Smethurst's Crane Bomb - MFC Fly
Details
From the vise of Frank Smethurst, this amazing Crane Fly Larva imitations is ideal for picking fish out of deep pockets and trenches in western stillwater fisheries.
"The inspiration for the Crane Bomb came from some of my favorite lower elevation tailwaters where Craneflies were big medicine. New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are all really big centers of Cranefly populations, and where anglers commonly fish Cranes. I first tied the fly in San Luis, Colorado, while holed up in a hotel and waiting out a snowstorm. I had forgotten my vice, and just whipped the first one by holding the hook by hand and winding various colors of Ostrich onto the shank.
The fly worked well immediately, and has become my go-to fly for areas where the cranefly is a big part of the menu. I also like that the smaller sizes of the Crane Bomb serve as a strong Caddis imitation and they all excel at being a heavy nymph that you can count on to reach bottom. I find that this fly is just the trick for rivers that don't have a large stonefly population, but you need a bigger and still relevant point fly to get down."
- Frank Smethurst
"The inspiration for the Crane Bomb came from some of my favorite lower elevation tailwaters where Craneflies were big medicine. New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are all really big centers of Cranefly populations, and where anglers commonly fish Cranes. I first tied the fly in San Luis, Colorado, while holed up in a hotel and waiting out a snowstorm. I had forgotten my vice, and just whipped the first one by holding the hook by hand and winding various colors of Ostrich onto the shank.
The fly worked well immediately, and has become my go-to fly for areas where the cranefly is a big part of the menu. I also like that the smaller sizes of the Crane Bomb serve as a strong Caddis imitation and they all excel at being a heavy nymph that you can count on to reach bottom. I find that this fly is just the trick for rivers that don't have a large stonefly population, but you need a bigger and still relevant point fly to get down."
- Frank Smethurst