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EP Shrimp Fly Step-by-Step:
A simple yet effective pattern, the EP shrimp fly is the most recent addition to our Step-by-Step tying library. Tied in six steps, and taking advantage of one of Enrico Puglisi’s many premade dubbing brushes, even the novice tyer can complete this pattern in a matter of minutes.
Mimicing a fleeing shrimp, this pattern is at it’s best fished over shallow flats with a quick, erratic retrieve.
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EP Shrimp Fly Step-by-Step Tying Instructions:
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Tips and Tricks:
1. Double Up:
I know I’ve said this before, but, if your rod can handle it, fish these streamers in tandem. While double the hooks may not directly correlate to double the hook ups, personal experience suggests the odds improve when presenting two fleeing prey items as opposed to one. This isn’t to say you’ll double up with regularity, but even that’s not out of the realm of possibility if Specks are schooling.
2. DIY Monofilament Eyes:
Making stalked monofilament eyes for shrimp and crab patterns is one of the easier DIY projects a new tyer can undertake. All you need is some heavy monofilament, a lighter and a copic marker.
Securing a 2″ to 3″ section of mono in your vise, carefully expose the tip to the flame. As the mono heats, the tip will melt forming a bead. Once the bead has reached the desired size (usually within a few seconds), remove it from the heat and allow it to cool. Once cooled and solidified, all that is left is to color the eye with permanent marker.
If you’d like to take your DIY mono eyes to the next level, try subbing in colored UV resin for permanent marker. Any number of brands now offer a variety of colors to the fly tying community. Try Solarez Colored UV Cure Resin in Chartreuse for a similar look to the eyes shown in today’s tutorial.
3. One for the Spin Fishing crowd:
Winds in the Louisiana marsh can be unpredictable to say the least. And it’s not uncommon for forecast light winds to turn into 20 mph+ by the time you finally reach the water. As a result, I always have a spinning rod in tow when headed for the marsh. Though I’ll always start with topwater when spin fishing, I often switch to jigging soft plastics as the day progresses. It’s an extremely effective method of targeting specks and reds, but on occassion I find that I am met by “short strikes” and missed hook sets throughout the day. This was the case on one particular day this past May.
Frustrated with lack of fish brought to hand, I remembered an article I had read regarding a striped bass fisherman using smaller streamer patterns as a trailer behind his bucktail jigs. Deciding it couldn’t hurt to try, I tied a 15″ section of Fluorocarbon to the bend in my hook and attached an EP Shrimp to the other end. Two casts later, I was pulling a 14″ speckled trout over the side of my kayak. A second and third followed shortly. Similar results followed with both specks and slot reds ignoring my jig in favor of the EP Shrimp trailer on a particularly windy morning early in the summer. Since those two trips, the jig and trailer setup has remained on my spinning rod.
Proof of Concept:
Prior to the start of what has been an extremely busy hurricane season here in Louisiana, I ventured to Grand Isle a number of times with the intent of testing this shrimp pattern. As noted above, the wind interfered with a number of those attempts. However, on more than one occasion winds remained calm enough to utilize my 7wt for the duration of the trip.
In each instance, this shrimp pattern shined. And to date, it has landed numerous speckled trout to 17″ and even a handful of slot reds as I worked the rocks, reefs and flats adjacent to the Island’s kayak launch.
Species Caught on the EP Shrimp to Date:
- Redfish
- Speckled Trout
- Striped Mullet
- Hardhead Catfish
- Silver Perch
- Striped Searobin
Tight Lines Everyone!
-Chris