Born out of necessity to target Indo-Pacific Permit, the Alphlexo Crab has quickly become a staple pattern for almost every permit angler out there. Constructed out of mesh tubing to get the fly down into the feeding zone fast, this fly has truly changed the game where Permit are concerned.
Developed by the team at Alphonse Fishing Company in Seychelles, the pattern simply works to fool just about every flats species out there that love to munch on crabs. According to Keith Rose-Innes, one of the creators of the pattern, the fly was developed to target triggerfish on the flats and they were very effective. Keith gave the pattern to a guest, and they immediately hooked a permit that they couldn’t stop, and the pattern kept repeating itself, Keith knew they were onto something. The next season they took the flies out in a few different colors and quickly realized how much the fly changed the Indo-Pacific Permit game. Good permit days were soon defined by the number of fish landed as opposed to shots at fish.
The pattern is relatively simple to tie, once you figure out how to work with the flex tubing, but with some practice, you can fill your flats box with these bottom feeder treats.
How to Tie the Alphlexo Crab
The fly even inspired a film in the latest Fly Fishing Film Tour featuring Keith and other developers of the fly, showing just how effective the pattern can be when chasing Permit in any ocean!
Photos courtesy of the one and only Keith Rose-Innes of Alphonse Fishing Company.
[…] and never went fishing without a wide variety in their fly boxes. In the most recent years, the Alphlexo Crab has gotten tons of attention for its productivity, but the history does not lie. Del’s Merkin […]