Steve Carew, our Technical Manager here at Fulling Mill, shows us exactly how to tie the foam back Killer Shrimp, that is extremely effective at the likes of Grafham Water. As well as being designed to target killer shrimp feeders, this pattern will also work when fishing for freshwater shrimp or hog louse feeders.
About the Killer Shrimp
The Killer Shrimp (Dikerogammarus villosus) is a non-native species of shrimp in the U.K – It was first discovered in 2010 at Grafham water reservoir and is now known to be established in two other waterways, Cardiff Bay and Eglwys Nunydd in south Wales.
Adult killer shrimp can be up to 3cm in length, with a semi-transparent, curled body. The segmentation of the shrimp is very pronounced, along with their two pairs of antennae and large, powerful mandibles. Newly hatched shrimp are roughly 1.8mm in length and closely resemble the adults, so a range of sizes is definitely needed if you’re going to target these killer shrimp feeders.
Trout feeding on Killer Shrimp
Trout which feed on these shrimp tend to hold much closer into the bank – with some anglers actually standing on the shore rather than wading, and casting just a rod length out from the shore. September through March trout will really turn their attention to the killer shrimp, and boats will often struggle to catch as they can’t consistently fish close enough to the shoreline. Bank anglers have also had to adapt their approach, now needing to angle their casts along the bank rather than out into the main body of water.
Fulling Mill Ambassador, Rod Edmunds, gives us an insight on fishing the Killer Shrimp, full blog article available here.
“Trout feeding on Shrimp will regularly pick up scruffy Hare’s Ears and Shrimp Patterns if fished on a Floater or Midge Tip. I regularly fish them washing line style (held up with small boobies or even dries) and have been the most productive method for over half the season including deep into the winter months. My preferred method from the bank is simply to fish a short 15ft fluorocarbon leader with 3 semi-buoyant Foam Hare’s Ear shrimp patterns spaced equally 5ft apart on a floating line or midge tip. A medium to a fast figure of 8 retrieves is all that’s required and the takes can be savage!”
A lovely fish for Rob’s Wife, Sam, caught whilst targeting killer shrimp feeders.
![](javascript:sharePopup('https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://blog.fullingmill.com/the-killer-shrimp-fly-tying-video/&picture=https://blog.fullingmill.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Killer-Shrimp-Feeders3.jpg&title=How to tie the Fulling Mill Killer Shrimp"e=How to tie the Fulling Mill Killer Shrimp', 'Share with Facebook','600','400','100','300')){kind=link}