FMX Mantis

T he FMX Mantis is a simple pattern that makes use of an Australian designed dubbing brush, called ‘Beachy Brush. If you think that name sounds familiar, you are right…

Chris Adams of Beast Brushes was developing a new dubbing brush, specifically for tying flats shrimp — a deviation from the usual Game Changer brushes that seem to be multiplying at an alarming rate. Chris sent me some samples of the new shrimp brush and after tying a few flies with it, I decided to give it a go in the FMX Mantis.

Beachy Brush is now available in several useful colours, and features soft synthetic fibres interspersed with long fine rubber legs. The density of the material allows you to use tight wraps or open wraps, which not only helps control the prominence of the fly, but also its sink rate. The more sparse the body wraps, the quicker your fly will sink due to less water resistance.

I chose a Gamakatsu SL11-3H for this mantis shrimp pattern, but you can use your favourite O’Shaughnessy hook. Just make sure there is a bit of length in the shank.

Mantis shrimp are characterised by prominent claws and eyes with part of their body either fully or partially exposed above the substrate. The fine claws can be imitated nicely with a tuft of marabou, favoured by many for its mobility. I like to add a hot spot — as though the shrimp has found a tasty treat that it is eating. Craft Fur or Finn Raccoon is perfect for this.

Easy Shrimp Eyes provide the prominent eyes, or you can use Epoxy Stem Eyes. I like to use eyes that react to UV light — whether they are a natural colour or not. You can dip them into regular 5-minute epoxy, which not only increases their size, but reacts to UV light as well.

A ball of Crawdub dubbing immediately behind the eyes serves to spread the Sili Legs, which are trimmed slightly longer than the marabou. I like to use three each side, but they are there to suggest some leggy movement so you can get away with two.

Then comes the Beachy Brush… available in several colours. I like the tan and light pink the most, followed by light olive. Tied in immediately after the silicone legs, I soak the body in super glue before wrapping to aid durability. Careful of that first wrap though — you want the legs to remain in place.

For this pattern, I like the brush wraps to be close, creating a dense body which is combed out with Velcro after being tied off. Finish the thread wraps with a thin UV resin before trimming the body on the top and bottom — leaving a fairly flat looking shrimp with fine rubber legs on each side. Best results are achieved by using nice, sharp scissors that have one serrated blade. The brush takes marker pens well, so you can go to town with barred effects or air brushing.

I like to carry a couple of sizes and weights and am phasing out the use of lead in my flies, preferring to use brass. There’s a lot of movement in this fly, so every retrieve from do-nothing to slow draws to short, sharp strips will work. I have even tweaked the colour scheme to imitate small nippers for bream. Just use the white brush and clear Fire Tip Sili Legs tied in by the fluoro orange tips.

Ideal for light flats fishing, tie some up in a few colours and let us know how you go on the FlyLife forum.