Fly Tying Tuesday: Shank It

Most anglers who are familiar with shanks assume they are only for salmon and steelhead flies.  Google "Intruder Fly", and you will see why.  While shanks are indeed excellent for many salmon and steelhead flies, they are equally excellent for trout flies. If you don’t know what a shank or shank tied fly is, the recently posted Bald Eagle Streamer Video is an example.

I like to use Senyo’s Articulated Shank for Steelhead & Salmon Flies in the 1" size.  It is perfect for trout flies. Then I add Senyo’s Standard or Thin Intruder Wire, depending on the hook sizes to be used.  In the past, I cut hooks for my shanks and used 30# Fireline for the trailer.  Now I can grab a bag of Senyo’s Shanks and a bag of Intruder Trailer Hook Wire and get right to tying.  The shanks even come in several colors.

Tying flies on shanks offers some clear advantages over tying on conventional hooks.  A one inch shank can be used for flies from two to three plus inches long by simply extending the wire trailer.  Hooks can be positioned near the middle, at the tail or even beyond the tail of the fly. Anglers can typically make several hook changes on the trailer wire during the life of a fly.  Ding a rock, replace your hook.  Catch a bunch of fish, replace your hook.  Miss a few grabs, try a new hook style.  Shanks provide dynamic versatility for tying and for making changes even after your fly is tied.