New Shrimp Pattern

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Prof. Salt
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New Shrimp Pattern

Post by Prof. Salt »

Chasing reds this month I've been casting crab flies to cruising fish and they eat them often, but I can't cast a crab fly on the 2wt and for some reason that's been bothering me, lol. I have noticed lately that little 1-1.5" shrimp are often leaping out of the water ahead of those cruising fish, so I got busy trying to recreate the little crustaceans so I can include the tiny rod in my lineup, especially for those still mornings where the reds are spooky and casting is easy if you can avoid making much noise. Here's what I came up with, and I think it will work well enough:

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2 Weight Willie
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Re: New Shrimp Pattern

Post by 2 Weight Willie »

Nice, looks very realistic. Good time to make it too. As winter rolls around, crustaceans will become a more popular food choice .

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Re: New Shrimp Pattern

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Thanks, now I need to start figuring out how to make it weedless too. I don't prefer the mono loops but I do have a bunch of bendback hooks. Just one more idea rolling around in my head...
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2 Weight Willie
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Re: RE: Re: New Shrimp Pattern

Post by 2 Weight Willie »

Prof. Salt wrote:Thanks, now I need to start figuring out how to make it weedless too. I don't prefer the mono loops but I do have a bunch of bendback hooks. Just one more idea rolling around in my head...
Mono guards are the only thing I can think of other than remaking the fly on an inverted hook, but that would stupid to even think of.

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Prof. Salt
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Re: New Shrimp Pattern

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I keep thinking I can make a mono lead for a smaller bendback hook, so I can build half the shrimp on the mono and half on the hook, with the eyes and horn out beyond the hook tip. Not sure it will translate to a practical fly, but figuring out if it can be done is half the fun. In grassy conditions it would be a great fly to have available ...if I can figure out how to make it.
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2 Weight Willie
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Re: RE: Re: New Shrimp Pattern

Post by 2 Weight Willie »

Prof. Salt wrote:I keep thinking I can make a mono lead for a smaller bendback hook, so I can build half the shrimp on the mono and half on the hook, with the eyes and horn out beyond the hook tip. Not sure it will translate to a practical fly, but figuring out if it can be done is half the fun. In grassy conditions it would be a great fly to have available ...if I can figure out how to make it.
That is an interesting design. If u could get it to work, it would probably also give the fly some more motion when working it back.

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ben_beyer
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Re: New Shrimp Pattern

Post by ben_beyer »

What size hook is that?
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Prof. Salt
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Re: New Shrimp Pattern

Post by Prof. Salt »

ben_beyer wrote:What size hook is that?
Size 4 so the fly is about 1.5" long to match the shrimp I'm seeing on the flats lately.
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karstopo
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Re: New Shrimp Pattern

Post by karstopo »

Looks great.
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Re: New Shrimp Pattern

Post by Prof. Salt »

I’ve rethought how I’m assembling the fly, and after changing the order of components I’m happier with the results.
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ben_beyer
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Re: New Shrimp Pattern

Post by ben_beyer »

I saw your post for this on Facebook. Very nice!
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Prof. Salt
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Re: New Shrimp Pattern

Post by Prof. Salt »

This. This is what I had in mind. Profile is good and it looks right, but will it swim correctly? Only one way to find out.
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