How To Tie a Crackleback Fly

No fly fisherman's tackle box is complete without a few cracklebacks. Cracklebacks are solid, dry fly options for trout and are a "go-to" fly when you aren't sure what else to try. Like most flys, a crackleback is modifiable with colors or hook size. Follow the basic guidelines for a crackleback fly and modify as your seasons and hatches change or if you head out for a new and unfamiliar river.

Things You'll Need

  • Fly vise
  • Forceps
  • Clippers
  • Size 12-16 hook (your choice)
  • UTC 70 thread
  • Peacock hurl
  • Metz brown/furnace - same size as hook
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Instructions

    • 1

      Slide the hook into the vise with the curve pointed down from the jaws of the vise. Grip the thread in the forceps and wrap the length of the shank with coils of the thread, forming the fly body.

    • 2

      Lay the peacock all the way to the bend on the hook. Wrap thread over the peacock near the tip of the shank, making a collar for the peacock hurl, securing it to the fly.

    • 3

      Add the hackle on the shank and thread-wrap it over the shank. Keep the hurl and hackle facing out from the curve.

    • 4

      Add the metz to the shank. Wrap thread around it going up the shank like a candy-cane coil.

    • 5

      Pull strands of the metz up and out from the crackleback so it looks like a 360 degree set of spines. Take the fly out and add it to your line or tackle box.