tying

Adult Cranefly Patterns

By Jeff Morgan

Cranefly adults are abundant, loved by trout, and few anglers imitate them. Find out how to tie two super patterns.

f you live in western Oregon, Washington, or northern California, you've encountered adult craneflies. These big, clumsy bugs fly around and freak-out kids and everyone else who abhors large insects.

These critters are just as common, if not more so, on the smaller rivers and creeks in your area. And while most anglers are ignorant of the fact, trout love 'em. Pacific coast anglers live in the greatest cranefly habitat in the world, yet this insect is hardly known by even expert fly fishers.

Sometimes a fly tying book will have a pattern for cranefly larvae, but patterns for cranefly adults are conspicuously absent. If there is one, it's usually just a large midge pattern, rarely exceeding size 12 and lacking any resemblance to the natural insect. What about an over-sized, gangly pattern to imitate the big buggers that buzz around the riparian logs and shrubs? Nowhere to be found.

There's no good reason for this oversight. Western anglers have hundreds of grasshopper patterns, though these insects are only slightly more important to trout than craneflies.

From the UK to You

I was turned on to these patterns by the writings of Bob Church and Charles Jardine, two Englishmen who seem far less hung up with "proper" trout foods than most American anglers.

A good adult cranefly pattern is the epitome of dry fly perfection for a small stream angler. It's large, so it's easy to see. Further, it's impossible for a small fish to get in its mouth. And it's an excellent floater because of its low density and buoyant materials. Finally, the adult cranefly is an insect that is rarely imitated by other anglers, which makes a fish much more confident when it rises--it hasn't seen (and maybe been hooked by) this pattern before.

Once you start fishing adult craneflies, your Royal Wulffs and Humpies will rust away in an unused portion of your flybox. Royal what? See, I already forgot.

Two Patterns for Adults

I use ten different patterns for craneflies, but two styles are my favorites: the Deer Hair Daddy and the Who's Your Daddy. The Deer Hair Daddy is my basic adult cranefly pattern, tied with an extended deer hair body. It can be tied in any shade of brown or gray, and looks very much like a natural cranefly. Twisted Anton yarn or a simple stick of foam can easily substitute for the deer hair body.

This fly should be drifted near overhanging trees and brush, which is where the natural insects reside. It can also be effective when greased and skittered erratically on the surface. I relish using this fly where "dapping" is the only feasible presentation style. Dapping is perfect because real craneflies often dance just over the water.

The Who's Your Daddy imitates those unfortunate naturals that become enmeshed in the surface film and drown. The cranefly's gangly body is doomed once part of it is trapped in the film. In rough, broken water, a crane fly is almost instantly submerged and drifts underwater until consumed by a trout.

The Who's Your Daddy is usually dead-drifted under an indicator, though it can be easily sight-fished because of its large size. I only tie four legs and use Raffia for the wings, which is very realistic when wet.

The main benefit of the Who's Your Daddy is its large size, which keeps small fish off the hook, thus making it more desirable than a simple Hares Ear.

Tying Directions

Constructing these flies individually restricts your output to three to five flies per hour--not exactly an Olympic pace. So use the management principle of "division of labor" and tie them in steps, as shown below. These are good things to do while watching a football game or a sitcom.

1. Do the legs, the most distinguishable feature of these insects. These are simply made by knotting pheasant tail fibers. Repeatedly. I usually do 200-300 legs per sitting. When you consider that six legs can go into each fly, 300 legs is only good for a shade over four dozen flies!
2. Cut the wing material into strips.
3. Cut out foam or chenille bodies, and prepare the hackles.

For tying instructions, click the links below.

Deer Hair Daddy

Who's Your Daddy

Jeff Morgan has written many articles for Westfly, mostly on entomology and fly tying. He is the author of An Angler's Guide to the Oregon Cascades and Small Stream Fly Fishing. Jeff is currently a graduate student at Stanford University, where he is finishing his PhD in History.

Uploaded 02/13/2001.

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Deer Hair Daddy.

Who's Your Daddy.