Fly Tying - The Mini Shad Shank Redemption
In my local waters, alewife's spill into the river by the thousands in the spring. This mass influx of food is welcomed by the local trout and smallmouth who have had a long cold winter. I wanted something to fool the warry fish and was inspired when a brown trout puked up a fine specimen. I also wanted something that would be simple to tie and move like crazy in the water.
This fly also will imitate freshwater shad that are arguably the most numerous of all baitfish in America. Shad can account for more than 50 percent of the total fish biomass in your local lake. So when you go fly fishing for stripers, bass, walleye or trout, it makes sense to have a couple imitations in your fly box!
In this video, I 'll walk you though detailed step-by-step instructions and show you how to prep materials and then tie this amazing fly. When I first fished this fly, I was amazed at how it comes to life. The fly kicks like crazy and with a few sharp twitches you can make this fly do a 360! Also with the blending of the laser and ice dub it just looks sick! That body design is chunky too and maintains profile in the water making it a 2 1/2" tasty treat! Ohhh so good!
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Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:33 Preparing Laser and Ice Dub
3:08 Start Tying / Rear Shank
8:54 Back Hook
18:22 Front Hook
27:36 Trim to look like a shad
28:50 Eyes and Final Touches
Material List
Front Hook - Gamakatsu -Finesse Wide Gap #4
Back Hook - Daiichi - 2460 #6
Rear Shank - Flymen Co - Tail Shank - Micro Size 6mm
Beads - 8/0 Glass Beads / Michael's Craft Store
Tail Flash - Hedron Flashabou - Lateral Scale / Pearl / Small
Tail Feather - Hen Saddle / Grey Variant
Front / Back Hook Body - Ice Dub UV Lavender + Laser Dub White + Laser Dub Lavender
Front / Back Hook Flash - Lateral Scale / Pearl / Large (Saltwater)
Overwing - Shimmer Fringe UV Blue
Brush - Just Add H20 - 2" White
