The fly box · No. 27 of 36
Pink Shrimp
Freshwater shrimp, in a colour far brighter than most of the naturals.
- Kind
- Nymph
- Hook sizes
- 10–16
- Season
- Autumn, winter, spring
- For
- Grayling and trout
- At the vice
- A moderate tie
The dressing
| Hook | Curved heavy-wire grub hook, barbless, sizes 10–16 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Pink or tan, 8/0 |
| Tail | None, or a few short fibres of pale partridge as feelers |
| Body | Pink dubbing, a mix of seal’s fur substitute and soft fur, picked out underneath |
| Rib | Clear nylon monofilament, about 0.15 mm, six or seven turns over the back |
| Hackle | None; the dubbing teased out below the hook acts as legs |
| Wing | None; a shellback of clear or pale pink stretch film lies over the back |
| Also | Underbody of lead-free wire, or a strip of it bound along the top of the shank to hump the back |
Tying it
- Wrap lead-free wire over the middle of the shank and cover it with thread, tapering both ends.
- Take the thread well round the bend and tie in the monofilament and the strip of film.
- Dub a full body that is thickest in the middle, stopping just short of the eye.
- Pull the film forward over the back and tie it down.
- Wind the monofilament forward in even turns to segment the back, tie off and whip finish.
- Pick the dubbing out underneath with a needle or a scrap of hook-and-loop tape, and trim the fibres level with the hook point.
Fishing it
Winter grayling lie deep in the steadier water beside the main current, and this fly is made to reach them. Fish it as the point fly of a two-nymph team on 5X (0.15 mm) tippet, on a short upstream line with the rod held high, or beneath a small indicator in longer glides. It should travel a fraction slower than the surface current, touching gravel now and then. A shoal will often give several fish from one lie, so rest the water between them and change depth before changing fly.
Where it comes from
No single tier can fairly claim the pink shrimp; it is a modern staple of uncertain origin that spread through British and European grayling fishing. Live shrimps are grey-olive, though some carry an orange spot left by a parasite, and that may be part of the appeal. More simply, pink shows up in cold, coloured winter water, and grayling move to it.