What it is
Hareline Krystal Flash is a flash chenille built from Krystal Flash fibers wrapped on a thread core. It’s flashy with a subtle bit of movement in the water, and it’s made to be palmered cleanly up a shank.
What to tie with it
Use it for bodies, thoraxes, and heads when you want sparkle without going to a flat tinsel look. It also works well palmered as a body on streamers and leeches, and it’s a straightforward way to build Gurgler bodies and add pop to shrimp patterns.
Flies and the fish they're for
It shows up in streamer staples like the Schminnow and the Flash Bugger, both fished for trout and smallmouth in rivers and stillwaters, and they cross over easily to other predator fishing when you’re matching small bait. On topwater, it’s right at home in a Gurgler body for bass in ponds and lakes, and also for redfish and seatrout on skinny flats and in marshes. Tying guides also use Krystal Flash bodies as a rib in an X2 Caddis and as a body material in flies like the Crystal Serendipity, putting it in play for trout on caddis-driven freestone water and for general nymphing in rivers.
How it compares
Compared to Estaz, it’s a Krystal Flash-based chenille on a thread core rather than a flat mylar-style construction. It also differs from Krystal Flash Chenille in that the flash is Krystal Flash incorporated into the chenille build.