F-C Sand Shrimp Sr.
Fly of the Month 09.24a F-C Sand Shrimp, Sr.
Byron Fishing at Port St. Joe
The Sand Shrimp came to the market thanks to Ed Story from Feather Craft in St. Louis, Missouri. Ed liked to fish at Port St. Joe, Florida and this was his favorite redfish fly. Ed, who passed away early this year was a very helpful guy and very nice. He knew I was a competitor and told me it was OK to have them tied but not to use the FC in front of the pattern because that stood for Feather Craft. Later I would have a company in Asia tie them for us. I called it the Sand Shrimp.
I started tying my own after talking to Ed. On one trip to Port St. Joe it was the only fly a redfish would take. The water is clear there and this fly works better in clear water. Paula and I were fishing at the point where the bay meets the Gulf of Mexico and we had redfish follow our flies but they would shy away before eating them. I tied on a Sand Shrimp. When a redfish followed the fly I would speed up my retrieve. They would get more interested and move faster toward the fly. Just when they got close I would strip even faster. They slammed it then. We had a great day.
The Sand Shrimp has also worked on other saltwater species. In the photo above I am fighting a big Sheephead at Horseshoe Beach, Florida. Sheephead are hard to catch on a fly. This one saw the Sand Shrimp and swam three feet to eat it. I would not be on the water in the Gulf of Mexico without several of these. I probably have at least 50 tied up right now waiting for their day.
Fly of the Month 09.24a F-C Sand Shrimp, Sr.
Feather-Craft Sand Shrimp, Senior
Hook: Standard Saltwater Stainless, TMC 811S or equivalent. Size #1 or 1/0
Thread: Uni Thread 6/0 Red
Eyes: XLarge Bead Chain Eyes Black
Body: Estaz or similar Chenille - Rootbeer
Markers: Red and Black large Sharpie with wedge tip
Tail: Off White Polar Fiber and Pearl Krystal Flash
Wing: Brown Hareline Craft Fur
Finish: 5-min Epoxy, UV Resin or head cement
Directions:
Start your thread behind the eye and wrap back at least 1/2" then forward again to a point about 1/4" behind the eye or 1/3 the length of the hook shank back from the eye. At this point create a small ball of thread. This will help hold the bead chain eyes in place.
Tie in your dumbbell or bead chain eyes. I like to bead chain so the fly is easier to cast but you may want a heavier fly. Figure 8 the thread and wrap hard to keep the eyes in place. You can use epoxy later to secure the eyes.
Tie in some Krystal Flash for the tail. I like to use the Pearl color.
Tie in some Off White Polar Fiber at the hook bend. Remove the short underfur by holding the clump about midway with one hand and pull out the short fibers with the other. It is best to tie in several small clumps.
Tie in some Estaz or similar material at the hook bend and wrap your thread forward to just behind the bead chain eyes. The color I'm using here is Rootbeer.
Wrap the Estaz forward to the bead chain eyes and secure with the thread. Trim off the excess body material and move the thread to the front of the eyes.
At this point I whip finish the thread and cut off. Remove the fly and lay out on some paper to color the tail. Touch the tail with your Sharpie markers then turn over and touch them from the other side.
Place the fly back in your vise and tie in the wing of Hareline Craft Fur. This fur is stiff and tends not to get tangled in the hook. Form a head and whip finish.
I use 30-minute epoxy to finish the head and secure the eyes to the hook underneath the fly. If you use 30-minute epoxy you will need to use a turner. 5-minute epoxy will work fine and you won't need the turner. You can also use head cement. You are finished. Go catch some saltwater fish.
Alen Baker
Byron Fishing at Port St. Joe
The Sand Shrimp came to the market thanks to Ed Story from Feather Craft in St. Louis, Missouri. Ed liked to fish at Port St. Joe, Florida and this was his favorite redfish fly. Ed, who passed away early this year was a very helpful guy and very nice. He knew I was a competitor and told me it was OK to have them tied but not to use the FC in front of the pattern because that stood for Feather Craft. Later I would have a company in Asia tie them for us. I called it the Sand Shrimp.
I started tying my own after talking to Ed. On one trip to Port St. Joe it was the only fly a redfish would take. The water is clear there and this fly works better in clear water. Paula and I were fishing at the point where the bay meets the Gulf of Mexico and we had redfish follow our flies but they would shy away before eating them. I tied on a Sand Shrimp. When a redfish followed the fly I would speed up my retrieve. They would get more interested and move faster toward the fly. Just when they got close I would strip even faster. They slammed it then. We had a great day.
The Sand Shrimp has also worked on other saltwater species. In the photo above I am fighting a big Sheephead at Horseshoe Beach, Florida. Sheephead are hard to catch on a fly. This one saw the Sand Shrimp and swam three feet to eat it. I would not be on the water in the Gulf of Mexico without several of these. I probably have at least 50 tied up right now waiting for their day.
Fly of the Month 09.24a F-C Sand Shrimp, Sr.
Feather-Craft Sand Shrimp, Senior
Hook: Standard Saltwater Stainless, TMC 811S or equivalent. Size #1 or 1/0
Thread: Uni Thread 6/0 Red
Eyes: XLarge Bead Chain Eyes Black
Body: Estaz or similar Chenille - Rootbeer
Markers: Red and Black large Sharpie with wedge tip
Tail: Off White Polar Fiber and Pearl Krystal Flash
Wing: Brown Hareline Craft Fur
Finish: 5-min Epoxy, UV Resin or head cement
Directions:
Start your thread behind the eye and wrap back at least 1/2" then forward again to a point about 1/4" behind the eye or 1/3 the length of the hook shank back from the eye. At this point create a small ball of thread. This will help hold the bead chain eyes in place.
Tie in your dumbbell or bead chain eyes. I like to bead chain so the fly is easier to cast but you may want a heavier fly. Figure 8 the thread and wrap hard to keep the eyes in place. You can use epoxy later to secure the eyes.
Tie in some Krystal Flash for the tail. I like to use the Pearl color.
Tie in some Off White Polar Fiber at the hook bend. Remove the short underfur by holding the clump about midway with one hand and pull out the short fibers with the other. It is best to tie in several small clumps.
Tie in some Estaz or similar material at the hook bend and wrap your thread forward to just behind the bead chain eyes. The color I'm using here is Rootbeer.
Wrap the Estaz forward to the bead chain eyes and secure with the thread. Trim off the excess body material and move the thread to the front of the eyes.
At this point I whip finish the thread and cut off. Remove the fly and lay out on some paper to color the tail. Touch the tail with your Sharpie markers then turn over and touch them from the other side.
Place the fly back in your vise and tie in the wing of Hareline Craft Fur. This fur is stiff and tends not to get tangled in the hook. Form a head and whip finish.
I use 30-minute epoxy to finish the head and secure the eyes to the hook underneath the fly. If you use 30-minute epoxy you will need to use a turner. 5-minute epoxy will work fine and you won't need the turner. You can also use head cement. You are finished. Go catch some saltwater fish.
Alen Baker