Two Minute Fly

[Mark]

Last summer I had the good fortune to fly fish for reds in Laguna Madre, TX.

I didn’t report the trip here because it was not a kayak trip.

However, given our present downtime, I thought I would share the fly I used. It’s not my creation. I’m not sure it has a name. My guide tied it. He called it a shrimp. There are a gazillion shrimp patterns. If I was going to name it, I would call it the Two Minute Fly because that’s all it takes to tie.

Here are two I made this morning:

Redfish fly.jpg

Materials:

Hook -- Gamakatsu Saltwater Series, SC15, Size 1

Brass Bead -- 3/16 Inch

Wings -- EP Fiber

Step One: Place bead on hook and wrap thread on shank back to hook point.

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Step Two: Tie in first wing of EP Fiber. Make it about twice as long as hook shank.

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Step Three: Tie in second wing on top of first.

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Step Four: Turn hook over in vise and tie in underwing. Whip finish and you're done.

IMG_3495.jpg

Note that the underwing can also function as a weed guard. In grassy areas I would raise the underwing like this before casting:

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Did it work? Most definitely:

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[J. Rentch]

Do you offset the hook like with Pickerel flies?

[Mark]

John,

Nope. Fished them straight in TX. I missed very few reds. I was targeting feeding fish and when they picked it up they meant business. But I don't think it would have hurt to offset it. Pickerel will sometimes hold a lure or fly a split second before they clamp down. That's why the offset helps with them. These reds were in an eating frenzy.

The above are the first I've tied.

I have a hunch they will work for white perch -- which is good since reds are not common in our portion of the Chesapeake. Perch eat grass shrimp. Maybe these flies will fool them. I look forward to trying them locally this year.