Then I stumbled into the flexo crab which is actually a pattern for bonefish, permit, and  other warm water species.   Flexo® is Expandable Braided Plastic Sleeving, whose purpose it is to provide lightweight flexible wire protection used to bundle and protect cables.  In the color Gray this plastic sheath when scrunched up makes a perfectly durable sand crab body.

I tie a titanium bead head right in the middle of the hook So it gets down through the surf in a hurry.  These are a pain in the ass to tie because to secure the flexo into place I have to use a cauterizing iron.

These flies are deadly in the surf and hold up really well.  I still think I can improve the egg sack on the back so that will continue to evolve.  What is most shocking to me is these things actually work really well in the bays too.

The goal: A bottom‑hugging, defensive‑posture lobster imitation with articulated legs and heavy weight so it crawls and “kicks” when stripped.

After a bunch of back and forth with Steve. I made a few prototypes for testing in San Diego’s Bays and Surf.  Once getting a pattern built that killed, I had to make numerous design changes in terms of:

• Getting it to swim like the natural
• making the fly heavy enough to get down in a hurry
• making it durable enough to last in the SoCal surf.

I tie this fly on a size two Umpqua X-Series jig hook.  It has an enormous size 3.8 mm tungsten bead, wrapped by the tail. it’s also wrapped in lead underneath.  And it has black dumbbell eyes to imitate the natural.  So, this fly gets down in a hurry. But, can be a challenge for a beginner to cast.

The result is a fly that absolutely kills, even in the winter, in both the surf and the bays of Socal.