Shrimp patterns are always fun to tie. These salt water imitatoins are easy to do and fish well. Martin Joergensen has once again pursued the art of imitating these salt water arthopods - this time utilizing his family's hair brushes! Read the story and find the patterns here.
I used to tie a lot of shrimp patterns. I don't do that anymore. One of the reasons is that I like my shrimp patterns to have eyes, and when it comes to eyes, I always chose one of two alternatives: home made or store bought.
They both have their disadvantages.
Now I'm back on the track when it comes to shrimp patterns.
Store bought vs. home made
Pro: they are cheap, close to free, come in any size you want.
Contra: they are a chore to make. You need thick monofilament, a flame, varnish or a marker and time and patience. I used to make a bunch at the time, but my patience failed me. They also tend to vary more in size than you want.
Pro: they are uniform in shape and size, less work.
Contra: they are expensive - on the verge of the hilarious. Here in Denmark I can easily be ripped of up to USD 5.- or for a bag containing somewhere between a dozen and 30 eyes. That is too expensive for my taste.
Cheap brushes - cheap eyes. These were bought in a local supermarket at one dollar a piece.
Brush up your smile
I don't remember when the thought came to me, but the solution to my problem was brushes. Ordinary hair brushes. The 'hairs' of these are generally made out of a stem with a small drop shaped ball at the tip. The shaft can be made from metal or plastic. Lucky for us, the least expensive ones are plastic. The plastic shafts are easier to work with and add less weight to the fly.
If you have a large bulk of hair or have a family member who has, you might already have a good supply of shrimp eyes in your bathroom closet.
If not, these brushes are usually available at a dollar or less a piece. And one brush contains from 50 to 100 or more eyes, bringing the price down to a very acceptable level.
They come in all sorts of sizes and colors, and if you shop around a bit, you can get a huge selection of all kinds of eyes.
The plucked (top) or cut (bottom) eyes together with the doom of the hairbrush. Notice how some brushes come with white tips. Others are colored, translucent or any variation in between. Always be on the lookout for cheap hairbrushes.
Bend the stalks of the eyes to suit your purpose. Some patterns require straight eyes others slant ones.
Cutting up
Creating eyes from a brush consists of nothing more than going berserk with a set of cutters. Heavy scissors or pliers do the job. In some cases you can just pluck the eyes off the brush, where they are inserted into a soft plastic membrane. In other cases the base of the stems are embedded in the handle, and mild violence is the only way to separate the two.
Collect the newly cut - or plucked - eyes in small Ziploc bags and you are ready to tie shrimp or damsel nymph patterns galore without the dreading task of burning mono or the even more dreading task of going to the bank to raise your credit.
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