When designing flies for predator fish I feel its best to match theprey they are feeding on. Most important are the size, shape andcolor. Size can easily be changed or matched by the size of thehook you tie on. Shape or silhouette must be built into a pattern soit resembles the prey you wish to represent. It should be a fly thatseasy to tie with basic materials, lands lightly, sinks fast and mostimportant, catches fish. The bulky body on my Mantis patternmakes it land softly, and the bead chain eyes bring it to the criticalzone.

One notable feature on all shrimp are their eyes. Eyes onreal shrimp move and make them look like a creature from anotherplanet. I have not figured out how to incorporate this componentinto a fly pattern so I used the standard burnt mono eyes.


For thecarapace I tied in a tuft of tan rabbit fur. This material looks bulky inthe water and displays the most enticing movement. Even at restthis material quivers with life. A slight current or a strip on the linewill make this material pulse like no other.


Perhaps the mostimportant feature on my Mantis Shrimp pattern are the legs andthe way they are tied on. Most bonefish flies that include legs havethem tied in all together in one area on the fly. To me this looks likea clump of legs or a dead shrimp. I wanted my pattern to simulatelife so each leg had to be separate and act like a natural shrimpwith lots of movement.


It takes a little extra time to tie a fly in thismanner but I feel this is what makes this fly so distinctive anddeadly on wary bonefish. Over the years it has become one of thego to patterns used in the Bahamas and a standard in every fly boxthat travels to this area.


– Bob Veverka