This month I will demonstrate a rather unique style for building cripples that I truly love. You all know that I am a huge fan of the fly design ideas of Kelly Galloup. I don’t need to spend time explaining why, we all know the answer to that especially if you focus on his contributions to the streamer world we all have adopted today. But, what you might not be aware of is his groundbreaking ideas with spinners and cripples. His most notable and groundbreaking work in my opinion was the book he wrote on the topic and the many outside the box patterns he devised within it’s pages, and those of others that he showcased, household names like Burk, Matthews, and Mercer to name a few. Many of their patterns found their way into my dry fly arsenal several decades ago. I will go out on a limb and say this might be one of the most overlooked and unknown beneficial contributions to the sport that many have no idea even exists. Honestly, it’s that good just for the fly patterns alone it will make you think differently. The Galloup Cripple is a killer fly that I have adopted variations of to my dry fly arsenal for a variety of mayflies, and today I will tie a variation that worked for me well on my recent trip while fishing Brown Drakes.
I don’t think a lot of the patterns within including the style of the one I will demonstrate today gained much steam as it goes against the norm for hook design. As you will see, the key to the cripple is the side bend in the hook to imitate the natural curve of the insect as it lies on the waters surface. Will a fish still eat the fly without the bent hook? Sure, and I have tied them both ways; bent and unbent. But, they look a bit more interesting and natural with that bend, so why wouldn’t you do it? It has no negative impact on your ability to set the hook either.
So why the Brown Drake? A recent DIY fishing trip to Canada my buddy John and I hit the hatch and spinner fall about as perfectly as you could hope for, and this particular pattern was one of those that worked best. As I say in the video, I tie them with both tails and with shucks, so spin a few in both styles and have some fun.
Some advice fishing the cripple, a little twitch now and then will illicit a strike. Just do so softly and ahead of your target as if you run the twitch like a proper stonefly it might very well get refused.