Tying the Chernobyl Grass Crab (with regards to Tim Borski):

Put hook (Gamakatsu SS 15 - sz 1/ 0) in vise with point facing up.
(All materials tied on hook point side of shank)
I’m using the clear mono thread all the time. Make sure you don’t crowd the hook eye, which is easy to do with the two overwings and the weed guard.

Tie in:

  • 1. 8 strands of Copper Flashabou as a tail. approximate length of hook shank from hook eye to bend.
  • 2. Grizzly hackle tip on either side of hook bend, approximately the same length as the flashabou (try to make them point upwards).
  • 3. Small (approximately #2 pencil thickness or less) clump of deer hair tips to stick out above the flashabou, same length as flashabou.
  • 4. Spin a small ball of deer hair on top of a wound thread base.
  • 5. Trim deer hair ball with a razor blade so it’s flat on top and bottom.
  • 6. Grizzly saddle hackle wound in front of deer hair and trim top and bottom.
  • 7. Squirrel tail overwing same length as distance from tie in point to hook barb.
  • 8. Similar length of tan Polar Fibre.
  • 9. (Here’s the tricky part) Take a loop of 40 or 50 lb test mono approx 3 inches long and fold into a loop. Crimp the top of the loop so it is kinked. Kink the ends of the line to make them into tiny “L” shapes. Tie in at the bends of the “L” ‘s so the loop is sticking up in front of the hook point. When you have it in the right spot, trim the loop so the tips that you trim are just over the hook point. 1