We first brought in our Egret Heavy Shanks and had a great response, especially from tyers after large salmon and steelhead. We did get a good deal of feedback about the weight though. Many of our cur customers wanted a shank that didn't have the heaviness in the current but still had the large vertical tail loop and large eye. The medium shanks achieved the lighter weight by using a finer gauge wire. They still have the overall look of the Egret Heavy Shanks but less than half of the weight.

You can see that because of the large tail loop, the shank easily fits into the jaws of any vise. The Eye loop is nice and wide and has the double shank that will securely hold the head of the fly and, in particular, dumbell eyes that are popular on so many Intruder patterns. The large tail loop also allows you to connect your hook in a couple of different ways. Many tyers like to tie in braided line, mono, or even wire right into the pattern. They make a loop that allows them to switch out the hook easily. W e even know tyers who will actually add a split ring to the tail loop too. Then they attach the hook right to the ring.