Bauer Crab White Fly

About the Bauer Crab White Saltwater Fly

The Bauer Crab White is a highly effective permit crab fly for bright, shallow flats where fish get a long look at everything. With its pale, rounded body and long, knotted rubber legs, it offers a clean, natural crab silhouette that settles nicely and stays convincing during long pauses. When permit are tailing over light sand or cruising in clear water, this white saltwater crab pattern can be the difference between a follow and a confident eat.

This version features a buoyant, “furry” white body paired with weighted eyes to help it sit correctly, plus long, articulated legs that continue to move with the slightest current.

Fishing Tips:

How it works

• Pale profile for light bottom: The white body is ideal over sand and bright flats, making this a superb crab fly for permit when natural, washed-out tones are key.
• Crab shape, not shrimp: The rounded body and splayed legs create an instant crab footprint; exactly what permit expect when they’re hunting.
• Movement while stationary: The long rubber legs and knotted joints twitch and wave on the pause, selling the “alive” factor without needing constant stripping.
• Settles into the zone: Weighted eyes help the fly drop and sit in a realistic posture, keeping your permit crab fly where it needs to be, on the deck.

How to fish it

• Lead the fish and let it settle. Give it a moment to look natural before you move it.
• Use tiny scoots and long pauses: one short strip, then stop. Overworking a crab fly is the quickest way to get refused.
• When a permit tips down and tracks tight, freeze the fly. Let the fish commit, then set with a firm strip-strike.
• If fish are wary, go even smaller with the movement and increase pause time. If they’re competitive, a slightly quicker scoot can trigger a reaction.
• Keep the rod low and strip-strike first, then lift once you feel solid weight.

Country of origin for this saltwater fly: America