Looking for something to toss at shad besides crappie jig/Mr. Twister tails. Notional; change colors/add weight as you see fit.
hook - Dai Riki 899 #8
thread - UTC 140 hot orange/Danville 6/0 black
tail - Krystal Flash UV pearl
butt - mylar ribbon pearl
body - yarn fuchsia
wing - calftail hot orange
hackle - fuchsia
Part 1
mash barb; start thread
clean, stack, stack, stack, measure (shank length) a clump of calftail; tie in at return wire, trim, cover with thread
Really more of a steelhead than a shad pattern, isn’t it? Undoubtedly would work but I generally prefer faster sinking flies. Not sure how shad fishing is back east, but out here shad flies have been getting smaller over the years, with #10’s on scud hooks often saving the day when the old #6-8’s chrome steelhead hooks just won’t get a bite. One of the more popular flies in my local waters is the Bloody Maria which works quite well in red and white. Last year (drought), a local guide told me his #1 shad fly that years was a chartreuse Copper John in #14, so I’ve no idea how comparable our fishing is these days (shad numbers have been nose-diving over the decades).
The original Butterfly was a salmon fly, not in this color scheme, though; this one is just playing around at the vise. Interesting that west coast shad are going for such small flies; on the Potomac, where I do my shad fishing, most of my flies are #6-8 and the crappie jig/Mr. Twisters (a real joy to cast on a 6wt with a T-250) are about 2" long.
As I noted in the recipe, weight is optional - this one could go as-is or a few turns of non-tox up to a fully wrapped underbody with a conehead.
I like the Bloody Maria; that would get down in a hurry.
