The crane fly is a land based insect which features in the fly fisher’s armoury because it is an ungainly flier and regularly finds it’s way on to lakes and rivers by accident. They usually appear about August time and can be quite an abundant food source for the trout either on the surface or as they get caught up in the surface film and drown.
Their long legs make them very distinctive and all the imitative patterns are based on this feature. They can be tied with a detached body on short shank hooks or wool body tied on a long shank hook, there are even gold bead versions.
The most common and certainly an effective pattern is tied with hackle point wings and knotted cock pheasant tail fibres for the legs on a long shank size 10 hook. The most trying part of this fly is tying the knots in the pheasant tail fibres. Try to acquire the centre tail feathers from a mature cock bird. These fibres will be longer and stronger. I also tie two together at the same time, it saves time and the trout do not seem to notice.
A variant of the daddy long legs is the hopper. For this pattern don’t give it wings and tie a seals fur dubbed body with lurex ribbing.
- Hook -- Long shank size 10
- Tying thread -- Brown
- Body -- Brown wool or floss
- Rib ( optional ) -- Fine copper wire
- Wing -- 2 brown grizzle hackles over back
- Legs -- 2 pairs of knotted cock pheasant tail fibres each side of the body
- Hackle -- Brown cock hackle
For the Hopper
- Body -- Seals fur ( any colour )
- Rib -- Lurex silver or gold
- Hackle -- Colour to match
Happy Fishing from Dave C and the Team
{ 49 comments… read them below or add one }
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Hi Richard
Thanks for your comments. Horsehair would in fact be preferable to PTs. I have not been able to source any. The old guy, Wilf Proud who was my mentor 60 yrs ago used horsehair for his leaders……..they had to be white and from a stallion or gelding. He used to get brilliant tapers. Hair from the males is stronger because they dont pee on their tails as mares tend to do.
Hope this helps.
Happy Fishing
DaveC.and the Team
hi your videos have tought me loads i learn to use closed cell foam for a body
Hi Lewis
Thanks for your comments and it is good to know that we have been able to help.
Happy fishing
Dave C. and the Team
Hi David,
I ve not long taken up fly fishing and seem to have got the bug. I originally found your videos on You Tube but then found your site so watched them all. I now have a vice and some tools and materials and started to put it into practice. Just saying thanks for the easy to follow great videos. And yes do a DVD.
Hello David,
We have enjoyed your videos so much we put a link to your site on our links page http://www.flyfishingwestlothian.uinfix.co.uk/links.html
We are a hobby site in west lothian and your tutorials are the best we have found in our search.
Thank you and keep up the great work.
P.S if you ever have the time please visit our site.
Hi Fly Fishing West Lothian
Thank you for your compliments. They have been passed on to the Team. Jon is the technical and camera man who makes it all work. We are only too pleased to be on your link. Our aim is to try and take the ‘magic’ out of fly tying and encourage fly fisherman to have a go at tying their own flies.
I will visit your site tonight just as soon as I have responded to all the messages over the weekend. To date we have had over 242,000 hits since we started.
Happy Fishing
DaveC.and the Team
Hi Mike
Thanks for your comments. You will find that as you get into the flying it becomes as much of a hobby as the fishing. The more you do the easier it gets but I have been tying for 60yrs and I still find new or better ways for tying flies. Very little is new as far as flies are concerned but the new materials and tools can make a difference but I am a traditionalist at heart. We are putting takes in the can for the DVD.
Happy Fishing
DaveC.and the Team
Hello Dave,
This past week I have been fishing a plenty, mainly using your Daddy Long Legs, at Wykeham near Scarborough, and have had great fun with them. I found that once they got themselves wet, even after applying dry spray, they were rather eager to sink, they still caught fish mind. Anyway, I tried using a body of thin foam instead of wool and of course they floated, and most importantly, they still caught fish.Thank you so much for your invaluable tutorials.
