Blue Line Co. Spawn Craw (Chattanooga Creek Flies)

We are extremely excited about having our first signature tyer on, Adam Kennon of Chattanooga Creek Flies!
In talking to Adam we quickly realized what an awesome and unique pattern the Spawn Craw was. When we realized it had grown in popularity to the point where he couldn’t spin them up faster than his buddies were losing them, that’s where we stepped in. We are now happy to offer Adam’s original pattern with the quality and fish catching ability that both Chattanooga Creek Flies and BLC are known for!

I knew smallies liked the shoals and boulders, so I focused on the rockier section of the river with crayfish patterns. After fishing a few crayfish flies and looking around the fly shops, I realized there weren't many good crayfish patterns out there that would do what I wanted. Most of them had dumbbell eyes, sank straight to the bottom, and got hung on the rocks almost immediately. So I started tying a crayfish pattern and fishing it on the river. The first versions were trying to imitate conventional Ned rig style fishing. I honed the fly down through the years. I wanted to keep it from snagging on the rocks when it swung and bounced along the bottom. The smallies were on the bottom and getting the fly down and castable was a balance. I was trying to solve the problem of the hook getting hung up on the rocks.  I wanted a fly pattern that would sink to the bottom with the hook point up, and I wanted it to mimic the defensive position of a crayfish. I played around with foam and tungsten bead to balance it out. The rabbit strip slowed the fall and gave it a natural drop. The foam floated the hook upright and kept the fly from tipping over.  After getting the fly dialed in, I started sharing it with friends. They started to catch fish and asked for more. So Chattanooga Creek Flies was born. It all started out of a need for a crayfish fly to fish the shoals of the Tennessee River. I like the black craws in the dirty water days. The olive is my favorite. It fishes well in clear water and smallies love them. The orange is my version of the traditional Rebel Craw and tan looks just like a molting crayfish.