This shad fly is part of The Pfeiffer Collection.
This is the fourth of eleven California shad flies in the collection originally found in the booklet How to Catch, Bone and Cook a Shad produced by the California Department of Fish and Game.
An interesting note about the California Shad Fly #4, in both the original version of Shad Fishing and the 2002 re-print, the pattern calls for a red kip tail wing, but the photo plates show the fly without a wing. I happened to find a used version of the booklet that Pfeiffer references and have ordered it to see if the original pattern did indeed call for a red wing. I will update as soon as I receive it.
UPDATE: I received a copy of the booklet and the California Shad Fly #4 is listed without a red wing. Another thing to note, the body is tied fatter, like a football in the picture in the booklet. My version of the California Shad Fly #4 is tied as listed in Pfeiffer’s Shad Fishing, and while it varies from how it was originally tied, I am sure it will still catch shad.
California Shad Fly #4 Pattern:
Hook: Size 4
Thread: Yellow Utc 140
Tail: Yellow Kip Tail
Body: White Floss
Ribbing: Silver Oval Tinsel
Throat: Yellow Kip Tail
Wing: Red Kip Tail
Eyes: Red painted on eyes
Original California Shad Fly #4