Hi Gareth
Making Daddys that float is a universal problem and there are few totally foolproof patterns. This last week I have been asked to tie some with a cocktail stick on the body, I was assured it was ‘dead cert. floater’ but as with the Titanic it was only for so long. I tried the same idea with a small quill. It was an improvement but I was not too happy with it. Today I tried another pattern from the FF&FT magazine, it was very simple. A generous tail of brown cock hackles, body of polyproylene and a parachute hackle with long brown cock hackle. With a little floatant it stayed up with 2 smallnymphs under it. Got no offers but but the lake we were fishing is very dour at the moment
Happy Fishing
DaveC. and the Team
I was interested in passing on a comment about tying Daddy legs. I found using a point difficult and had too many slip ups. So I tried using the small end of a whipping tool – great success as the shape of the whipping tool allows you to hook the knot through without slipping.
Hope you don’t mind the reference to whipping tools as I still prefer them to hand finishing!
Best wishes
Steve B
Hi Steve B
Thanks for your comment re daddy legs. I have retrieved a bodkin from one my many drawers. Same idea as yours a nice little hooked end which makes it easier and less painful……without having to handle the dreaded W.T.
I still think straight legs would be just as acceptable to the fish. I will put it to the test this year.
Regards
DaveC.
hello david this is one of my favoriteflyes working very good here in sweden and its an eye stone for mee too but can i doo it whit rubber leggs too ?
Hi David,
I found your videos on youtube and you are the one that got me into fly tying. I tied some of the flies that you showed on this page and all worked great so far.
I used the Daddy Longlegs on a river in the Blackforest in Germany and it did wonderful. It was the most successful fly all over the place.
Thank you so much for the inspiration and the great patterns!
Helmuth
i saw you tye a fly you used a needle put on the dubbing wrapped and put varnish pulled it off the needle to dry i cant find that to watch again can you tell me the name so i can search for it thanks for yous videos they really help
Hi Bob
thanks for your e-mail. You have really got me confused! I have looked thro the vids. and can find nothing on dubbing that is as complicated as you describe.
Dubbing is a simple operation.
Wax your thread well.
Pinch enough fur you think necessary to do the body.
Now halve it, you will almost certainly havetaken too much.
Take the fur between your thumb and forefinger and offer it up to the hook.
Spin it gently on to the thread, IN ONLY ONE DIRECTION.
Repeat if you need more.
Wind the thread from the tail end to the eye of the hook, leaving room for the hackle.
Rib from back to front with wire or oval braid.
Wind on hackle and tie off.
It does make it easier if you moisten your fingers as you spin on the dubbing.
Hope this helps.
Happy Fishing
DaveC.and the Team
Hey David,
I recently received some fly tying tools and materials from my uncle, but I’m only a beginner so I watched your shows on You Tube and now I have learned to tie many different patterns with confidence. I thank you much and look foward to watching more of your shows!!!
Dave,
Just a question, What brand watch do you wear in the daddy longlegs video?
Hi Alex
You are supposed to be watching my fingers not my wrist! The watch was a Christmas present from Jon a couple of years ago. Good watch with big numbers for a geriatric. I have managed to break one strap but that is good for me.
Happy Fishing
DaveC. and the Team
Hi Alex,
I see my Dad ( Dave ) managed to forget to answer your question ! The brand is Casio.
I like to use horse hair (chestnut)for Daddies as they have proven to be more durable than P.T.,especially when tying quite small patterns.
At the last Newark Fly Fishing Show,I commented on this to a well-known author of fly tying books and asked if he had experienced similar success.He replied to the effect that he only used materials which he considered attractive to the fish
and had no time for trying alternative substitutes.
If his comments were meant to chasten me,then he nearly succeeded. However,when he suggested that I buy one of his books I suggested where he could put it.
The more I see of these old die-hards,the more I want to listen to some of the younger generation of fishermen
Golly
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