Wow, the grizzly shrimp!
I have been fishing it for years and had never heard it mentioned anywhere. Whenever I showed it anyone, I usually just get funny looks, but it does catch fish.
In the late eighties I was fishing the Hams Fork and met a local fly fisherman named Martin Hanguich from Kemmerer. Martin was a photographer by profession. He was also an avid fly fisher who fished the Green River from Flaming Gorge in the south to the Green River lakes in the north as well as every tributary and lake in between. The local paper often carried pictures quite regularly of Martin with big fish he had caught. He was a float tuber who fished from a tube well into his seventies. Great person and a master fisherman.
Any way on that particular night I watched Martin land two huge trout, a brown and rainbow. I asked him what kind of fly he was using, and he showed me a fly he called a grizzly shrimp. It was a large fly and he fished it deep. As the conversation continued, I mentioned that I was just learning to tie flies and he invited me over to his house for a lesson on tying this pattern. I jumped at the opportunity to be schooled by a master. He showed me how to tie two variations of the fly. I have been using it ever since. About a year later we met on the river again and he had a new pattern called a sparrow, and we had another tutorial that night. I've never tied or used it, but I might just have to dig it out and try it next spring. My son always makes sure I have some grizzly shrimp tied up when we head to that part of the country.
I don't know if this is the same pattern that Del Canty created, but here it is:
hook: various..straight shank, to roe hooks
size: 2-10
thread: black
tail: grey squirrel tail
abdomen: chenille - yellow,red,orang,green...
legs: grizzly
dle hackle
shell: grey squirrel tail
Instructions:
cover hook with thread,
tie in hackle 1/3 of the way up the shank
attach chenille and wrap forward leaving plenty of room for the head.
palmer hackle through chenille tie off and clip.
attach squirrel tail at bend of hook
seperate hackle and fold down to create legs
bring squirrel tail over top of fly to create shell
secure shell at head
wrap nice big head
cement head.
Variations: use red squirrel tail with brown
dle hackle
Hint: trim head at an angle and apply head cement to hold head better.
That was probably confusing. I'll see about posting some pics if I can get the kids to help me.
If you would like a sample or two PM me your address and I'll send you a couple.
Chester
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