This year I'm in a new area with very few hunters but plenty of fish to chase - but you've got to pay if you want to play in this area. It's about four miles each direction to get in and out. Anyhow, the fishing has been good and every trip I get a chance to test out the latest versions of some fly patterns I've been developing. The crab fly is a redfish staple because the fish will almost always stop to eat a small crab when they find one. But some mornings the wind doesn't blow and fish are really spooky. They won't put up with a fluffy lure pushing water. After spooking many fish that way I started working on a small epoxy shrimp that wouldn't spook the fish but would allow me a simple way to hook those "spooky" fish. Here are the latest versions of the two patterns:
The crab is a lot of fun for actively feeding fish. Pitch it in front of a school and (if not instantly eaten) give it a slow twitch.
And they fare pretty well under the intense abuse that reds can dish out to a lure. This one survived six redfish and a couple more that came unbuttoned:
I love this game because redfish will eat anything that looks like food, just make sure your lures do look like food. The reds are always watching...
looks good enough to eat. Great fishing report & dramatic photos, Professor. 
