by Paul H. Thompson

Created on: July 25, 2008

I won't tell you Bill Miller isn't a cantankerous guy. He is. Bull-headed, outspoken and cynical though he may be, I like him. I've never fished with him (unfortunately) but he's taught me a lot. He knows the fly-fishing game as well as anyone, particularly when it comes to Midwest waters. What's more, he's a heck of a fly-tier, an innovator and artist with feather and fur.

I don't see Bill much anymore, but nine out of ten times I'm out on the water from May to October, I'm using his creation. The last I knew, Bill was working in the fly-fishing department at Cabela's. When my teenage sons and I ran into him, the reputation I'd built up in them about his fly-tying acumen was such that they must have thought they were in the presence of royalty. Anyway, they were impressed. In the relatively small, clubby world of fly-fishing, they should have been. He's a consummate pro.

The Bill Miller Crayfish fly is possibly the most versatile, subsurface freshwater fly ever made. There are a lot of crayfish patterns out there; I have never had even close to the success I've had with Bill's design. I'm not prone to gushing, but I have to say this fly is amazing.

For smallmouth anglers, the fly is unbeatable. It's been featured in American Angler Magazine, in itself an honor. On this fly, I've caught countless smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass, bluegill, long-eared and green sunfish, goggle-eye, carp, catfish and brown trout. I even once had a huge gar strike it, although since I was not expecting an ambush from that toothy, prehistoric beast, it quickly snipped my tippet and was gone with a swirl. The fly's known to attract pickerel and pike, lunker rainbow trout, even "trash fish" like dogfish (also known as grinnell or bowfin) and others. If fact, I'd bet any freshwater predatory fish is prone to the Bill Miller crayfish's wily allure.

I'm not a very good fly tier. I guess I'm too lazy, even though I actually enjoy it, especially when I catch a fish on a flies I've made myself. For me, tying a Bill Miller crayfish is a slow process, rather intricate for my level of (in)experience. A skilled tier can probably knock them off fairly quickly.

Tied on a bent-shank hook (DAI-RIKI 700 B or DAIICHI 1730, size 2 through 8), the barb rides up, allowing it to bounce over stones and bottom debris with less likelihood of snagging. The reverse pattern means the tail is on the eye-end of the hook, so that it fishes backwards, just the way crayfish move when fleeing. The fly is weighted

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