Jiggy Mysis Shrimp

The Essential Frying Pan River Pattern — On a Jig Hook

The Jiggy Mysis Shrimp is a tungsten bead jigged imitation of the mysis shrimp — one of the most important food sources on Colorado's reservoir-fed tailwaters. Mysis shrimp are tiny freshwater crustaceans that wash through dam outlets in enormous numbers, and the trout below Ruedi Reservoir on the Frying Pan River gorge on them year-round. If you're fishing the Frying Pan and you're not carrying a mysis pattern, you're leaving fish on the table.

The slim, translucent profile of this pattern closely imitates the natural mysis shrimp, while the tungsten jig bead gets it to depth quickly and the jig hook rides point-up through the drift for fewer snags and better hookup rates. Sizes #18 and #20 match the most common mysis sizes on the Pan — small, precise, and deadly on the Frying Pan's large, selective rainbows and browns.

Pattern Details

• Style: Jigged tungsten bead mysis shrimp imitation
• Sizes available: #18, #20
• Bead: Tungsten jig bead — fast sink rate, rides hook point-up
• Profile: Slim, translucent — closely imitates natural mysis shrimp
• Hook: Jig hook — reduces snags, improves hookups
• Essential pattern for the Frying Pan River below Ruedi Reservoir
• Also effective on other Colorado reservoir-fed tailwaters
• Works year-round; mysis are available to trout in all seasons

How to Fish It

Dead-drift on a tight line or under an indicator at depth — mysis shrimp drift passively in the current and trout are conditioned to eat them without hesitation. Keep the drift as natural as possible with no drag. The #18 is a good starting point; drop to the #20 when fish are being particularly selective. Pairs well with a Zebra Midge or small RS2 as a dropper. On the Frying Pan, fish this pattern through the deeper runs and slots where mysis concentrate after washing through the dam.

Available in store at Glenwood Springs Outdoors, 831 Grand Ave, Glenwood Springs, CO.