Currys Red Shrimp

[easky]

Have been meaning to do this for a while so here goes to kick things off - go easy with your comments . I got a bit carried away so to keep it manageable I will post in steps of 5. Hope this proves useful, I know every time I watch someone different tie I pick up something new

Materials:
- size 12 silver ED treble with red tying thread
- tag - silver oval
- tail - GP breast feather dyed orange and silver krystal hair
- rear body - silver wire rib over red lite brite
- middle hackle - silver badger dyed red
- front body - silver wire rib over black lite brite, JC
- front hackle - cream badger

Part One



tie in red thread down to back of hook, no need to cover the hook completely - this will happen anyway and you want to always bear in mind keeping the bulk down



tie in the oval silver, tie in from below/the side



wrap oval round the hook to create the tag, then tie off and trim



tie in the silver krystal hair, there are many ways of doing this but I always loop and tie in a shorter length first



I then cut and fold back the longer lenght - by having two distinct lengths means that when wet it doesn't 'glue together' and so gives more twickle/flash

[easky]

Part Two




select a suitable GP breast feather, I like to used the dyed orange ones as it gives a great colour in the water



strip back the waste feathers and fold back like you would a normal feather



tie in the feather - I do it by the base end as I find it easier to tie in the point when you have finished winding on the hackle - again this helps to keep the bulk down



as with other hackles I double/fold back the hackles



wind round the hackle, being careful not to prick yourself on the treble ;D (doubles are much easier to tie with but in Ireland trebles are more popular). At this stage it looks very messy but this is sorted out in the next step

[easky]

Part Three




stroke back the hackle and straighten out any that are bent round the shank of the hook. When you have got the hackles arranged neatly then stroke back and tie in so that they are angled backwards



tie in the silver wire, I use wire as it is much more durable that oval, can be a bit harder on your scissors though, esp if you have a good pair



in this version of the fly I have used lite bright rather than floss, the lite brite is a great material and as you use the fly it becomes frayed which gives a great effect. For low water summer conditions you would be better using the floss body to give a slimer profile



dub on the lite brite to make a 'rope' - the thread I use is pre-waxed but I also add a bit extra on to make the job easier



wrap round the rope of lite brite and tie off

[easky]

Part Four




wrap round the silver wire and tie off



the original pattern uses natural badger, I prefer to use a dyed red version as I think it gives more colour and attraction to the fly



select a feather by measuring it against the hook, this helps to give the correct proportions



when you have selected a feather stroke back the hackles, then to make it easier to tie in I cut back the end tips - this helps to grip in the feather .



tie in the feather

[easky]

Part Five




I use the back of my scissors to stroke back the hackles so they are at an angle, this makes it easier to double the hackle



I double the hackle to help it wind on easily and to give a more uniform profile



wind round the hackle stroking back the hackles after each turn



finish winding and tie off



tie in the silver wire for the front body

[easky]

Part Six




make a rope of black lite brite as before and wind round



wind round and tie off the silver wire



select JC, again by measuring against the fly/hook



strip off waste feather to leave tips



tie in the JC

[easky]

Part Seven




tie in badger hackle



angle back the hackles as before and wind round, tie off, wip finish and varnish



the finished fly - top profile



the finished fly - side profile

[clydebuilt]

Absolutely first class easky, guess what i'll be tying up soon

Cheers for taking the time to post.

Clydebuilt

[easky]

thanks guys, I got a bit carried away taking the photos but forgot how long it can take to upload them etc Think my next fly will have fewer steps ;D

Hope it is useful esp for people starting out as tying salmon flies can seem a bit daunting at first

Colin - I fish those same rivers, maybe bump into to you next year, you'll be the one using the silver trebles

E

[gazco]

can you tell me where you purchase your dyed red version of silver badger it looks a nice cape

[exerod]

Brilliant stuff Easky, nice clear photos too. Give us some more please!

Andy

[tyneandrew]

That is a very impressive fly, not seen one tied better really.

I tied some of Mr.Curry's red shrimp flies up on the Dee with the man himself. He was passing me the materials he wanted in it, so it was just as he liked it. It was a very basic pattern. Yellow tail - holographic silver tinsel body and arctic red fox wing. He empahsised that he like the materials to 'sway' in the water. All his fish came to this pattern.

[speycaster]

excellent tying mate ,stunning fly

[macsalmo]

I'll take my hat off to you Easky. That is first class.
Dont suppose you can do a tube fly one showing nice evenly tied round hair

Gary

[jimthefish]

tyneandrew said:

That is a very impressive fly, not seen one tied better really.

I tied some of Mr.Curry's red shrimp flies up on the Dee with the man himself.

Think you are probably referring to Bill Currie famous linguist and author as opposed to Pat Curry of Coleraine, Northern Ireland who first invented the pattern.

Excellent work Easky. Great photos. Well done.

[easky]

gazco said:

can you tell me where you purchase your dyed red version of silver badger it looks a nice cape

sent you a PM Gazco

[easky]

macsalmo said:

I'll take my hat off to you Easky. That is first class.
Dont suppose you can do a tube fly one showing nice evenly tied round hair

Gary

very few people use tube flies over here so I have never tied one (apart from micro tubes for summer), I'm sure some of the other guys will be able to do a step by step (Macd I know ties some nice examples )

[easky]

jimthefish said:

tyneandrew said:

That is a very impressive fly, not seen one tied better really.

I tied some of Mr.Curry's red shrimp flies up on the Dee with the man himself.

Think you are probably referring to Bill Currie famous linguist and author as opposed to Pat Curry of Coleraine, Northern Ireland who first invented the pattern.

Excellent work Easky. Great photos. Well done.

yes it was Pat Curry who invented the original, along with the Curry's Gold (think maybe the Bann Special Shrimp as well )

It is a good all year round pattern and takes both fresh and resident fish, as you say Graham it can be particularly good in the autumn

So who's next, what about a Scottish pattern or a NE one ;D?

[macd]

I will put up a Mairi's Shrimp- after I finish the swap and complete whats on the books!

Easky, hard act to follow....high standard has been set.

[Fruin]

Excellent work. The original does very well on two spate rivers that I fish at the back end of the season, so I will be tempted to tie a few of your version for next year. It looks like it has an extra sparkle for the grilse too!