I have never really been happy with Purple Shrimp patterns. They also looked kinda ‘odd’ to me, especially those ones with badger hackles at the head. The mix of badger and purple hackles somehow did not look ‘right’. I can’t describe this really, it is more of a feeling than any scientific analysis. Purple has never given me more than an occasional salmon, all of them at the back-end and all of them (as far as I can remember anyway) were coloured. Other anglers swear by purple shrimps so they do work, just not when I tied them on to the end of my line. So I have tied this new pattern.
I used Opal Mirage for the rear body and purple floss for the front. An oval silver tag and rib were added too. The tail is made of a slim bunch of purple bucktail instead of the more normal wound GP body feather.A centre hackle of a doubled cock hackle dyed purple is wound at the joint of the body sections and a long fibred hen hackle dyed black is wound at the head. I used red tying silk and left that showing at the head. the example in the photos is tied on a size 10 single hook.
Claretbumbler 