The Complete Fly Tying Recipe Library

The Alaskan Polar Shrimp is a brightly colored salmon and steelhead pattern adapted from Polly Rosborough’s original Polar Shrimp, which was developed for Oregon coastal steelhead. Although it may suggest a shrimp, loose salmon eggs, or other drifting food, it primarily functions as an attractor. The fly is widely used in Alaska for steelhead, coho, pink, and Chinook salmon, as well as rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, and Arctic char. It can be dead-drifted through pools and runs or fished on a controlled swing, with its fluorescent orange body and contrasting white wing especially useful in glacial, stained, or high water. Alaskan Polar Shrimps are commonly tied on strong salmon hooks in sizes 2/0 through 6, with the main considerations being securely anchoring the calf-tail wing and keeping the hackle mobile without overdressing the fly.