Red Fish Epoxy Rattle Shrimp
My good friend Kyle Burrell-a full-time trout guide on the Chattahoochee and in Wyoming-introduced me to this proven pattern for reds on mud or grass flats. It is also an excellent prospecting fly around oyster rakes and will catch flounder and trout. When you tie it, plan on tying four to six of them in order to utilize the epoxy. This is not an original pattern, although I am sure I have made some modifications to the original recipe. It is great in muddy, stained water.
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Ingredients:
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#2 Long Shank Hook
Gold Mylar tubing
Medium Glass Rattle
Small Red lead Eyes
Gold Body Braid
Gold Flashabou
Tan Bucktail
Rust Bucktail
Mono thread
Red Size A rod wrapping thread
Five or ten minute expoy.
50 lb mono for weed guard
Superglue
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For a black Rattle Shrimp that is great in really dirty water, use black mylar tubing, Black Flashabou
with chartreuse bucktail underwing (or marabou) and black bucktail overwing.
Steps:
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With mono thread, start ½ way down hook shank and lay down thread
Tie in mylar tubing behind lead eyes, with a hook shank length of tubing extending beyond the hook bend. Do not un-ravel the body braid until the epoxy has set.Tie in body braid, wrap mono thread forward ¾ way up the hook shank.
Wrap body braid up to thread. Tie off.
Insert rattle into mylar tubing. Pull the tubing over the eyes, placing the rattle as far to the rear as possible. Keeping mylar tubing on top of hook shank, tie off with mono thread and whip finish.
Apply epoxy liberally over the body, tubing and eyes, completely covering the body. Rotate until epoxy is set.
Put epoxy coated body into vise, hook point up. Tie in red thread in front of the epoxy coated body.
Take a small bunch of tan bucktail, about three pencil leads in diameter, and tie in on the bottom of hook shank. The bucktail should extend about a hook shank length beyond the hook bend. Put a dab of superglue on tie in point.
Take about ten strands of flashabou, double them, and tie in on top of tan bucktail. Put a dab of superglue at tie in point. Trim the flashabou to different lengths, with the longest strands extending just beyond the bucktail.Take a small bunch of rust bucktail, and tie in on top of flashabou. Put a small dab of superglue at tie in point.
Whip finish
Un-ravel the mylar tubing tail.
Make a V out of a short piece of 50 lb mono and bring it up onto the hook shank. Figure 8 wrap it into place. Post the two pieces of mono to hold them in place.
Whip finish and coat head with superglue or head cement.
Go fishing and hang on.