This is a very deadly salmon fly throughout the salmon fishing season in Scotland. This 'Jock's Shrimp' pattern I developed over a 5 year period of daily riverbank salmon reaction observations on the River Tay while working as a professional Scottish salmon ghillie in Perthshire.

This is the brown winged version of the Jock's Shrimp fitted with a Partridge Nordic No 6 tube fly hook. This is a true weapon of a salmon fly and lethal for attracting salmon on the famous River Tay and other Scottish salmon rivers.

This perfect salmon fly was designed by myself on the River Tay 20 years ago and is an absolute salmon magnet when fished properly. Many experienced salmon anglers swear by the effectiveness of this pattern and it's sometimes wrongly referred to as the Newtyle Shrimp however it's proper registered name is the Jock's Shrimp as a credit to its creator. Here are the exact dressings for this deadly Scottish salmon fly pattern;
Hook / Tube: as required
Thread / Silk: Uni Thread 6/0 or 8/0, Red
Tag / Butt: Oval silver as for Rib
Tail: Orange Arctic Fox or equivalent with pearl flashabou accent or mirage over, just 2 or perhaps 3 strands max.
Tying note: it's important to set the Tag / Butt in place first, this helps lift the Fox tail slightly, increases movement and helps avoid

A heart racing close up inspection with one of these fine Atlantic salmon and will remain in your memory banks for an entire lifetime. This perfect Summer salmon came to a deadly Jock's Shrimp salmon fly and was caught near to the River Tummel/Tay confluence which is located not too far away from Pitlochry in Perthshire. Note the fish friendly fine mesh of the landing net behind the salmon.

Always carry a few coiled up spare leaders in your fly box like you see here just in case needed while out on the river. Learn how to prepare your salmon fishing approach via tuition from a professional salmon guide. This Wheatley fly box includes my main favourite salmon flies like the Jock's Shrimp & Copperass salmon fly patterns.

Here's a perfectly stocked salmon fly fishing box which was manufactured by Wheatley in England. These fly patterns include Red Flamethrowers, Orange Flamethrowers, Copperass to name a few. It's always good to have a quality selection of flies like this to draw on throughout the seasonal salmon fishing in Scotland.

Salmon Fly Movement

By Jock Monteith 17th May 2026

When you're fishing your salmon fly in most streams there will be a certain amount of natural movement as the fly fishes around from it's initial casting angle starting point to the riverside edge below you.

Salmon flies these days are tied mainly with buck tail or arctic fox that will react to varying degrees in the turbulence and natural movement of the stream.

Once you've got enough faith in a specific salmon fly pattern then look for the fly that outperforms it's replica associates. Here's a selection of my 'Jock Shrimp' & 'Copperass' patterns with a few other aces that I sometimes fish with too. I love these old aluminium Richard Wheatley fly boxes too and have many of them which I've collected over the decades.

Salmon Fly Wing & Tail Materials That Perform Best

Personally I like to take this to the next level and choose strictly the fly tying materials that offer the most attractive movement of all and even in the slowest moving salmon pools. I rarely will fish a buck tail fly these days and will always choose the much more mobile and attractive fox tail equivalent for the wing or tail material. You really want to be fishing a salmon fly at all times that appears to have a stream life of its own and my professional advise is to never compromise on this selection standard.

Soft Salmon Fly Hackle Movement

For the fly's hackles I'll choose the softer and longer schlappen hackles over regular hen hackles as what I'm always looking to create is an absolute 'live bait' of a salmon fly that even the most educated salmon in the pool just has to come off its lie to investigate. Anyone can catch the 'easy fish' and although always a challenge I get a much bigger thrill out of catching the old resident salmon that has seen it all before.

Test Your Salmon Fly Movement Before You Fish

Tie your fly with the softer more mobile materials and before you use them test them on a short piece of leader at the side of the river and fish only the ones that moves naturally and in a 'life like' manner. Don't worry about anything else and have faith in that natural waggle and movement you're looking out for when you see a fly that's performing perfectly. What you've now got is a 'deadly' fly and if you stick with it you should see your 'subsurface cooperation' levels increase significantly.

A Small High Quality Salmon Fly Selection Is All You Need

As salmon fishers we tend to carry around hundreds of salmon flies in our fishing bags but the reality of the situation is that you only need 2 or 3 proven flies to choose from for the vast majority of salmon fishing scenarios. This reminds me of my youth on the Tay when out fishing with my mentor the late Willie Laird who only ever kept 2 or 3 flies in a few different sizes in small tobacco tin in his tweed jacket breast pocket and those flies consistently caught him many salmon each season.