The fly pattern for this week’s Fly Tying Friday post was submitted by Martin Burch a member of the Panfish On The Fly Facebook Group. The fly is called the Shimmy Cricket. The Shimmy Cricket is a topwater foam bug that is easy to tie and has great action on the water. When tied correctly, the fly will dive under the surface when stripped, with a tight wiggling action.
The Shimmy Cricket lends itself to be tied in a wide range of colors
This pattern popped up on my radar some years back. I believe I first crossed paths with the fly on one of the fly tying forums I was active back then. I remember tying up a bunch and enjoying some success with them. But as is often the case when trying out new patterns, it ended up being a flash in the pan. Not because the fly did not perform well, but there were other patterns to try, and there is only so much room in the fly box. After seeing this pattern again after all these years, I have a rekindled interest in it and will be tying some up and adding them to the topwater box this spring. I especially like the way the fly looks on these Firehole Outdoor Hooks. I don’t recall what hook I used when I tied this pattern for the first time, but it did not look as good as Martin’s version tied on the Firestick 315 (it also looks good on the Firestick 317)
Recipe: The Shimmy Cricket (as provided by Martin Burch)
Hook: Firehole 315 size 10
Thread: 6/0 or 140d in color of choice
Underbody: Small ultra chenille in color of choice
Body: 2mm Foam in color of choice but with a River Road Medium Hopper Body Cutter
Legs: Medium Round Rubber
My notes on the pattern:
- Back when I originally tied the pattern, I used the Chernobyl Ant Cutter from River Road
- You can cut the foam to shape with scissors if you don’t have a cutter
- The Firehole 315 is a wide gap Klinkhammer style hook. If you keep the underbody thin, the pattern works on the Firestick 317 as well, which is a standard gap Klinkhammer hook
- Dubbed bodies also work well.