Martin shrimp fly -- variations?

[TXH20man 0]

I'm a 2-month-old tier (having a ball with it) and posted some stuff up over in the beginner's corner, but thought maybe this was a better place for this question ...

 

I ran across a how-to video on the Martin shrimp fly and thought it looked pretty and useful and fairly simple to tie. I've tied a bunch now. And caught both trout and redfish (and ladyfish) on them.

 

Questions:

 

1. Early on, I dispensed with the marabou tail, which was a pain in the butt to tie and didn't seem to offer much in the way of additional action. Thoughts on this? Would I get more looks with it?

 

2. Again, in an effort to simplify, I recently decided to tie some with Crystal Flash antennae rather than the monofilament antennae in the original. It seems to me that the mono antennae (i've used both 4 lb and 12 lb) are pretty stiff and probably don't show up well in the water.

 

3. Finally, fishing the fly, I've found the most effective method is a super slow strip (I imagine this allows the "legs" to flutter about) with the occasional panicked-shrimp hop. I guess it could be fished faster with a lot of long, sharp retrieves. Honestly we're just now seeing shrimp show up in our bays again in good numbers, so it hasn't been on the menu of the fish I've been targeting. Anyway, thoughts on fishing it?

 

4. Finally, other (better?) shrimp patterns I should try?

 

For anyone not familiar, the recipe calls for mono eyes and antennae, UV polar chenille legs, bucktail body/horn and clear heat shink tubing cut to shape and tied on. Only place I could find the heat shrink tubing in clear was Amazon.com -- $9 for 200 pieces assorted sizes.

 

Some examples below.

 

Thanks!

[Flat Rock native 0]

Great looking flies TexasWaterGuy. Cannot help much with salt patterns but still willing to pay to work on that Tugboat... Hope ypur holiday was as good as your tying and Fishing!

[mikechell 0]

I can't help you with salt water flies, either ... but I AM impressed!

 

I'm a 2-month-old tier

 

At two months, you're tying and typing better than most of the adults on this site !!! I mean, most two month olds can't even grab something with their hands, and there you are, modifying flies !!!

 

Just kidding ... First sentence caught me off guard.

[TXH20man 0]

Thanks Flat Rock ... I'll let you know as soon as we have openings. ;-)

 

Mike, I almost said "toddler tier" -- that's how it feels. LOL.

[Saltybum 0]

Look out when you reach first grade.

[tidewaterfly 0]

I'm not seeing your pics for some reason. I took a look at that fly, and cannot say why the marabou is used, except it should add a bit more movement. IMO for shrimp, some crabs & crayfish imitations most folks put way too much effort into tying them, as they try to make the fly look like the real thing. I've yet to find it necessary. Motion & a basic form seems to work as well & most times better.

 

Admittedly, I've tied that style of shrimp pattern too in the past and had some success with them but frankly it's difficult to get them balanced correctly & they often don't swim/move like a real shrimp. That may not matter, but I have much more confidence in fishing the fly when it does what I want it to do. On a shallow flat, where you're fishing them on the bottom I like to see mine at least "act" like the real thing, but if you're drifting them in open water & current, that might have a different appearance to them.

 

I do like a few strands of Crystal Flash or similar material in such a pattern, but not too sure it looks like antennae. I've added the mono eyes too, but again not too sure it's necessary. I've caught plenty of fish on patterns without the eyes.

 

Take a look at a "Squimp" pattern. That's one I've had good success with, except & usually tie the body with Estaz or cactus chenille. I use it as a crayfish pattern too.

There are others that are not difficult to tie & work well. Even a Clouser Minnow style fly can make a decent shrimp imitation if you use appropriate materials and they're easy to tie.

 

As far as how to fish them, if what you're doing is working, then stick with it until it doesn't. IMO, how we retrieve a fly is best decided by the fish we target & it's always going to be something we might have to experiment with to find.

