Drawing Flies 52 – 24_Fleeing Crayfish
Drawing Flies 52 Crayfish (or Crawfish, however you prefer). More specifically, this pattern is the Fleeing Crayfish/Upside-Down Leech. This fly can really do the job on smallies (and big browns).
Tech info: Strathmore paper with charcoal, Pigma pen and watercolor. Went for the same general technique as last week, but wanted to add some more deliberate cool tones. And like last week, I also used all 30 minutes right to the end. I did the underdrawing/painting first, then rinsed/wiped it, and then did the pen followed by the final watercolor. I found that 30 minutes wasn’t quite enough to get all the effects that I was after (this fly had more complex textures than did last week’s Sofa Pillow). Another 10-15 minutes would have been nice, but that’s part of what makes this project so interesting: You have 30 minutes max, and you have to live with that.
This fly is essentially a “pig-n-jig” when you really get down to it: super-heavy dumbbell eyes and a fur strip slipped onto the hook bend. It definitely has some motion! I also felt that the original pattern needed a bit of modern updating, so I added a few strands of eye-searing orange synthetic fiber to give it a bit more pop. I think the fish would approve.
Jeff’s Crawfish is here, along with a cool little story about how he chose this week’s fly. Check it out!
