How to Fish and Tie the Shop Vac Fly
Other than a standard Walt’s Worm, the Shop Vac has likely taken more small limestone spring creek fish for me than any other fly. This is a Western pattern from West Yellowstone, MT, also introduced to me by Grumpy Dave. He discovered this nymph on a fishing trip to the Madison River. Let me tell you, wild browns and native brookies in Pennsylvania eat this pattern as willingly as Madison River rainbows and browns do in Montana.
The Shop Vac is one of three Pheasant Tail Nymph variations on my list of confidence flies, yet it is the only emerger included. (To read more about a few of my other favorite patterns, subscribe to our newsletter and you’ll receive a FREE download of my book “Confidence Flies: Volume 1, Euro Nymphs.”) It is also the only pattern I regularly tie using a gold bead. I have had success fishing a Shop Vac as a nymph straight through a hatch. This is especially accurate when Blue Winged Olives (BWO) are coming off. Far and away, the best time to fish a Shop Vac is during BWO activity.Nevertheless, I have also had success fishing it before and after many other hatches and even when no hatch was scheduled to occur for the next five hundred years!
In the end, I feel that flies that incorporate pheasant tail fibers flat out catch fish. This natural material, with its shimmering, living micro-fibers, is the secret ingredient of the Shop Vac.
Fishing the Shop Vac
An important note of information is that I have never fished a Shop Vac as my point fly. I have always fished it as a tag in a tandem rig 15-20” up from the bottom. This makes sense as it is an emerger and trout are likely looking to eat it higher in the water column. This fly is an absolute killer on the larger freestone streams of northcentral Pennsylvania that are known for exceptional mayfly hatches.
Tying the Shop Vac
The key to tying a great Shop Vac is to keep it as sparse as possible. Use only a few fibers of pheasant tail for the tail and then only a few more for the body. In this sample, a 3/32 gold bead was used on a size 18 hook. The slightly oversized bead helps get this pattern down fast when using it alone or as a dropper or tag fly in a tandem rig.
Materials Needed to Tie the Shop Vac Include:
- Heavy curved, short shank nymph hook in #16-18. The Model 10 from Wholesale Fly Company is a great choice for this pattern.
- Round tungsten bead in gold or copper
- 8/0 brown Semperfli thread
- Ribbing: XS copper wire
- Tail and Body: Natural pheasant tail fibers
- Wing bud: White or dun Z-lon, Antron, poly yarn or Para-post material
Place the bead onto the curved scud hook. Do not place any lead wraps this time because it will simply create too much bulk with the included wing bud. Tie in your pheasant tail fibers at the bend along with the copper wire. I like to clip off the delicate pheasant tail fiber tips. Using hackle pliers, gently wrap the fibers up to the bead, carefully twisting them as you go. Trap the pheasant tail with a few turns of thread. Next, counter-wrap the copper wire to create a more durable fly, and secure the wire behind the bead.
For the wing bud, clip off about a one-inch skein of Antron, poly yarn, or whatever wing material you are using. I often split the skein into halves, but this is a judgment call. Lay it across the top of the hook shank with the middle right behind the bead. Take several tight wraps of thread around the Antron middle pulling straight down and straight up with pressure to lock it in. Pick up both halves of the wing material pulling them rearward while binding them down. I like to clip the wing so that it extends halfway down the back of the fly.
Finally, whip finish trying to keep the wraps as slender as possible behind the bead but enough to lock that wing in tight. This part can be tricky because it is easy to build up too much thread bulk behind the bead. With some practice, you will get it right almost every time as well. Almost.
Did You Find This Fly Tying Guide Helpful?
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