Martyn White | Thursday, 6 August 2026
Just a quick one from me this week as I'm walking the West Highland Way, soaked and more focused on my blisters than fishing. But I am going mullet fishing soon, so it's
spectra shrimp.
These are really easy flies that any trout fisher will probably have suitable materials for. They're undeniably effective for mullet, especially when a bit of fluorescent material is added. You'll see these in catalogues, often listed as different flies but they are really just the same thing in different colours. All of them spawning from Colin MacCleod's Romy Sand Shrimp. I've got 4
Colours in my box: tan, brown, blue, and red. You might want to experiment with others, I think there's still a bit of messing around with mullet flies and there aren't really enough proven option around yet. But those 4 are a good starting point if you're getting into mullet.
Here's a recipe:
Hook: Kamasan B100G size 12
Thread: 8/0 to match body colour.
Butt: Globrite
Tag: Globrite
Shell: Flashback - you can match the body colour but pearl will do just fine
Rib: gold wire (replace this with mono if you want, it's probably better)
Body: Spectra flash dubbing, well picked out.
For the butt and tag you'll want at least one contrasting colour, the POD has a matching tag, but the butt is fluo red to contrast with the blue. A very good choice for both tan and brown shrimp would be a fluo green but and red tag.
I rarely fish them nowadays as the tagged jobs are so good, but you can also omit the globrite and just put a bit of partridge or similar in there to give you a more natural looking bug. Up to you.
I like to drift 2 of these shrimp to feeding schools, occasionally I'll inject a bit of life with a sharp strip retrieve to try and garner interest if needed. It's a bit like old fashioned buzzer fishing from before the bung and a lot of fun!