Cracking the Code: The Art and Science of Flats Craft Fly Design
With: flatscraft
We caught up with the creator of Flats Craft to learn how this trailblazing company is reshaping saltwater fly fishing. From developing their iconic Gavs Crab to testing revolutionary new patterns, this interview dives into their journey, challenges, and the meticulous process behind their world-class flies.
What inspired the formation of Flats Craft, ( Part A) and how did your team's journey into fly fishing and fly tying begin (Part B)?
PART A That's an interesting question.... Originally we saw a product made by a guy in Spain using the same method of product construction we still use now ( in part) , he was called StreamArt, that was about 2018. I reached out to him and asked if I could buy them for my shop (Beast Brushes) just to see how they would go. In Australia, the move towards realistic crab flies was well in motion.. guys were using CNC machines to make legs out of sheets of vinyl, or using parts cut off crab lures, so I thought this might go ok. They did, (go good) but not on the more desired flats species we were chasing in Australia. The designs had issues with the way the fly sunk or the way it was stripped through the water (twisting and fouling) or a hard carapace closing the gape in a fishes crusher plates... Of course this would be expected from a guy who only fishes annually... how could he know? I reached out to him with some of my designs, and one in particular that replicated a popular Permit food source... the Moon Crab. After a few tweaks of the design, StreamArt was making our concept and it was killing. The success was not because it looked like a Moon Crab, but because it was designed to work with the fly taking the path of least resistance through the water and by doing so, the crab fly did what we wanted it to do consistently, in addition to looking the part. This gave birth to a few Moon Crab fly designs, however none was (or still is) as effective as the Gavs Crab. The rest of the designs followed on from there
PART B How we got into fly fishing and fly tying... Well.. "we" is a loose term.. the company team is me, my wife and my 13 year old daughter, the development team is me and about 12-15 other guys who are either fishing local flats at least once or twice a week, guides or commercial fly tyers who also fish... Fishing is a huge part of this gig... I was the first person in the world to catch a permit on a Gavs Crab, and what people may not know is that this fly was around for about 10 months before the internet seen it. That is what all the designs are like, but to be fair, there are some that simply fail and don't see the internet. All designs have had to have caught fish before they go up for sale... or we are super upfront about untested concepts. But going back to touch on how I got into fly fishing and fly tying... I have been exclusively flyfishing now since 98, in that time I have only caught 2 trout (a lot more coral trout haha) .. I am 100% saltwater or tropical freshwater natives. I don't need to travel to fish our products, I don't own a test tank and I don't use a pool or sink to test concepts.. it's all done on the water at the end of a cast fly line. I am a former full time commercial tyer ( Ammo Flies) and International Federation of Fly Fishers casting Instructor since 2007, in addition to a pro team member for several companies.
Your team is known for extensive pattern testing before release. Could you walk us through your typical process from initial pattern concept to final approval for sale?"
Typically, there is a known prey item... let's say a ghost shrimp which would be the most recent or our original designs that no one had done yet. It starts with a sketch on paper, then we work out sizes, then manufacture a concept. That concept comes out on the water (usually with me), and what I want to see first is if it swims and casts without a problem. As you would know, wind, obstacles and fast reacting casts to moving fish can all cause problems with flies, and a lot of times, realistic fly parts are hard enough to cause resistance in the water ( and the air) that can adversely affect the flies action. That Ghost shrimp would have probably looked great in a glass of water, but having that huge claw on only one side would have acted like a parachute on the descent ( making it roll on its side) or when sitting static on the bottom in tidal run ( it would drag it off its mark or line of movement or flip it). So... back to the drawing board, back to the vice, then back to the water until we both get the product and the tying technique right. With literally no one in the world to model off as we pioneer these products and tying techniques, to also do the work on the water to make fish eat them so the customers don't have to figure anything out, is very satisfying.
What's been the most challenging species to develop patterns for, and how did your team eventually crack the code?"
Permit were the original focus and still are a huge part of what we want to make products for. The Gavs Crab was huge... We had so much feedback from people who had been trying to catch permit on their home flats with Alphlexos and Merkins with zero or very limited success, then the first time they used a Gavs Crab, they got 5. A friend of mine Geoff Anderson who has caught more permit than most and also featured in one of the best Permit on fly video ever made ( Heads or Tails) is quoted in saying " Permit used to be a fish of a lifetime, but now with flies like the Gavs Crab, you're likely to catch them if you see them" . Feedback from legends like that and the sheer number of results is awesome...there were in excess of hundreds of Permit that ate the Gavs Crab in the first year of it coming out. Despite the success with some fish I would say there are still challenges for sure... Some of the fish outside of our country have eaten them really well, Redfish are all over them.. South American Permit love them too.. mainly Split Crabs and Merkin or Rag head type flies made with "The Claw".. Trigger fish and Bone fish have not been an issue either... if they see them they eat them... Sheepshead however... still working with guys for that silver bullet.
Flats Craft has built a reputation for unique patterns. How does your team balance innovation with proven traditional designs when developing new flies?"
We 100% respect the pattern that came before and has led up to this point... I genuinely believe that is what has paved the way to the success of Flats Craft. I do not think it is the aesthetics of Flats Craft products that make them successful.. It is an understanding of the hydrodynamics that made older successful flies stand the test of time that we then applied to these modern materials and tying techniques that are then honed until they are understood and hunt. Then finally... They are then manufactured to look like a crab part. We can never be as realistic as the real thing... maybe to a human, but not to a fish.. all we can do is create a caricature of a prey item at best. What we can do well is make it do what we want it to do and that is cast well, land soft , sink fast, sink slow, float. swim without twisting, make it so we know 100% that it isn't upside down when that one permity tips on the fly finally.
When testing patterns, what's been the most surprising discovery your team has made about fish behavior or fly effectiveness?
With fly effectiveness, that drag is king... weight only controls sink rate and an anchor.. it doesn't ensure a hook point up landing. And with fish... they don't respect anything that looks like trash... I don't mean a poorly tied fly, I mean literally something that moves with the tidal movement or wash. A crab or shrimp that either anchors itself from that movement, or moves independently to tidal movement gets a hell of a lot more attention than one that doesn't. These things have been known long before Flats Craft though.
Your commitment to thorough testing sets Flats Craft apart. Can you share a time when extensive testing completely changed the direction of a pattern's development?
It's got to be the Ghost Shrimp... There is no way anyone could have figured that out without actually fishing it. From what that original concept was to what it is now is chalk and cheese.
Looking ahead, what emerging trends in flats fishing are influencing your team's current pattern development, and why?
You know.. I could give you a big lengthy reply for this one.. but we are already getting copied badly by guys who don't fish and when you spend zero time on the water, they only way you learn is when those who do are willing to share publicly so un-observant people think you do...Please excuse me with this one, we have a few concepts in testing at the moment, but I can't reveal them here.. I have already learned that lesson the hard way haha.
