White Shrimp

White Shrimp is a pattern from Peter O'Reilly's fine Book Trout and Salmon Flies of Ireland. Mr. O'Reilly describes it as an "unlikely-looking but deadly fly which can work well in all seasons", which brings up another point about tying flies; Sometimes flies defy description by form or color. This fly, though meant to be a rough shrimp imitation, is more impressionistic than a close representation in form, described to be one of those flies that is effective when all others fail. The colors are perhaps more important than the form. Mr. O'Reilly says that "try it on a summer evening or on a wild overcast day." Again, there are imperfections in the tying of this fly, but they are not so important as the points made above.