McCormack’s Shrimp

McCormack's Shrimp

McCormack’s Shrimp

Materials:

  • Hook: Esmond Dury treble #14
  • Thread: Black
  • Tail: Claret bucktail over gold krystal hair over claret ducktail with a claret-dyed golden pheasant breast feather wound on top.
  • Rear body: Claret floss
  • Rear body rib: Oval gold tinsel
  • Mid hackle: Long claret cock hackle
  • Front body: Claret floss
  • Front body rib: Oval gold tinsel
  • Wings: Jungle cock roof style
  • Front hackle: Hot orange
  • Head: Black

Tying Notes:

  1. Tie in the thread and run it down the hook shank with touching turns
  2. Take a very small bunch of claret bucktail and tie it in followed by two strands of krystal hair and another small bunch of ducktail on top.
  3. Wind in a golden pheasant breast feather around the bucktail.
  4. Take the thread back up the hook shank and tie in the gold tinsel along the length of the hook shank, leaving the tag end to form a rib later.
  5. Tie in a length of claret floss and wind this in to a third of the way up the hook shank and tie off, then remove waste.
  6. Take the oval tinsel up to the end of the floss to form the rear rib. Don’t cut off the stage end, this will be required for the from end of the fly.
  7. Double a claret hackle and tie this in , then wind it to make a collar hackle which slopes back towards the hook bend.
  8. Tie in another length of claret floss and make the from part of the body, then use the remainder of the floss to make the front rib.
  9. Attach two jungle cock eyes in a “V” shape leaving room for the front hackle and head.
  10. Double an orange hackle and wind this in.
  11. Finish the fly by forming the head, whip finish and then varnish.

Background notes: 

I was introduced to this fly by my Irish fishing friends who told me that the claret dying has to be exactly the right shade. On Coleman’s beat at Wyesham I caught three salmon, each weighing about 8lbs, within 20 minutes – so I must have got the shade right!

The fly was designed in Ireland for fishing peat stained rivers, especially those in East Mayo like the Easkey and Moy.

This is not an easy fly to tie but it is worth persevering because I have found it to be a successful small pattern.

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