Published May 12. 2013 - 10 years ago
Updated or edited Jan 15. 2017

Sexy Crab

A crab pattern tied with a solid structure using extremely resistant materials but at the same time keeping it naturally looking and full of movement

A gang - You can adapt the color scheme to the bottom and the naturally occurring crabs
A blueish crab - Here\'s an example of a Sexy Crab with a blueish hue
A close-up - The crab is supposed to ride with the hook point up to prevent snags
Sexy Crab
Pedro Pablo Yañez Duran

History

I made this fly many years ago. I was looking for a crab fly made with extremely resistant materials, but at the same time keeping a natural look, full of movement and with a solid structure. After a few prototypes and a testing process I found the one which I was looking for.

Fishing it

Now Sexy crab is one of my best selling flies. Great for bonefish, permit, striped bass or any other crab cracker around the globe.
Where to use this fly? Well at any location where crabs are present. It is a good way for successful fishing to match the color of the fly with the bottom of the local environment.
How to fish this fly? A good way it is making some long and slow retrieves followed be an accasional short and fast strip.

Tan - A tan version of the Sexy Crab
Tan crab gff
Pedro Pablo Yañez Duran
Sexy Crab
Pattern type: 
Warm saltwater fly
Originator: 
Pedro Pablo Yañez Duran
Species: 
Materials: 
Hook
Daiichi X472 or other similar long shank hook
Thread
Lagartun X-strong thread beige 150 denier
Weight
Brass eyes nickel black large (3/16)
Rostrum
Deadly Dazzle fibers, brown
Claws
Magnum Zonker strips, ginger, brown barred ginger
Eyes
3 millimeter red glass bead on 3 inch piece of 60 lbs fluorocarbon or monofilament covered with Clear Cure Goo Tack Free
Antennae
Centipede legs, tan, medium
Body
Enrico Puglisi Crustaceous Brush, three tones
Resin
Clear Cure Goo Tack Free and Clear Cure Goo Hydro
Skill level/difficulty: 
Medium
Instruction: 

Rear view - Seeing the fly from the rear shows you its resemblance to a crab
Wide fly - When it moves n the water the claws will move and make the fly appear very naturally looking
Clawed monster
Pedro Pablo Yañez Duran

Step 1

Tie in the dumbbell eyes near the front of the hook with figure-eight wraps. Cinch the wraps down to the hook shank by wrapping the thread parallel to the shank at the base of the eyes. This pulls the thread even tighter and helps keep the eyes from spinning. Apply a little CCG Hydro or super glue to secure them in place.

Step 1 - 1 - dumbbell eyes

Step 2

For the rostrum wrap the thread to the back of the hook shank, then take a bunch of Deadly Dazzle fibers and tie them in using the folding method to obtain more volume with less material
At first make just a few loose wraps and push the fibers using the forefinger and thumb together. Pinch the butt ends top to bottom and then side to side to equally distribute the fibers 360 degrees around the hook shank
This way you will spread the material uniformly around the hook shank
Then make tight wraps to secure them in place
Fold back the rest of the fibers and make a few tight wraps and then use Clear Cure Goo, Hydro or super glue to secure them. Then trim the fibers to obtain the desired profile.
I recommend to use a cardboard cutter blade to give a natural shape. Don't trim the fibers with a straight cut or the fly will look to unnatural.

Step 2 - 1 - rostrum

Step 2 - 2 - rostrum done

Step 3

Take two pieces of zonker strip to form the claws. Use the hook shank length as a reference for the claws, in this case it's almost 1 inch
Tie them at each side of the hook and make tight wraps to secure them.
To add the eyes tie them in the internal side of the hook shank. To obtain the right length, keep almost 5 millimeters from the hook gap to the eyes. Make tight wraps to secure them and then pull them forward to create a V shape appearance.

Step 3 - 1 - claws

Step 3 - 2 - top view

Step 3 - 3 - eyes

Step 3 - 4 - side view

Step 4

To create the antennas take two centipede legs. The length of the antennae it is almost the double of the hook shank. Tie them in just in the middle of the eyes. You can use a few figure eight wraps to secure them. Fold them back you will obtain two antenna per side. Make tight wraps to secure them.

Step 4 - antennae

Step 5

For the body take a piece of Enrico Puglisi Crustaceous Brush and place it just behind of the rostrum. Wrap it forward making tight wraps and always pull the fibers back on each wrap. This way you will avoid fibers that tangle. You can use a dubbing needle or your free hand. Go just behind of the dumbbell eyes with the thread make a few tight wraps to secure them in place and whip-finish
Apply Clear Cure Goo Tack Free to finish the fly.

Step 5 - body

Step 5 - 2 - ready to trim

Step 6

Brush the body using a dubbing needle or a comb to distribute all the fibers in a correct way. To create the crab's shape, start trimming the sides of the fly making a V shape and then trim the top and the bottom of the fly to reach the desired shape.

Step 6 - 3 - side view

Step 6 - 3 - trimmed

Sexy Crab - The finished fly
Done
Pedro Pablo Yañez Duran

Comments

Love this fly. Can y...

Love this fly. Can you explain the cardboard cutter for natural cuts? Is this one of those hand rotory tools? How do you use it to cut the fiber in a tapered manor?

Nice to see the SBS ...

Nice to see the SBS for the Great Flies you tie Peter....thnx.

Yowza! A couple deft...

Yowza! A couple deft moves at the bench and I believe we have a soft shell crawdad treat for my largemouth bass and brown trout! This idea is sooo stolen. (Sorry, no crab crunchers in Arizona)

Hi Kate thanks alot ...

Hi Kate thanks alot for your kind words and for admire my work.
All the best
Pedro

Pedro, I am a human...

Pedro,
I am a human crab cracker who finds your sexy crab a very alluring and innovative fly. Your sexy crab and your perminator, in reality, would not get along well. The mantis shrimp would quickly smash the crab and enjoy a good meal.
I can understand why fish are attracted to the sexy crab fly. You do impressive work with zonker strips.

.

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