Description
We aren’t so sure this looks a lot like a mantis shrimp but it looks like some kind of shrimp and bonefish eat shrimp! Our Manits shrimp is virtually the same as the original Ververka’s Mantis Shrimp. We dropped the rubber legs in the tail they kept fouling, and beefed up the body. Except for the mono eyes we use all natural materials to ensure effective micro-movement in the body and tail. It’s a little heavy but constructed to still land softly. The Mantis Shrimp will also track well when stripped.
This looks like an easy fly to tie. We’ve produced the Manits Shrimp for custom orders over the years and it took a while to get it right. The legs have to be short and the body bushy. Wrapping that mass of dubbing around the legs is a trick, achieving the thick spiky body can be elusive. Peter always tied this fly for the custom orders working though these problems. When we added it to the S.S. Flies line-up Tim sat down to tie it. After knocking off about a dozen struggling work around the legs about two of the flies were right. Tim had to figure out a bit of tying jujutsu to get around the rubber legs and completely change how he loads a dubbing loop. Only after watching Peter tie a couple and practicing the dubbing on a bare hook did he get it down. We sat around speculating how frustrating it would be for an earnest angler heading to the Bahamas to copy our Mantis Shrimp. Luckily our customers don’t have to worry about getting this fly right.
Order below or call 207-452-2343, 9am-5pm Eastern time. Tied with wildlife products and can’t be shipped outside the US.
