Crystal Killer

[cardiac]

I think Byron Gunderson of Fish Tech created this fly, I would like to know if anyone has tied it and what the materials are.
Albo

[Fred]

I haven't tied or fished it, but have it in a book called Effective Lake Flies.

Says, the color combinations should be brown with gold rib, black with silver rib, and olive body with black tail/hackle with gold rib.

Tail: tips of dyed brown pheasant rump feathers clump and rolled together

Body: Brown floss or yarn

Rib: gold mylar

Hackle: brown saddle tied in at the tip and palmered between the ribs.

Interesting looking pattern.

[Strike]

I have tied them and used them. I took a fly tying class at fish tech and they taught me there. It was a very effective pattern for me up at the berry. Haven't tried it too many other places. Here is what I use:


2x long size six hook.
Brown Crystal flash, or "Christmas" Crystal flash.
Marabou tail to match the body.
Brown or Black hackle feather to match the body.
Reverse wrap the hackle feather with 2 or 4 lb mono for Strenth. You can add a bead to the body if you want.

This pattern was a very good pattern for me up at the berry. I mostly fished this, leeches and Zonkers the entire year with success. Since I am new to the whole sport, I can cast very far. So I would get my cast as far out as I could then kick back letting my line out till I was about 10 feet from my backing, then stipped in the line using very irregular motions. Let your line sink a ways before you start stripping. I have type II sinking and I would wait about a minute and a half.

Mickey down at Fish Tech showed me this pattern. It does work well. It is basically the same pattern as your run of the mill wooly bugger substituting chenile for Crystal Flash. There are many variations of this fly. You can throw rubber legs in, flashabou in the tail, ect.

Enjoy!

[Jason]

How do you tie in the crystal flash for this fly? How is it used? Twisted into a rope? Flat on the hook shank?

[cardiac]

Thanks, guys. I know it's just a wooley bugger I wasn't sure what the tail was. I've used it at Manuta and had great success before I lost it. I did buy it at Fish Tech and forgot I had it until I was searching through my streamer box and decided to give it a try. This one was a red CK

[Larry S.]

In the book"Trout Flies of the West" Mr. Gunderson list the following recipe :

Hook: TMC 9395, #2-#10
Thread: Black 3/0
Tail: Pheasant tail fibers
Body: Red tinsel chenille
Hackle Furnace saddle

But I'm sure there are other combinations as shown above.

Incidently, is Willow Creek Outfitters still around? I used to stop in and visit with them a few years ago when I would come to SLC. They have many interesting patterns in the book. Ooops! Maybe another book review is in order.

[Strike]

Maybe I am calling the crystal flash a wrong name. The crystal flash chenile is similar to regular chenile, but is shiney and has major sparkle to it. It is just as thick. I have heard it called "Ice Chenile also" These are the steps I take when tying this fly:

Tie in the marabou tail. (Use a lot)
tie in the Crystal flash chenile at the bend
tie in hackle to match the color of chenile at the bend
Tie in the mono at the bend
So at this point you have the maribou tail tied in place hanging off the back of the hook; and the Crystal flash chenile, the hackle feather and the mono all tied at the bend of the hook.

Then I wrap the Crystal flash chenile to the eye, tie it off.
palimer the hackle forward to the eye, then tie it off
reverse palimer the mono in between the hackle-this is strickly for strenth.
whip finish and cement.

The process is identical to the woolly buggers I tie, except for the type of chenile used.

Let me know if you have further Questions. Byron and Mickey are also excellant resources for this fly.

[cheech]

It is tied with pheasant tail fibers. there is no marabou in this fly. The beauty of this fly is that the tail is impossible to get tangled in the bend of your hook. I use this fly all of the time for bass too. He also uses a reverse wrap of mono thread for durability.

[Crosby]

I have just read thru a few of the recipes. Doesn't anyone palmer the hackle back from the eye to the hook bend and then catch it with the mono or wire and wind that up to the hook eye?
Seems like the hackle works better that way- more at the front tapering back to less. Maybe the other way is the way it should be- just looks alot better to me the other way.