Pattegrisen

Saltwater fly imitating shrimp and scuds, for sea trout. Intermediate. Claus Eriksen, 2006.

A reversed shrimp in shell pink: hackle-stem and synthetic-hair feelers, a Spey hackle collar and black eyes at the bend, a tapered SLF body with a palmered Spey hackle, and an Antron shellback segmented by a mono rib.

Materials

Steps

  1. Add weight: lead-free wire, or tungsten foil under the shank Wrap the lead-free wire, or tungsten foil under the shank in touching turns from 25% of the way along the shank to 75% of the way along the shank.
  2. Attach thread Attach the thread at 85% of the way along the shank with a few turns and trim the tag end.
  3. Wrap thread Wrap the thread to the start of the bend in touching turns.
  4. Tie in: white hackle stems Tie in the white hackle stems, leaving 2.2× the gape sticking out behind, angled about 10° up from the shank. Splayed apart.
  5. Tie in: shrimp-pink spey hackle Tie in the shrimp-pink spey hackle with a few firm thread turns. The mouth parts.
  6. Wrap thread Wrap the thread to 5% of the way along the shank in touching turns.
  7. Wind: shrimp-pink spey hackle Wind the shrimp-pink spey hackle forward to 5% of the way along the shank in 3 turns. A collar round the feelers.
  8. Tie off: shrimp-pink spey hackle Tie off the shrimp-pink spey hackle with a few thread turns and trim the excess.
  9. Tie in: shrimp-pink ultra hair Tie in the shrimp-pink ultra hair, leaving 2.8× the gape sticking out behind, angled about 5° up from the shank.
  10. Tie in: burnt mono eyes Tie the burnt mono eyes on top of the shank with figure-of-eight turns. Angled slightly outwards.
  11. Tie in: monofilament Tie in the monofilament with a few firm thread turns.
  12. Tie in: shrimp-pink antron yarn Tie in the shrimp-pink antron yarn with a few firm thread turns.
  13. Tie in: shrimp-pink spey hackle Tie in the shrimp-pink spey hackle with a few firm thread turns.
  14. Dub: shell-pink slf Twist a thin noodle of shell-pink slf onto the thread and wrap it forward to 86% of the way along the shank. Tapered: thickest at the bend, slimmer toward the eye.
  15. Wind: shrimp-pink spey hackle Wind the shrimp-pink spey hackle forward to 86% of the way along the shank in 6 turns. Fibres down and back.
  16. Tie off: shrimp-pink spey hackle Tie off the shrimp-pink spey hackle with a few thread turns and trim the excess.
  17. Pull over: shrimp-pink antron yarn Pull the shrimp-pink antron yarn forward over the top of the body and tie it down at 86% of the way along the shank. Trim the excess. Over the top, stretched.
  18. Wind: monofilament Wind the monofilament forward to 86% of the way along the shank in 8 turns. Over the shellback, the turns closer together toward the eye.
  19. Tie off: monofilament Tie off the monofilament with a few thread turns and trim the excess.
  20. Whip finish Form a small head, whip finish with 5 turns and cut the thread. Brush out the underside, trim, and varnish the head and a little of the back.

History

Claus Eriksen tied it on Funen in 2006, and its tenth birthday was celebrated in Odense in 2016. It grew out of Morten Øland's Spey Shrimp (also called Oeland's Shrimp), a more neutral grey fly, which Eriksen redid in pink and coral with some materials changed. It was one of the flies in two Danish sea-trout films released in 2006 that were known for their underwater footage of sea trout following flies. The key material is a long, thin Spey hackle; the Ahrex video names Whiting Spey feathers. Eriksen has tied it in all colours, and says the pink catches best.

Fishing it

A Danish coastal fly for sea trout. Eriksen fishes it as the point fly in all conditions, bright sun and flat calm included, often with a small grey gammarus about 50 cm up the leader. He uses sizes 4 to 6 even in midsummer and early autumn, when the usual advice is small flies on fine leaders. It has also taken salmon, steelhead, bonefish and tarpon.

Sources