Joe's Mini Craw // ESN Quick Tip 

Hi, when I had a deer farm at Hamurana in Rotorua NZ, I did a lot of night fishing at the mouth of the stream that flows into the lake and fished for big rainbow (8 - 10 lb) and occasionally brown trout ( 12 - 18 lb) using home made Koura (NZ fresh water crayfish) pattern flies on size #2 hooks. Most of the fish I caught were in the smaller 3 - 6 pound range with the occasional large fish that took me into my backing. The darker the night the better the fishing. Over the years I simplified the pattern to a lumo body and heaps of black marabou. This pattern of fly worked well in all the big lakes in Rotorua but I could not get any large jig hooks to improve the pattern or work out to my satisfaction on how the trout attacked the fly. The problem I think is that the trout attacks the cray fish from the tail as the fishes guts show that that is the way they are lined up. There was only one fly better and that was the mouse fly. This was fished by turning ones back to the lake and fishing the shore under the bushes. Problem was how to retrieve a big fish that had the whole lake to play you in! Enjoy the new year. Harera from the South Pacific!

Dude! That’s so nice! Exactly! Those fly patterns are getting it done today. Incredible fish!!! I’m fixin to get at those fish soon too. Thanks for posting 👍😃

Really great looking fly..looks like the trout think so too! I’m sure they’d work on some Texas largemouths around here, especially in the Spring. Thanks for showing us! 👍 Happy New Year and Best wishes in 2021! 🎣

Wow, that was excellent! I was surprised the trout went for crawfish so readily. Thanks for the video!

I fish the river here in the east where I'm told this fly originated. There are some outsized brown trout there that get big eating crayfish (the smallies and carp love them, too). I works great as the point fly on the euro-rig or fished in tandem under a big indicator on a conventional fly rod in deeper water while floating. If you think your home river doesn't have crayfish, just start looking for dead ones on the bottom or pieces on the banks where raccoons and minks have been dining on them overnight. I find them pretty much everywhere I fish here in PA, NY and New England.

After seeing crawfish bodies I set out to find a similar fly pattern. I came across Joe’s pattern on Fulling Mill’s website. This fly crushes trout!!! I euro nymphed it. I also used it on a centerpin rig under a float. I plan on trying it for smallmouth sometime too. I also have numerous failed attempts at tying this pattern 😂😂

A juicy craw will catch any reasonable fish.

The killer craw .... 🔥

Nice pattern, I'll have to get some. So much for fish only keying in on small midges and such during winter months. Quick question. Have you done a video on the raft/float thing you're using in this video? This would be perfect for me to fish the Madison since almost the whole thing is a giant riffle and I'm a crappy wader.

Thanks for the awesome video. Joe I have 2 questions about this fly: 1- do you have any links to tying this fly? 2- how would you recommend fishing it in rivers, like the Spokane, which is loaded with signal crayfish but also with fly stealing monster boulders that tend to eat bottom flies faster than the fish can 😆. Thanks!

It's been a while since you posted this video. I was wondering if you've been using Joe's Mini Craw in the intervening time and if you're still enthusiastic about the fly.

Going have come up and buy some of them

Joe’s craw in still water? I fish a lake with rocky shorelines that hold lots of crawfish. The trout will sit in 12-18” of water just staring at the rocks waiting for an exposed meal. Are there any other craw patterns that work better in still water?

Can you dead drift this fly u see an indicator, or does it have to be euro-nymphed?

Crappie jigs on a fly rod?

Where are you fishing?

what model is the float tube that you are in? is that a watermaster?

Must be the $900 rod that set these fish off...