Craig's Night-time             

Hook:   Tiemco 200R # 8 - 12

Thread: Black 6/0 Uni Thread

Tag: Red Wool

Rib: Flat Silver Tinsel

Body: Black Chenille

Wing: 5 Pukeko Breast Feathers or substitute

Eye: Jungle Cock (optional)

1/ First off wrap a nice even base of thread starting from near the front of the hook and extending to the point where you are going to tie in your first part of the fly, the tail. This point should be roughly level with the barb on the hook. Once this is completed and you have a good bed of thread proceed to step two.
2/ Now take a piece of red wool. Same as when tying a red tag. Tie in a small tuft, basically equal in length to the gape of the hook. Tie off and take your scissors. Trim the excess wool leaving a nice flat surface to allow you to easily continue on building the fly. Once this is completed move to the next step listed below.
3/ Get a piece of Flat Silver Tinsel. be sure to use a tinsel that will give you the required look to the fly. Tie this in leaving the tag end (long end) protruding to the rear of the fly. This keeps it out of the way of the following steps. Take your scissors and trim the excess tinsel and once again lay a couple of thread wraps to bring the thread back to the rear of the fly.
4/ Next locate you black chenille and break off a length of sufficient length to tie the fly. I use a big piece which is then used to tie several flies in a row. Strip some of the material from the bottom of the chenille, tie in and pull it to the rear and out of the way. Now trim any excess and wind the thread forward to a point behind the eye. Leave enough room for tying in the wing.
5/ Now that the thread is at the front of the fly take the chenille and wind evenly towards the thread. Each successive turn should be just in the front of the previous one creating a nice thick body. When you reach the point where the thread is tie it off and trim any left over chenille that is not needed. Secure with two more wraps of thread.
6/ Taking the tinsel between your fingers wind forward through the body of the fly toward the hook eye. Use no more than 5 turns and no less than four to complete this task. When you are satisfied with the way it looks tie off the tinsel and trim any excess. Be careful not to twist the tinsel while winding it forward.
7/ Now take your pre-selected wing feathers. Make Line them up one on top of the other in your hand. Pinch them at the point they are to be tied in at between your thumb and forefingers. Measure them so that they just overhang the tag of the fly. Take loose turns of thread first near your finger tips getting progressively tighter as you move towards the hook eye. This is vital if the wing is to sit correctly and not splay.
8/ Trim the excess or the feather stubs. Cut on an angle with the jaws of the scissors flat and adjacent to the hook eye and the tips of the scissors flat and adjacent to the wing feathers. This will give you a nice flat angled base on which to wrap a thread head and complete the pattern. Take several turns of thread to get the correct look.
9/ This is how the previous step should look form above. The profile of this pattern is critical as to it's rating as all time best after dark pattern. If things look like this in your vice at this stage Congratulations. If not feel free to unwrap the wing feathers and try again. It is most important to get this part right and when you do master the technique you can tie many other patterns..
10/ The final step is shown from the top as this is the best way to illustrate it. Take a Jungle Cock feather and tie in flat along the wing as shown. This is an optional part of the fly many leaving it as it is in the previous shot. I personally like it tied like this but as to whether the fish care I'm not totally sure! Happy Tying!

The Pattern

The Craig's Night time is an all time favourite for fly fishers in both Australia and New Zealand. It is held in such high regard that many after dark fisher's have boxes full of Craig's and Craig's only. Unweighted, One wrap .10 lead, two wraps of .10 lead, 1 wrap of .15 lead and so it goes. It is revered as a fish catcher of the highest quality in Eucumbene and Jindabyne and has taken bag fulls on the Pondage Lakes at Eildon and any lake in the Central Highlands.

What it represents I will leave to you to decide. Many say a mudeye and I would not disagree that it could be taken as such an insect. It has a similar profile and when tied without lead moves high in the water column as do real dragonfly nymphs. However many in New Zealand where it originated from regard it as a crayfish imitation and swear that this is what the fish take it for. Regardless of why fish take it it is one of the best all round searching night patterns for trout. One night I remember vividly was spent on Dee Lagoon with a full moon and not a breath of wind. We were returning to the car after an evening fishing the sunken timber along the edges when a glimpse of the torchlight picked up the thickest scum of bugs you could imagine. It was like a soup. Midnight in 300 feet of water and we had rising fish all round us. All that was needed was #10 Craig's and fish after fish was caught and released.

As to fishing it I will leave you with the words of Victorian legend fly fisher John McKay who gave me many pointers on fishing for trout at night. ' Let it sink right down and use the slowest retrieve you can tolerate, the slower the better. Never mind all these people who mess about in the upper water column, the slow and deep technique has consistently caught me more fish for as long as I can remember'. 

Amen

See you next week

Antony