Recipe for Chicone’s Detonator Crab Pattern

Chicone’s Detonator Crab. Drew Chicone shows how to tie his favorite crab fly for the tarpon flats. Poised and ready for action, I scanned the panorama of glassy, gin-clear water for any evidence of tarpon. My focus was immediately drawn to the vibrant shades of blues and reds that outlined its legs and claws. Guardedly, the diminutive crustacean floated out of sight, navigating with sparing movements in an effort to remain unnoticed. A confident, ticklish feeling welled up inside me as two lumbering shadows appeared in the distance. Body: Mutton snapper–colored EP Fiber 3D, and olive and tan marabou. Tying the Head Making the Claws Like the floating crab that drifted past my feet, the Detonator Crab is designed to hover and move ever so slightly in the current. This configuration causes them to kick or flare when stripped through the water. The kicking movement, along with the natural current of the water, activates the supple marabou plumes that enshroud the head and claws.

Drew Chicone shows how to tie his favorite crab fly for the tarpon flats.

[by Drew Chicone]

WITH THE CONCENTRIC COILS OF FLY LINE PILED NEATLY AT MY FEET, I gently grasped a loop of line and my latest fur-and-feather creation in my left hand. Slight increases in speed interrupted our smooth drift as the guide quietly poled us ahead. Poised and ready for action, I scanned the panorama of glassy, gin-clear water for any evidence of tarpon.

A tennis ball–sized crab caught my attention as it passed the boat in the water beneath my feet. My focus was immediately drawn to the vibrant shades of blues and reds that outlined its legs and claws. Guardedly, the diminutive crustacean floated out of sight, navigating with sparing movements in an effort to remain unnoticed. A confident, ticklish feeling welled up inside me as two lumbering shadows appeared in the distance. With nervous anticipation, I observed the lead tarpon gracefully gulp the crab from the surface.

Locating the hook on my fly, I pinched the delicate marabou and stiffened rabbit-strip claws…

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