Foam Body and Back Crawfish
Hook: 1-1/0 Eagle Claw gold Aberdeen hook
Thread: Brown 6/0
Antennae: Mono sewing thread colored with brown Sharpie
Eyes: Artificial anthers, ends painted black
Body: 18" by 3/4" strip of thin open foam bandage material (tan)
Legs: Palmered badger saddle hackle
Weight: Lead eyes painted to match body color
Tail: Badger saddle hackle tips
Shelback and Claws: Tan 2 mm craft foam cut to shape
The hook is mounted in the vise and the lead eyes tied on using diagonal and figure eight wraps leaving about a 3/16" gap t the hook eye. The eyes are then further treated by using a drop of five minute epoxy. After the epoxy has dried, the eyes are painted to match the body color as closely as possible. After the paint has dried, the hook is mounted in the vise upside down. The thread is attached to the hook and wound to the bend of the hook. The antennae are tied in and then the 18" by 3/4" strip of open cell foam bandage material is tied in folded so it is 3/8" wide. This is wound on the from the bend of the hook to the lead eyes using many layers to build up the desired body size. The artifical anthers (found in the floral or wedding sections of craft stores) with the bulbous end painted black are tied in as eyes relatively near the bend of the hook. Then a single badger saddle hckle is tied in and wound to the lead eyes to represent legs. A foam shellback and claws is cut from 2 mm craft foam and tied on. Segmentation was marked on the shellback using a fine-tipped permanent marker. The tipos of the claws were painted orange using a paint pen (paint pens give a more vivid color than markers on craft foam). A pattern for the foam back is given in the graphic below.
Mark Delaney
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