Texas Saltwater Classics: Fly Patterns for the Texas Coast

Description

Fly Patterns for the Texas Coast. Written by Texas Fish & Game magazine's Fly Fishing Editor. Book is devoted to the pattern and design of flies that were developed by Texans specifically for the Texas Gulf Coast. "No one will out-fish the best local angler on his or her waters," says Bernard "Lefty" Kreh. "Greg has performed a real service for Texans and those who come here with a fly rod."

SAMPLE CHAPTER

LIKE LONE STAR BEER AND THE ALAMO, THE SCATES SHRIMP is uniquely Texan. Featured in several national fly-fishing magazines and produced commercially by several fly merchants, the pattern is a staple for many fly-fishermen along the coast.
Captain Chuck Scates literally wrote the book on fly-fishing the Texas coast. Teaming with nationally-known writer Phil Shook and world-class photographer David Sams, the trio produced Fly Fishing the Texas Coast: Backcountry Flats to Blue Water. The text is a must-read for any serious coastal fly-fisherman.
Scates began tying flies about the same time he started guiding fly-fishermen in 1989. "I wanted a shrimp pattern that was more realistic int he water, and also something that was easy to tie," he said. "Back then, all the shrimp patterns were either very involved to tie,or had epoxy bodies."
Scates noted the pink, white and brown shrimp all migrate to the Gulf to spawn. The immature shrimp start showing up in the bays during the spring, pushed by high spring tides and strong winds from the south. Therefore, Scates does not use the pattern as much during the winter, waiting until shrimp are more abundant in the bays.
Scates explained that grass shrimp, a completely different species thatn the penacid shrimp mentioned above, live their whole lives in the bays. "For some reason, trout tend to regurgitate more in the winter time than during the summer," he said. "Some days trout will spit out lots of grass shrimp, giving us a clue when to fish the pattern during the winter.
The Scates Shrimp is a good choice for sight-casting. For sight-casting to staionary trout and redfish in skinny water, Scates likes to throw an unweighted fly. The palmered hackle allows a quiet presentation.
When fish are holding in two-foot depths, he prefers a fly with bead chain eyes to get it down to the strike zone quickly.