The Horner’s Deer Hair Shrimp pattern is very effective on all salmonids.
Many folks enjoy shrimp as tasty morsels in a salad or topping a pizza. Game fish, too, relish shrimps as a staple item in their diet. The little pink ones we humans like are on their menu as well as the green, gray, golden and multi-hued versions. While not all are true shrimp; some are euphausiids, amphipods, copepods or other like critters, fly fishers lump them into the same category… killer fly patterns. This is one of the most all-round productive imitations conceived. This pattern is a good one to use for all anadromous salmonids in streams and estuaries.
Hook – Gamakatsu “Octopus”, size #2 or #4, red anodized
Thread – 3/0 Uni Thread or Kevlar, black
Weight – Lead fuse wire, .030” or .035” diameter, six or seven wraps
Body – Poly Braid™ silver, wound over hook shank and lead wire
Body Hackle – Grizzly rooster hackle, palmered over silver body, trimmed off top side
Tail – Bucktail tips, natural brown colour, long
Shellback – Bucktail (continuation of tip hairs), twisted slightly and tied down
Head – Stubble of deer hair, trimmed short, lacquered for durability
Note: Use clear lacquer or Sally Hansen’s “Hard as Nails” to coat hair shellback for increased durability.
Sea-run Cutthroats will attack “shrimp” flies in both fresh and salt water.
