Red Ally’s Shrimp: How to tie this great autumn salmon fly

The relatively modern Ally’s shrimp is a great all-around salmon fly pattern, which has fooled many salmon since its creation by Ally Gowans.

The traditional pattern will catch salmon throughout the season, but when autumn arrives I find…

a red version is a better choice.

I have caught more salmon with the red Ally’s shrimp salmon fly in September and October than with any other salmon fly.

Late in the season, a RED fly seems to provoke the aggressive nature of salmon. Therefore, it’s wise to have a few in your fly box.

So…

How to tie the red Ally’s shrimp salmon fly

Single, double, and treble hooks and tubes can be used to tie this salmon fly. However, I prefer to tie this fly on a double hook and tubes (aluminium, and copper).

Fly tying material list double hook version:

• Hook – Partridge Nordic double (size 12 to 8)
• Thread – red 8/0
• Tail – red bucktail, 2 strands of crystal flash
• Body rear – red floss
• Body front – black floss
• Rib: medium silver wire
• Wing – small bunch of golden pheasant tippet fibers
• Hackle – red cock feather

Step-by-step tying instructions:

Step 1. Place the hook firmly in the vice and start the thread 3mm from the eye. Wind it down the hook shank, catching in a few red bucktail fibres and two strands of crystal flash. I like the tail length to be 1.5 x the hook length.

Step 2. Tie in a length of silver and red floss at the bottom of the hook shank with the thread.

Step 3. Form the rear half of the body by winding the thread halfway up the hook shank. Trim the waste floss and tie in a length of black floss to form the front section of the body.

Step 4. Form the front section of the body by winding the black floss towards the eye, leaving a 3 mm gap before the hook eye for tying in the wing and hackle. Next, form the rib by winding the silver wire to the eye. Trim the waste and tidy up the head area with the red thread.

Step 5. Cut and tie in a small bunch of pheasant tippet fibres such that it extends to the bend.

Step 6. Strip the base of a red cock feather and tie in using the red thread.

Step 7. Form the hackle with three turns of the red cock feather. Trim the waste feather, form a neat heat with the red thread, whip-finish, and varnish the head.

Normally I don’t add jungle cock eyes to this fly because it already has enough salmon trigger points.

How to fish the Ally’s shrimp salmon fly

This is a great salmon fly that I fish with confidence in a wide range of river conditions from September to the end of the season.

When September arrives, I often fish this fly using a floating line tipped with a 10ft intermediate polyleader and 7 ft of 15 lbs fluorocarbon leader.

When the river is close to its summer level, I fish it tied on double hooks (size 10 or 12). Whereas, when the river drops after a spate, I use a fly tied on a larger double hook (size 8 or 6) or a tube (aluminium & copper).

Most years, I catch salmon using a red Ally’s shrimp in September and October…

During a salmon fishing trip to the River Tweed in November I caught my first Tweed salmon on the trusty red Ally’s shrimp.

• Fishing on the River Tweed yields 2 beautiful salmon
• Salmon Guiding Success on the Welsh Dee

Finally, I hope this article stimulates you to tie and fish the Ally’s shrimp salmon fly; I know I will continue to fish it on rivers throughout the UK.