The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning

The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning

Other

Will Sand’s Epoxy Mysis Shrimp

Insect Species Icon Other
Difficulty Icon Easy - 5-7 Min
Water Category Icon Coldwater

Tying Video

Become a Member

Sign up for full access to the Learning Center
and all the FlyBrary Content.
Tying Recipe
  • Hook: Straight shank, straight eye, nymph hook
  • Thread: Tying monofilament
  • First Tail: White Antron Yarn
  • Second Tail: Natural Mallard Flank
  • Eyes: Mono Eyes
  • Body/Finish: Loon UV Clear Fly Finish
  • First Tail: Various white or opaque yarns; add flash if you like!
  • Second Tail: Various tan to opaque feathers for desired flare
  • Eyes: Give her some blue eyes with a sharpie! (Or any color you desire)
  • Body/Finish: Use your most comfortable epoxy for tying ease

Variations on mysis shrimp can be a little more difficult to create than with other fly patterns. Try adding some ribbing for extra sparkle or use glow-in-the-dark materials to stick fish that see more colors than we do! Variations on Will Sand’s Epoxy Mysis Shrimp can be hard, but simply change the underbody and allow the epoxy to showcase your small changes.

This pattern is a fantastic pattern to search out trout in the tailwaters below Mysis Shrimp-containing reservoirs. Not especially hard to tie, this is a great pattern to tie up in preparation for a weekend trip to those Mysis-filled waters. While not always “hot”, anglers can expect to catch fish on a well-presented drift simply because the trout are willing to opportunistically feed on morsels that have a high-protein yield. In other words, if you leave a twinkie on your desk at school, it won’t be there when you come back cause someone picked it up. The same is true with the trout and how they often see these Mysis Shrimp.

Mysis Shrimp fishing is extremely dependent and varies under man-made decisions. Pretty atypical for trout fishing, Mysis Shrimp fishing really kicks on when humans decide to “let out the water”. In other words, Mysis Shrimp are one of the only food items for trout that fish better when, and only when, the dam above the stretch lets out enough water. Mysis Shrimp “pool up” by the dam outflows in their search for cold clean water. In some reservoirs, a 50-100 CFS boost can pull the Mysis Shrimp into the outflow from the dam above; in others, several thousand CFS may be needed to trigger feeding on shrimp. The nice part about these guys is that once the flow is high enough to “pull” them out of the reservoir, the Mysis Shrimp fishing is usually good until humans cut the flow back down. Anglers may want to consider using thin tippets (5X-7X) as these tailwater fish may be spooky.

Other

No hatch chart data available for this selection.

Become a Member

Sign up for full access to the Learning Center
and all the FlyBrary Content.