A little over a week ago, we ran a post unveiling one of our most productive bonefish patterns at Andros South, the Spawning Mantis Shrimp, a variation of Bob Veverka’s Mantis Shrimp.
Today, we’re coming at you with step by step instructions on how to tie the Spawning Mantis Shrimp, including our own little spin on the original that we feel has made it exceptionally productive here on South Andros.
Think of it as an early Christmas gift!
Tying The Spawning Mantis Shrimp
Materials:
- Hook: Tiemco 811S – sz. 2-6
- Thread: 6/0 Uni Thread – Fire Orange
- Tail: Single Strand of Pearl Krystal Flash, Over Tan Craft Fur, Over tuft of Flame Orange Rabbit Fur.
- Legs: Rootbeer/Orange Tipped Crazy Legs
- Body: Dubbed Tan Craft Fur
- Eyes: Medium Black Bead Chain Eyes
Great job with tying instructions!!
These WORK!!
Looks good, glad it is catching you some bonefish
Thanks for the kind words Bob, coming from you that’s a huge compliment!
Thanks Larry, glad you found it helpful!!
This rides hook point down
Hi Matt,
You’re right. With most size 2 hooks, the medium bead chain eyes are not always enough to turn the hook point over. However, most of our flats are pretty clean, so we don’t have don’t tend to have much of an issue of the hook snagging up. If you’re fishing in an area where the hook point riding up is necessary, try adding some heavier brass or lead eyes instead. Thanks for reading!
Kyle
I know this is an old post, but I notice that most other shrimp patterns have melted mono style eyes. Any reason that they are omitted on this fly?
You can also just tie the dumbbells in then invert the hook and tie all the materials in inverted. Kind of a pain at first but as long as most of the materials are tied in this way (especially the mono eyes) it flips over hook point up every time.