Shrimp fly patterns

Having seen, tied and fished shrimp flies for many years, Martin feels a need to do a little lecture on the real appearance of shrimp, especially targeted at fly tyers.

My shrimp patterns have always been pretty impressionistic. That was until I saw a video using some pre-made legs… then I dug into my stash, and a fairly realistic shrimp emerged

A realistic, perfect swimming shrimp imitation for both hot and cold water and a big variety of species.
The fly has many neat details and is a great upgrade from those quickly tied flies. It makes your fly box look great and keeps you away from the TV.

Sea trout have shrimp high on their menu - if not on top. Here's a simple one-feather-shrimp

Matching the hatch is rarely the item when fishing for sea trout in the ocean. The fish are rarely selective and you're sometimes surprised by which flies they are willing to take. But on a few occasions it can be important to imitate the small animals eaten by the trout.

A simple shrimp pattern that does not use the popular but expensive Spey hackle

There are thousands of shrimp patterns in the world, made from the same template. This pattern is a time consumer, but it makes it more interesting tying shrimp flies. The eyes, proportions and legs gives this pattern some kind of magic.

The originator, Danish Claus Eriksen, has tied Pattegrisen in all colors, and all of them catch fish, but the pink-pig-color is superior to all other he explains

The Baltic seatrout community has been going berserk over a huge pink fly called the Pink Pig. I find that the Mini Pig is a more sensible alternative. This article covers two versions.