[tidewaterfly 0]

Here's some Squimp" flies in various colors. I like to tie mine like these.

http://www.saltwaterflyfishing.com.au/board/threads/squimps.6001/

[TXH20man 0]

Tidewater, thanks so much. I'll take a look at that pattern. And I appreciate the feedback. Let's see if I can get those pics to post ... now I am not seening them either, though they were there to begin with ....

 

[TXH20man 0]

Tidewater, have you tied the squimp without the eyes? At least some of the time I'm fishing deeper water under lights and want my fly near the surface, or at least in the first 4 ft of the water column.

[tidewaterfly 0]

No, have only tied the Squimp with barbell eyes. I've tied them in various sizes, and used small brass barbells, which sink slower, but I've always fished them on or very near the bottom. Plastic eyes could be used, but may not invert the hook. Of course, you can try tying them without the eyes, so the hook point is down, which should not be a problem that high in the water column or near the surface.

 

I can see your pics now too, at least the ones you've re-posted. They all look very good, and could see them working well up in the water, especially at night.

[TXH20man 0]

Okay. Thanks. I was thinking maybe a real small wrap of lead wire on the shank might solve the hook up/down issue, without the weight of the eyes. Of course, they look more like squid with the eyes.

 

For the Martin-esque shrimp, the polar chenille actually works as a bit of a weed guard with the hook down.

 

I have also thought about a light coat of silicone at the stage before adding the chenille ... thinking that might keep it at the surface.

 

Thoughts about that? Other than messy and time-consuming?

[Flat Rock native 0]

TexasWaterGuy, I have possible solutions, although I may not completely understand the problem.

 

( it must be contagious, there seems to be a lot of that going on around here, not this thread, ie many others)

 

You can build your own eyes easily. Just clip mono that fills the hole in a bead, on one end -melt the mono, drop the beads on, clip and melt the mono on other end, the desired length, hang on shank, tie in. If you search Cabela's under Lil' Corky, live bait floater, and glow eggs you will see beads or foam products that have some fishing application. If you visit a store such as Hobby Lobby you will find an almost indescribable variety of beads.

 

I often use a lead keel to make HRU's or down. Sometimes it helps to flatten the lead with a hammer, thinning it, to layer or wrap, depending on how much gap you need to keep open...

 

I like neutral buoyancy on just about all flies that fish sub surface, unless I am dealing with currents...

 

keep tying and posting them flies

[TXH20man 0]

Flat Rock ... great tips. Thanks!

 

Here are some squimps ... I imagine I need to get the eyes farther back on the shank, but we'll see how they fish.

 

I used craft fur for the tail and matching bucktail for the collar. One of the things I've figured out (belatedly) is that I don't want craft fur forward of the hook on most anything I've tied so far. Fouls like crazy.

 

[tidewaterfly 0]

You can do all kinds of things to get a desired result, so doesn't hurt to experiment some. A thin strip of foam down the back would keep the fly on or close to the surface depending on the other materials you choose.

 

What you've tied looks good & I'm sure will catch you some fish! Using bucktail which has some buoyancy to it should help keep them up in the water column.

 

As far as:

 

 

Of course, they look more like squid with the eyes.

 

Does that really matter? We can never be sure why any fish take our flies. It's only important that they will take them.

[Flat Rock native 0]

You can do all kinds of things to get a desired result, so doesn't hurt to experiment some. A thin strip of foam down the back would keep the fly on or close to the surface depending on the other materials you choose.

 

What you've tied looks good & I'm sure will catch you some fish! Using bucktail which has some buoyancy to it should help keep them up in the water column.

 

As far as:

 

 

 

Of course, they look more like squid with the eyes.

Does that really matter? We can never be sure why any fish take our flies. It's only important that they will take them.

True this tidewater fly. Foam is good, if not compressed too tight. I have taken to using polyolefin (Macrame) yarn, even on streamers and baitfish imitations, among the tailing materials, so it keeps the bend of hook a bit more bouyant, add small weight behind eye, so it swims level or dives headfirst. Thanks, keep posting