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The Specimen

Tipulidae (Crane Flies) Crane Fly AdultTipulidae (Crane Flies) True Fly Adult View 3 PicturesThis is a small cranefly species.
Collected May 18, 2004 from unknown in Wisconsin
Added to Troutnut.com by on January 25, 2006

The Discussion

Post Reply
MannyJune 9th, 2007, 9:31 pm
Posts: 1I was fly fishing a tailwater in Indiana when I noticed a {hatch} of what I thought were sulfers(dorothea,invaria). But after further inspection they had the makup of a crane fly and also were a pale yellowish color. Could this be a crane fly species?
TroutnutJune 9th, 2007, 9:36 pm
Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2737		Definitely. Small pale yellow craneflies are especially common on trout streams. I don't know any more about those species, but I'm sure trout go for them at times.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
MartinlfJune 9th, 2007, 9:54 pm
Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3233		Yes, Flyfisher's Paradise in State College even has its own patterns for orange and yellow craneflies, and I've had very good luck with the flies in autumn.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
KonchuJune 10th, 2007, 5:24 am
Site Editor
Indiana

Posts: 505		Cranefly larvae are often really huge, and probably a juicy treat for a hungry fish. What kinds of patterns mimic these, and how commonly are they used?
TaxonJune 10th, 2007, 8:51 am
Site Editor
Royse City, TX

Posts: 1350		Konchu-

Probably, the vast majority of flyfishers have never specifically set about to imitate crane fly larvae. However, 3-4XL hooks utilizing a dubbed body of muskrat fur would be standard fare for such imitation.

Two patterns suggested in Western Hatches by Hafele/Hughes are Polly Roseborough's Muskrat, and Ernest Schwiebert's Western Crane Fly Larva. The imitations are said to be most effective fished tumbling along the bottom, shortly following a spate, which has disturbed their larval habitat.
Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com
Shawnny3June 10th, 2007, 5:46 pm
Moderator
Pleasant Gap, PA

Posts: 1197		Another good crane fly larval imitation is the Walt's Worm. The larval crane fly imitations I've seen are basically really vaguely buggy, cigar-shaped imitations that work for both caddis and crane fly larva. Perhaps it's not a lucrative enough hatch to try to imitate them specifically (or they may just be similar enough to caddisflies that most fisherman simply imitate both with the same larval imitation), but I can recall days her in Central PA when crane flies were the only things flying around.

-Shawn
Jewelry-Quality Artistic Salmon Flies, by Shawn Davis
www.davisflydesigns.com
InvictaJune 10th, 2007, 6:01 pm
Tulare, CA

Posts: 23		I agree with Taxon, the vast majority of tiers do not imitate a crane fly larva, but they should. In the waters that I consider my backyard (Golden Trout Wilderness, Sequoia NF, CA) a crane fly larva is a mandatory summer pattern for the meadow sections of streams. One of the local species is the Giant Western Crane fly (Holorusia rubiginosa). A proper imitation of a mature larva may go up to 50mm by mid-summer, which I have used only in the largest of the surrounding streams, but then it has accounted for rainbows over 22”. Most often we use smaller patterns. One I can recommend, to be added to the pattern listed by Shawn, can be found at Charlie Craven’s website, under Crane fly larva, it's the one I use:

http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com

If you are unsure of the size, stay small.

John

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