Illawarra Flyfishers Club

Cricket

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Photos and Text by Steve Chatterton

At times when there is a hatch of a particular insect occurring, trout will often eat that insect at the exclusion of all other offerings. At those times its imperative you match the hatch. The rest of the time, trout are opportunistic feeders and eat a wide of food. From December through to April, crickets become part of the food chain. They fall in the water or are washed in after rain etc and are readily sought out and accepted by trout. 

Tying Instructions

	1a) Wind on the thread in touching turns from the eye to the bend of the hook. b) Select a small bunch of Deer hair and use a stacker to get all the tips uniform. c) Tie the bunch of stacked Deer hair in as a tail about 2/3 as long as the hook shank. d) Tie in a length of raffia on top of the hook shank. e) Tie in three or four Peacock herls.
	2a) Wind the peacock herls around the thread to form a rope and then wrap the rope along the back 2/3 of the hook shank forming a plumpish body. If your Peacock herl is not particularly long or full bodied you may need to tie in additional herls to complete this step. b) Pull the raffia over the top of the body and tie it off at the 2/3 point.
	3. Select a V of feather and tie it in at the 2/3 point with the long fibres trailing down each side of the fly as in this overhead photograph.
	4a) Select a second bunch of Deer hair and after stacking it tie it in with the tips facing over the front of the hook a distance equal to a ¾ of the hook shank length b) Tie in two or three Peacock herls at the 2/3 point.
	5a) Wrap the herls around the thread to form a rope and build up a full head of herl. b) Tie off the Peacock herls and trim the loose ends. c) Take the thread back to the 2/3 point.
	6a) Pull the Deer hair that's sticking out in front of the fly over the top of the head so that the tips now face over the back of the fly forming a wing. b) Wrap the thread around the fly a number of times at the 2/3 point so that the Deer hair head / wing is fixed into that position.  c) Whip finish at the 2/3 point behind the head of the fly. d) Paint the top of the head and the thread holding the deer hair in place with head cement and trim of the thread.