mono and nickel eye placement are critical in this fly
Our version of this fly has proven very successful for Permit in our waters. It's lifelike motion and breathability in the water make it a great pattern of any saltwater predator that preys on shrimp. We are testing this fly for flats species from Cape Cod to Venezueala and will report back results as they come in.
head of fly complete, all tied to the mono post, now time to add dubbing
Start out by using a size 2 Gamakatsu SC15 hook. This hook is important in the design of the Standing Shrimp as it is not too heavy to tip over the fly. Once in the vise, tie in a medium lead eye in Nickel or Black finish. Follow with a 3" piece of 80-100# mono and tie off the back as shown. Once tied in, reverse fly in the vise as shown and begin to tie onto the mono hanging off the hook shank. This will now serve as your anchor for materials. Tie in the egg sack (orange yarn), Horn (pale polar fiber), eyes, antennae (Pecory hair) and sili-legs. Now you have the head of the fly complete as shown.
mono post is completely dubbed. Tie off and reverse in the vise.
Once materials are secure, you can begin to dub the post using SLF fibers. I like to use a dubbing tool to make the fly more buggy. Stagger light and dark SLF fibers in your dubbing loop as shown to give the fly more contrast..you will see when finished how this adds realism to the pattern. When the loop is twisted, dub the entire post and tie off on the hook shank as shown. Now remove the fly from the vise and put back in a traditional manner.
Fly now reversed in the viseV-rib off the back and mono "stands" tied in
Once back in the vise, it is time to dub the rest of the fly, but first, you must tie in ribbing material (v-rib works great). Secure the rib material to the bottom of the hook shank, and let it hang off the back...the rib is the last step in this fly. Now tie in mono "stands" to allow the fly to stand upright when sitting on the bottom. I like to use 30# mono for this step. Tie in mid-way down the hook shank and splay them to each side. Keep them to about 1" total length.
Shell is on and the rib creates segmented appearance
Now you are ready to continue dubbing the fly all the way to the dumbell. Once complete, cut out the shell using Thin Skin. Make the cut so that one end is rounded off and the end that goes over the hook eye is square. Pierce the rounded end onto the hook point and bring it down so that it now resembles the hard shell of a shrimp (like the one you remove when you clean cocktail shrimp. Make it form nicely over the dubbing and use the ribbing material to create a segmented look. Tie off the ribbing material at the hook eye and the fly is complete.
