Gavin Poppen's "X-Body Cricket"

Hook Dai-Riki 135 or TMC 2499 sizes 8-12
Thread Black
Body 2 pieces of Black Sparkle Yarn, twisted together in one direction until the yarn pieces fold in the middle and form a tightly twisted body
Wing Black Deer Hair
Legs Round Black Rubber, knotted and trimmed
Flash 4-5 strands of peacock colored Krystal Flash

Preparation:

  1. Wind a batch of cricket bodies.
  2. Knot and trim up a batch of legs.
  3. Lay out all your materials, tools, etc. and count out your hooks.

Tying Directions:

  1. Attach the thread and tie in the body around mid-shank, secure and clip excess yarn.
  2. Cut a bunch of deer hair (slightly thinner than a pencil) off the hide. Clean and stack your deer hair, measure it against the fly, then tie it in with the tips pointing forward. Make sure you secure it all the way up to the hook eye.
  3. Move the thread back to mid-shank and attach the legs.
  4. Fold in the Krystal Flash at mid-shank.
  5. Fold the deer hair wing back and tie it in at mid-shank, tie it down and tie off the thread. I use a small plastic tube to help push the wing back and hold it in place until I tie it in.
  6. Clip the deer hair on the underside of the fly and trim the Krystal Flash and rubber legs to length.

Fishing Tips:

This is one of my favorite flies for late summer and fall fishing. I usually fish it close to the stream bank, near undercuts, overhanging branches, wood structure, etc. I've had good success using an upstream cast and dead drift, or a downstream dead drift with an occasional twitch. In the streams I fish, you often can see the wake, dorsal fin, or snout of a fish moving to take this fly, so the hardest part is often delaying your strike long enough to allow the fish to inhale this tasty looking morsel!

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