How to Tie Craven's Haymaker Fly

(This story appeared in the Oct-Nov-Dec 2016 issue of Fly Fisherman.)

Most often when I sit down to develop a new pattern I have a theme in mind. These themes can often be summed up by a single word: slim, heavy, wide, specific, detailed, buoyant . . . things like that. Flies like the Two Bit Hooker and Screaming Banshee came about with a single theme in mind and were pointedly designed around the individual aspect I was after.

The Haymaker, however, did not. It was sort of an accident that appeared, then developed a bit more over time, and then sneakily became a pattern I now pull out of my box a lot more often than I had ever anticipated.

The first inception of the fly now known as the Haymaker came about in an effort to find something subtle and nondescript that I could trail behind a large streamer. After becoming frustrated on a few floats by noncommittal trout following my bigger patterns out from the bank only to slowly turn and glide back to their lairs, I reasoned that it might be a good idea to hang some sort of smaller pattern on a long dropper off the back of the streamer.

This trailing fly would just magically appear in front of these fish as they sulked away. I wanted something nymph­like, as I had previous success in this sort of instance with patterns like a Hare’s-ear Soft Hackle or Copper John, but I wanted it to look attractive when being retrieved as well. A smaller nymph just racing along behind my giant streamer pattern just never made sense to me, so I decided I needed a pattern that could do double duty as both a larger nymph and smaller streamer; something that could swim or dead-drift, and it would look right doing either. I had my work cut out for me.

As it worked out over time, the Haymaker came to be sort of a Rubber-leg Nymph/Woolly Bugger combo platter that fit the bill perfectly. I clearly recall one of my first floats after dialing the pattern in . . . I threw my streamer with a Haymaker attached on a long 24-inch dropper, and in the tailout of a pool I saw the arcing flash of a nice brown turning to chase it down. The river was moving fast and I threw a mend to keep the current from ripping my flies away from the trout, but just as the fish closed in, he just as abruptly turned off and started to slither away. That’s when the trout saw the Haymaker, now dead-drifting and plainly looking edible and nonthreatening. Without changing speed, the fish simply glided right through the fly, taking it in as he returned to his lair. Then I stabbed him in the face and laughed. I love when a plan comes together.

I usually focus on the large streamer when I’m fishing—that’s the big fly I can often see, and I use it like a boxer uses a jab, throwing it out there right in their faces where they can plainly see it. Like a jab, the streamer is something that gets their attention and makes them move. The Haymaker is the knockout punch they don’t see coming.

I always keep a dozen Haymakers stashed away in my streamer box for days when the fish get a little snippy about actually consuming my bigger flies, and I have resorted to the old bait-and-switch with regularity as the need arises, but that’s not the only time this pattern has proved useful.

As a fly tier, “nondescript” is usually a term I view as a slam, but as a fisherman, the nature of this pattern makes it versatile and valuable in a variety of fishing situations. I use this subtle little pattern in lakes and small streams, and in big drift-boat rivers.

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I often fish it by itself and let the fish decide what they want it to be. The smaller size coupled with a relatively bulky profile can allow it to cross over for a stonefly, a dragonfly, a leech, a smaller baitfish and God knows what else. I have fished it straight up as a nymph under an indicator with split-shot, and it also works as a single streamer fished solo.

I give little thought to what the fish think it represents, and instead concern myself with the fun I have catching them. This pattern has caught trout, sunfish, bass, and even small pike for me over the years, and has earned more real estate in my fly box than I ever guessed it would.

While the original version is tied in black, I have experimented a bit with olive, gold, and brown, and all of them have produced fish. The black version is still my favorite, and my secret go-to pattern that makes my friends ask “What are you using?” on those days when fishing is sketchy.

I have always loathed the old question: “If you only had one fly?” but if I had to answer it, the Haymaker just might get the nod. It’s easy and cheap to tie, casts well, sinks quickly, and is versatile through a variety of fishing situations. Above all else, it keeps me from fishing those dang rubber-leg Girdle Bugs that offend my heart and mind. That’s enough for me.

Tying the Haymaker

Materials needed:

Hook: #6-12 Tiemco 5262.

Thread: Black 8/0 UNI-Thread.

Bead: Gold tungsten.

Weight: .025” lead wire for #6, .020” wire for #8-12 hooks.

Tail: Black Woolly Bugger marabou.

Legs: Black medium round rubber.

Body: Black/gold Speckled Chenille.

Collar: Black hen saddle hackle.