Sunburst Shrimp
The Sunburst Shrimp is a modern shrimp-style salmon fly that imitates the shrimp and small crustaceans that fresh-run Atlantic salmon may still be triggered by from their sea feeding. Its orange and hot yellow coloring combined with a pearl wing creates a vivid profile that works particularly well in the bright, clear, low water conditions of midsummer. Fish it on a long leader swung slowly through shallow pool tails and runs in August and September.
- Type
- wet fly (Atlantic Salmon)
- Hook sizes
- #6–12
- Target species
- salmon
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best seasons
- summer, fall
Materials
- hook: Salmon hook #6–12
- thread: Orange
- tail: Orange hackle fibers
- body: Hot orange Antron or SLF dubbing
- ribbing: Oval gold tinsel
- hackle: Orange and yellow cock hackle, collar
Tying steps
- Mount a salmon single or treble hook; start orange thread.
- Tie in a short orange hackle tail.
- Wind oval gold tinsel rib at the bend.
- Dub a hot orange or sunburst body to the 2/3 mark.
- Counter-wrap gold tinsel in 5 spirals.
- Tie in an orange and yellow hackle collar.
- Tie in a pearl Krystal Flash or yellow bucktail wing.
- Build a neat head; whip finish and lacquer.