Bent Hook Cripple

Autumn is often a double-edged sword. With the return of cooler, settled weather the hatches start up again. While we hope for a repeat of the action we saw last spring, the reality is often very different. Lower water levels and the pressure of a season’s worth of anglers has the fish on edge.

This is a time to slow down and observe. Rises are more subtle and the insects hatching are often smaller. Lengthening your leader, reducing tippet size and choosing more subtle patterns can all add to your success.

While there are still terrestrials around, it is the small mayflies that bring most success. Hatching out throughout the day, the numbers build enough for a half decent spinner fall on evening if the weather is calm.

Kelly Galloup is best known as the father of throwing oversize streamers to get a response from large trout. His innovative articulated patterns are used around the world. Less well known is his indepth study on the feeding behaviour of fish during mayfly hatches. His 2001 book Cripples and Spinners is a must read for any fly tier.

Kelly noted that a large percentage of mayflies are injured during their transition to adults, and the trout actively target these imperfect strugglers. He produced numerous stillborn, cripple and emerging patterns during this time. One of the best is the Bent Hook Cripple.

With the wing on the side and the bent hook giving a curve to the body, it highlights the profile of a vulnerable mayfly trapped in the surface film. Cripple patterns appear to tick more boxes for the fish, with a good cast and drift rarely refused.

The added bonus with the Bent Cripple is that it works right through the hatch, and then covers the spent spinners that fall later. No need to fumble around changing flies as the light fades.

First step in tying the Bent Cripple is bending the hook. Put the back two thirds of the hook between the jaws of your vice and bend the front of the hook towards you slightly. Then move the hook out so just the back third is between the jaws, and bend the shank towards you again. There are no hard and fast rules on how much to bend, but something similar to the bend in a scud hook is a good guide.

Colours are a personal choice. My preference is for an Iron Blue dun style, a consistent producer on the streams and it also covers caenid hatches on the lakes. All black runs a close second.

With your red thread form a short tag at the rear of the hook shank and build up a small bump. Then change to your black thread and wrap thread base down the hook shank.

For the tail, select 4 Microfibets and tie them in. As you wrap back towards the bump, the fibets will splay out to the sides. Push down on them with your fingernail to help guide two each side.

You can use long hackle barbs for the tail, although they are less durable. The tail helps support the rear of the fly in the surface film, so just check the barbs after each fish — or each visit to the streamside vegetation if you’re like me — and change flies if necessary.

With the tail in place, add a small amount of kapok dubbing to your thread and form a thin abdomen as you wind back up the hook shank. Avoid building up too much bulk as mayflies have delicate bodies. Only add enough dubbing to just cover the thread base.

For the main body of the fly, or thorax, start with the hackle first. Select your hackle and clean the bottom couple of millimetres by stripping off the first few barbs. Then tie this in at the back of the abdomen.

Next is the wing. Pick out a small amount of EP fibres, fold them in half around your thread and tie them in on the side of the hook. Hold the wing out to the side while you place several close wraps either side to stop it slipping around the shank.

Add some more kapok dubbing to your thread and form the thorax. Start with a wrap behind the hackle and then move forward. Finish just behind the eye and secure your thread with a quick half hitch.

Now wind your hackle forward in open turns — two behind the wing and two in front. Secure the hackle behind the eye, trim any excess and whip finish.

Complete the fly by trimming the hackle flat underneath to help it sit right in the surface film. Then cut the wing to length and trim the back at an angle to give it some shape.

I avoid adding a bright sighter as it detracts from the subtlety of the pattern. Instead, I will run the bent cripple as a dropper off the back of a more visible dry such as a caddis pattern. Occasionally this gets taken just to prove the system wrong.

Autumn fishing is often touted as technical fishing. Perhaps careful fishing is more apt. Take your time, don’t turn up and start blind casting to cover all the water. Sure, run a nymph through the running water if nothing is obvious, but on calm water wait and look for rising fish. Then work out a plan to get the best drift. Move quietly into position and make the cast count.

There are still some great fish around at this time of year and nothing beats watching one come up and quietly sip down your fly.