The Diablo’s rear legs are attached at the start of the hook bend in the usual manner. However, the legs that protrude from the side of the body are fastened simply by placing them in position under the shank and holding them up by their tips with light tension. Just wind over the juncture as you wrap the chenille forward to the eye of the hook. Take care to position the legs to protrude directly out the sides of the fly, angled back slightly like wings, before wrapping the chenille tightly. The pressure from the chenille is enough to secure the rubber legs in position.

Flats fish may be wily, but they can’t count. There is no need for eight legs on a crab fly--four legs are enough to create the proper impression. Sometimes, to enhance the fly’s movement, I use four rubber legs in the tail, and four (two on each side) on the body. It still involves only two attachments. Simply hold two strands of rubber together and fasten them in, doubling the count but not the number of tying steps.

The Diablo is a sight-fishing pattern. Regardless of the target species, the fly must be “fed” to the fish visually with an artful, attention-grabbing retrieve. The take is often a strike that is seen and not felt because the fish often takes the fly while it is resting motionless on the bottom. This is especially true while bonefishing with the Mini Diablo.

Cast the fly far enough ahead of the fish so it settles to the bottom before the fish spots it. Bring it to life with a series of hops and twitches with intermittent pauses. Watch for the fish to eat the fly during a pause.

A common error is to impart too much movement to the fly--the hops and twitches should be short and subtle. Gamefish (excluding permit) rarely pounce on a crab. Instead, they mull it over, so use subtle, stop-and-go movements to hold their attention. The longer a fish looks over your crab, the more likely it will take it.

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Alan Caolo has been flats fishing for 15 years, pursuing bonefish, permit, and tarpon in the tropics, and stripers in the Northeast. He is the author of Sight-Fishing for Striped Bass (Amato Publications, 2001).

This article originally appeared in the July 2007 issue of Fly Fisherman.

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