By André Brun

The family Tipulidae has some of the largest insects of the Diptera. These insects, better known as crane flies or Daddy LongLegs, constitute hundreds of species in Scandinavia alone and are widespread throughout Europe and across the Atlantic in rivers such as the Bighorn, Beaverhead and Bow.

Crane flies are of great importance to trout in lakes, ponds and some rivers, especially during midsummer when the adults are most abundant. As many fly fishers have experienced, the adult stage of these insects is the most exciting stage to imitate at this time of year.

It's generally most effective to use a crane-fly imitation when naturals such as spent egg-laying females are apparent on the water, but you may also use a crane fly successfully as an attractor pattern. Some anglers even use it as a good hatch breaker, especially in lakes and ponds.

My imitation lies flat on the water, shivering with its long, thin legs. It has no hackle to lift it above the surface, so it imitates a struggling, exhausted, or dying insect rather than an active egg layer. This is also a light fly because of the extended body and 3X-light hook, so it doesn't need hackle to stay afloat.

For legs I use a great rubber material - Micro Livin' Legz - but almost any small diameter, flexible rubber will work. An excellent alternative is Micro round rubber. Because these round rubber strands are so thin, they almost seem to have a built-in action. Just imagine these long legs spread around the fly on the water - they create an aura of movement and make the fly shiver like a struggling insect.

Since the fly imitates a dead or dying crane fly lying flat on the surface, I usually fish it with a normal dead-drift. Occasionally I give it a small twitch, just before the fly enters the trout's window. This way the trout will not see the twitch itself - only the vibrations around the fly and in the legs as the fly comes drifting into view.

This fly uses a quick and simple extended body. I first used this technique on this fly, but with some small adaptions it can also be used as an extension on large dun and spent spinner imitations. The technique produces a flexible and light abdomen, and you can easily switch dubbing material for different colors and texture. The body colors of the Tipulidae are often gray-brown to light brown, but use any color to match particular species or your favorite general body color.

Brun's Tipula

Apply a small amount of flexible cement to the thread. Use a dubbing needle, or your index finger and thumb, and even out the cement from the knot and downwards. Quickly spin on a desired amount of dubbing a little bit below the knot.

The finished extension must dry for several minutes, so it is better to make half a dozen or more at one time instead of repeating the procedure for every fly.