The Mata-Crappie

Curtis Fry- May, 2019

About 10 years ago, Cheech and I were fishing for Crappie and Smallmouth bass on Brownlee Reservoir along the Idaho/Oregon border. I had tied up a bunch of these panfish-friendly wire-bodied patterns and brought them along. As it turned out, these little bugs did some damage on the Crappie that trip. Since that time, I've used them on White Bass, Bluegills, Carp, Largemouth and Smallmouth bass as well as a few trout here and there. It's a fun pattern to tie that sinks quickly enough to get down to fish while the legs flutter and add good action to the fly. I recently made some changes to the original pattern (I get bored of tying things the same way sometimes) and took it for a spin. It ended up working very well and ended up catching blugill, largemouth and a couple of rainbow trout. I usually fish this on either an indicator rig mooched slowly along or I'll fish it with an intermediate or midge tip type line depending on the situation. The fish above took it on a vertically retrieved midge tip line just off the bottom in 8 ft of water. Give it a whirl and go chase some warmwater critters!

Material List
  • Hook: Hanak H 400 BL Jig Hook - 10
  • Thread: Veevus GSP - White - 50 Denier
  • Eyes: Double Pupil Lead Eyes - Extra Small - Chartr w/ White & Black
  • Tail: EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers - UV Green
  • Body 1: UTC Ultra Wire - Chartreuse - Medium
  • Body 2: UTC Ultra Wire - Black - Medium
  • Legs: Grizzly Flutter Legs - Black Barred Fl. Green Chartreuse
  • Throat 1: Extra Select Craft Fur - White
  • Throat 2: Ripple Ice Fiber - Chartreuse
  • Body Coating: Loon Fluorescing UV Clear Fly Finish
  • Tools Used: Renzetti Master Vise, Loon UV Infiniti Light,
Materials & Alternate Materials Listed Below
UTC Ultra Wire
UTC Ultra Wire

UTC Ultra Wire - Extra Small

$2.49
UTC Ultra Wire
UTC Ultra Wire

UTC Ultra Wire - Small

$2.49
Hanak H 400 BL Jig Hook
Hanak H 400 BL Jig Hook

Hanak H 400 BL Jig Hook

$8.95
UTC Ultra Wire
UTC Ultra Wire

UTC Ultra Wire - Brassie Size

$2.49
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers
EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers

EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers

$10.99
Double Pupil Lead Eyes
Double Pupil Lead Eyes

Double Pupil Lead Eyes

$4.50
Extra Select Craft Fur
Extra Select Craft Fur

Extra Select Craft Fur

$4.50
Fulling Mill 5045 Jig Force Barbless Hook
Fulling Mill 5045 Jig Force Barbless Hook

Fulling Mill 5045 Jig Force Barbless Hook

$13.25
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire
Semperfli Tying Wire

Semperfli Tying Wire

$4.20
UTC Ultra Wire
UTC Ultra Wire

UTC Ultra Wire - Medium

$2.49
Firehole Sticks 516 Jig Hook
Firehole Sticks 516 Jig Hook

Firehole Sticks 516 Jig Hook

$8.35
Umpqua XC400BL-BN
Umpqua XC400BL-BN

Umpqua XC400BL-BN

$8.95
Veevus GSP
Veevus GSP

Veevus GSP

$4.99
Hanak H 450 BL Jig Hook
Hanak H 450 BL Jig Hook

Hanak H 450 BL Jig Hook

$8.95
Umpqua XC210BL-BN Perdi-Jig Hook
Umpqua XC210BL-BN Perdi-Jig Hook

Umpqua XC210BL-BN Perdi-Jig Hook

$8.95
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber
Ripple Ice Fiber

Ripple Ice Fiber

$4.60
Fulling Mill 5125 Jig Force Short Barbless Hook
Fulling Mill 5125 Jig Force Short Barbless Hook

Fulling Mill 5125 Jig Force Short Barbless Hook

$13.25
Loon Fluorescing UV Clear Fly Finish
Loon Fluorescing UV Clear Fly Finish

Loon Fluorescing UV Clear Fly Finish

$19.00