Tying Shrimp Flies

A Shrimp Fly for Bonefish, Redfish, and Permit

Mar 4, 2009 Thomas Wyatt

Shrimp are consumed by just about every fish that inhabits shallow inshore waters. They make up fundamental parts of the diets of bonefish, permit, and redfish.

This is the recipe for a realistic shrimp pattern that has lots of fiber and rubber legs, which undulate and swim in the water. View the picture to see how the finished fly is supposed to look. This fly may be difficult to tie for inexperienced fly tyers.

Fly Ingredients

  • saltwater hook, size 2-6
  • craft fur (tan or white)
  • pearl crystal flash
  • 40 lb monofilament for the eyes (glass beads in orange or brown can be used with the monofilament)
  • lead wire, bead chain, or lead eyes for weight
  • burnt orange marabou
  • tan or gold rubber legs (or sili legs), or rubber floss for legs
  • tan or white thread

Tying Directions

  1. Put hook in the vice and wrap thread back to the bend in the hook. Tie a clump of craft fur in, facing back as a tail, to resemble the legs and antennae of the shrimp
  2. With the hook point down, tie a few strands of crystal flash on top of the craft fur.
  3. Tie one rubber leg on each side of the tail, and use a little craft fur as dubbing on the thread (twist some short fibers around the thread) and wrap over the area where everything was tied in.
  4. Take some monofilament and melt two eyes by holding a lighter to the end of the mono, then blowing it out if it was on fire, and letting it cool. If desired, glass beads may be slipped on, where the melted ball of monofilament will keep them from sliding off. Tie the eyes in, one on each side, just back from where the craft fur, flash, and legs were tied in. After tied in, they should be on stalks about half an inch long.
  5. Tie some orange marabou above the eyes (the fly should ride hook point up), so this should be tied under the bend of the hook.
  6. Tie in a pair of bead chain or lead eyes on top of the hook shank (to flip the fly and have it ride hook up) or wrap some lead wire along the shank to give it the right amount of weight.
  7. Now craft fur is going to be used as dubbing. Either simply twist craft fur around the thread, or take the thread and make a dubbing loop. If doing the loop, pull some thread with your fingers, and tightly wrap over it, so that a thread loop comes off the hook at the back of the hook just behind where the eyes and tail were tied in. take some trimmed craft fur, hold it in the loop, and pull down on the loop and twist. Now this can be wrapped over the hook shank like a hackle feather. Wrap halfway to the eye of the hook, then tie off the loop, and trim, so that only half of the body is dubbed.
  8. Tie in a few more rubber legs, off to the sides and on the bottom of the hook shank.
  9. Twist some more craft fur on the thread or make another craft fur dubbing loop and wrap to just behind the eye of the hook, or the bead chain eyes if they were used.
  10. Now all of the body has a furry appearance. Tie in a few more rubber legs, and maybe put a little craft fur (tied in, not used as dubbing) over the back of the shrimp (which means under the hook shank, flowing back like the back of a Clouser minnow).
  11. Knot the thread and cement. If desired, use a sharpie to stripe the tail.

This fly is not too difficult to tie, and it fishes well. Using natural colors (like tan and white) makes it look realistic and natural, which helps it to catch fish.

The copyright of the article Tying Shrimp Flies in Hunting & Fishing is owned by Thomas Wyatt. Permission to republish Tying Shrimp Flies in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Several Shrimp Flies in Various Sizes , Tom Wyatt Several Shrimp Flies in Various Sizes
A Closeup of the Finished Fly, Tom Wyatt A Closeup of the Finished Fly
 
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