou Fur Strip Clouser

The Monster Marabou Fur Strip Clouser

Fly fishing for bass is certainly not trout fishing. It took me a while to come to this conclusion and to start consistently catching bass with a fly rod. It seems that the problem was rooted in my preconceived notion that fly fishing should be a delicate sport, with tiny flies and noodle rods. In reality, bass angling is a full-contact sport that requires casting big flies and presenting them on a tight line. Small flies may be called for when spring-creek trout are rising to tricos, but if it is bass you are after then you need to embrace big flies.




Consider the lures that spin anglers use to catch bass before you dismiss large streamers as a novelty.

The Monster Marabou Fur Strip Clouser is a slight variation on Bob Clouser's Fur Strip fly. I use marabou for the top instead of deer tail fibers to add motion. Let me be upfront and state that I do not claim to have created a new fly; I just tie Clouser's fly a little differently. There are several advantages to using flies like this. Let's take the eyes for example. The placement of lead eyes on top of a hook cause the hook to ride point-up in the water, reducing snags. The eyes also increase the fly's action by causing it to sink. This is important not only for getting your fly down in the water column, but it also creates motion even when you are not stripping the fly. In addition, it has long been theorized that predatory fish attack the eyes of a baitfish. Whether this is true or not, it certainly does not hurt to have nice big eyes on your streamers.

Large Clouser-style streamers are tied in layers. Although the fly compacts in the water, the layers of materials are tied in such a way that they remain somewhat separate when the fly is wet. This allows tiers to create all manner of alluring illusions including white bellies, lateral lines and green backs. The genius of Clouser's flies is not in the specific materials and colors, but in the unique tying style that lends itself to so many applications.




Whether you fish lakes, streams or rivers, always remember that bass love to eat streamers.

Fishing for bass with the Monster Marabou Fur Strip Clouser is simply a matter of locating water that is likely to hold fish, casting in tight and stripping. This "target-shooting" method of fishing allows you to cover a lot of water, which is the number-one way to catch bass. Fishing streamers for bass is an active sport, so get you arm warmed up and be ready to make a lot of casts.



Putting the Monster Marabou Fur Strip Clouser together.

Monster Marabou Fur Strip Clouser

Hook: Mustad R74-9672 or equivalent
Thread: Gray Danville Flymaster 6/0
Eyes: Yellow painted lead dumbbell or substitute
Underbody 1: Gray magnum rabbit strip
Underbody 2: Gray marabou
Belly: White bucktail
Underwing: Silver Flashabou
Wing: Gray marabou
Head: Epoxy over tying thread and eyes

Tying the Monster Marabou Fur Strip Clouser is not difficult if you are familiar with Clouser-style flies. If not, I definitely recommend looking into the fabulous book, Clouser's Flies, by Bob Clouser. The excellent photography, detailed tying steps and general angling knowledge contained in this book make it a superb investment for your fishing library.

If you have any experience with Clouser-style flies or tie your own variations, feel free to post comments or links about them.

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The Skittish Crayfish

The Skittish Crayfish

The Skittish Crayfish is one of my crayfish imitations that was designed for action, rather than realism. This fly is made for fishing on the bottom. It has heavy lead eyes and a body of spiral-wrapped rabbit fur, which absorbs water, adds weight and increases the fly's action. Like many crayfish flies, the lead eyes are tied on the "top" of the hook, so that the point rides up when fished. It is also tied backwards on the hook, so that the tail of the crayfish is at the eye of the hook. This combination of weight placement and backwards orientation produces an action that mimics the motions of a fleeing crayfish.



Crayfish are an important food source for bass and trout. Flies that imitate their form and motion are a sure way to catch more fish.

The Skittish Crayfish is an effective pattern in rivers, streams and still waters. Cast the fly onto structure like submerged ridges, drop-offs or rip-rap banks. Let it sink and hop it back along the bottom to draw strikes. The same technique is great for streams and rivers. Heavily weighted flies like this are useful when you are forced to cast upstream. They get down quickly and stick to the bottom better than lighter streamers.

If you are a smallmouth angler, you have probably read Tim Holschlag's wonderful book, Smallmouth Fly Fishing. If you have not, I highly recommend it. Tim discusses a technique that he calls the "crayfish hop" and it is a deadly method for fishing wieghted flies like this.



Putting the Skittish Crayfish together.

The Skittish Crayfish is a simple fly to tie. You can easily load up your fly box with week's worth of Skittish Crayfish in an evening or two. This fly was featured in the Summer 2011 issue of Fly Tyer magazine and detailed instructions and photographs can be found there. If you have any stories or photos featuring the Skittish Crayfish, feel free to share them with me. You probably have all of the materials necessary to turn out some Skittish Crayfish in your desk right now, so let's get going!

Skittish Crayfish

Hook: Tiemco TMC 5263, size 6
Thread: Red Danville Flymaster 6/0
Weight: Red painted lead dumbbell eyes
Claws: Two clumps of fox squirrel tail
Head: Rusty wool dubbing
Ribbing: Fine copper wire
Shellback: Moose body hair
Body/Legs: Rusty rabbit zonker strip, spiral wrapped
Tail: Clipped ends of moose body hair

The Electric Skittish Crayfish features a shellback of hot-orange bucktail and yellow painted lead eyes. Tie a few like this for high or off-color water.

The Skittish Crayfish is a super fly for largemouth, smallmouth and trout. When you need to fish the bottom, you can't beat a fly like this. Tie a few for your next fishing trip. If you would like to purchase some of these flies, just follow the links below. Have fun tying and fishing this great fly!

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