Martin's Mundane Crane Fly
Published Oct 13th 2012
The crane fly or daddy longlegs is a simple insect with some very distinct characteristics, in particular the very long legs, which are a key ingredient in any crane fly pattern. This pattern uses two materials and is dead simple to tie.
It's been a while since the latest installment in the Mundane Fly Project, and writing about the golden pheasant inspired me to develop another. Develop might be using a large word, because crane flies or daddy longlegs as they are also known have been "developed" again and again, and the number of crane fly patterns is really large.
The natural
The crane fly is a simple insect with some very distinct characteristics, in particular the very long legs, which are a key ingredient in any crane fly pattern. The body is simple, cylindrical and with no special markings, and the wings are also simple in shape, and there are only two since the crane fly is of the order diptera - the two-wings - like houseflies and mosquitoes.
Legs, body and wings - three materials, just as prescribed in the mundane dogma.
I have even gone so far as to cut the materials list down to two items apart from the hook and the tying thread. I use poly yarn for the body and wings and golden pheasant tail fibers for the legs.
I have even gone so far as to cut the materials list down to two items
Fishing the fly
Crane flies can be fished in lakes as well as on streams. The most common use is probably fishing the fly on lakes on windy summer days where the clumsy insects tend to be blown onto the surface where they get caught in the surface and struggle, attracting feeding fish.
On streams it's more common to use hoppers or beetles even ants for this purpose, but the crane fly will most likely do just as well where it's present in the landscape.
Fish the fly on a floating line dead drifted both in running water and on stillwaters, which will imitate a dead crane fly nicely. It might sometimes work to induce a bit of life into the fly by twitching the rod tip or tapping the base of the rod a bit with the line stretched. This makes the fly vibrate, emitting the kind of movement in the water that could come from a struggling, juicy, helpless daddy longlegs just waiting for a large fish to emerge and eat him!
Poly yarn tends to float better than Antron, so for a high floater, opt for Poly. A bit of mucelin or other floatant can get both to float like corks, so material choice isn't necessarily critical.
It might seem a little late in the year to introduce a terrestrial insect (some species are aquatic), but right now the last crane flies are taking their last flights on warm days, and thanks the the often harsh autumn winds, they tend to end their flight blown to the ground or onto the surface of a lake or stream.
Brown crane fly
| Type | Terrestrial |
| Originator | Martin Joergensen |
| Year of origin | 2012 |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Materials
| Hook | Kamasan B170 size 8-12 |
| Tying thread | Black 6/0 |
| Legs | Knotted pheasant fibers |
| Body/wings | Antron or Poly yarn, light gray, cream or tan |
Tying instructions
The steps to tying a crane fly are few and simple, which also corresponds well with the mundane principle.
- Prepare 6-8 pheasant tail fibers by tying a knot or two on each. Using a thin crocheting needle makes this process much easier.
- Start the thread in the front part of the hook shank
- Tie in the legs. They need to be about 2½ centimeters or 1 inch in length depending on the fly size. You can be meticulous and arrange them as on a live natural, or you can simply tie in three on each side, pointing outwards to the rear as on a dead insect.
- Cut a piece of Antron or Poly yarn about 10 centimeters or 4 inches in length. If the yarn is thin you may want to double it and use two strands, if it's thick you can split it.
- Twist the yarn by rolling one end repeatedly in the same direction between the fingers while holding tight on to the other end.
- Double the twisted yarn without losing the grip. I sometimes use the hook eye to catch it. Let in unroll to form a rope.
- Fasten the body material on top of the shank, having the twisted part to the rear and the body length about 1½ times shank length. Just use a few tight wraps.
- Unravel and split the forward pointing yarn in two equal parts to form the wings.
- Wrap in front of and over the wings to separate them.
- Take a few wraps in front of the wings, whip finish, cut thread and varnish.
- Trim the wings to a proper length.
- If you want to be fancy, use a black or brown marker to color the body darker than the wings.
Furled flies
Using furled yarn is a very easy way of making a segmented or extended body for insects or other invertebrates as well as small fish. Ken Hanley's book Tying Furled Flies has lots of great examples.
More MundaneUsing furled yarn is a very easy way of making a segmented or extended body for insects or other invertebrates as well as small fish. Ken Hanley's book Tying Furled Flies has lots of great examples.
These are the articles in the Mundane series:
- Martin's Mundane Crazy Dane. Published October 18th 2012
- Martin's Mundane Crane Fly. Published October 13th 2012
- Martin's Mundane Shrimp. Published April 7th 2012
- Martin's Mundane Sand Eel. Published February 9th 2012
- Martin's Mundane Fly Project. Published February 9th 2012
- Martin's Mundane Zonker Worm. Published January 19th 2012
- Martin's Mundane Sculpin not scheduled for publishing yet.
Your flies?
Do you have new patterns that follow similar rules or ides for flies that fit the Mundane principle?
Let us know. Contact Martin through mail and your fly can become a part of the Mundane Fly Project. You can read more about submitting patterns in this article.
Do you have new patterns that follow similar rules or ides for flies that fit the Mundane principle?
Let us know. Contact Martin through mail and your fly can become a part of the Mundane Fly Project. You can read more about submitting patterns in this article.
