Tying a Last Chance Cripple Hendrickson Fishing Fly

The Last Chance Cripple fly pattern was designed for the picky, fly-inspecting trout of the Henry's Fork. This fly is designed to imitate a mayfly struggling to escape its nymphal shuck. This is a very vulnerable state in life for a mayfly, and trout know that these flies are an easy meal.

Mr Quigly coined the term “cripple” back in the 70s to describe the stage of emergence when adult mayflies attempt to escape from their shuck. As you can imagine, not all these situations go down perfectly. Adult mayflies often struggle to break free of their shuck. The struggle often adds precious few seconds during which these bugs are vulnerable. Trout take advantage. Mr Quigly noticed this and developed several great patterns like the Quigly Cripple and the Film Critic for the fish of Northern California.

The Last Chance Cripple was tied by Mr Harrop in Last Chance, ID, to tempt the discerning trout of the Henry’s Fork. We also like to think the name has a double meaning that plays perfectly into the stage of life this fly attempts to mimic…

This fly can be tied to imitate numerous mayflies: https://www.discountflies.com/SRCH.html?Search=last+chance  

Below we show a Hendrickson.

• Hook: Standard Dry Fly Hook. Some options: https://www.discountflies.com/SRCH.html?Search=dry+fly+hook
• Thread: SEMPERFLI Nano Silk 30D (18/0), color to match. https://www.discountflies.com/product/M-SNS18.html
• Tail 1: Raven and Wolf Poly Shuck Fibers, Rust or Brown. https://www.discountflies.com/product/M-RWSHUCK.html
• Tail 2: Cascade Crest Mallard Flank Feathers, Wood Duck. https://www.discountflies.com/product/M-CCMLDFLK.html
• Body: Polish Quills Quill & Fly Stripped Peacock Quills, color to match (brown used in video). https://www.discountflies.com/product/M-PQSPQ.html
• Wing: Polish Quills Quill & Fly CDC. Options include: https://www.discountflies.com/SRCH.html?Search=polish+quills+cdc
• Thorax: Quill & Fly Hare & Mink Dubbing, Dirty Pink for Hendrickson otherwise color to match. https://www.discountflies.com/product/M-QFHAMNK.html
• Hackle: Standard Dry Fly hackle, color to match