Why Metz Tarpon & Crab and Crab & Shrimp Packs Are Must-Haves for Saltwater and Warmwater Fly Tiers
When I’m tying for clients or getting ready for a trip, I don’t have time to dig through a dozen capes hunting for the right feather. I want something that ties clean, looks right in the water, and holds up fish after fish. That’s why I’ve become a big fan of the Metz Tarpon & Crab and Crab & Shrimp packs from Umpqua. They’re simple, consistent, and just plain useful — all the right feathers already sorted for you, ready to tie the flies that actually matter on the flats and in warmwater.
What Makes These Packs So Useful
1. Consistent Size and Quality
Each pack is loaded with feathers that are all in that sweet spot — right length, right stiffness, right taper. You’re not digging through unusable fluff or trimming weird edges. Every feather you pull is one you’ll actually tie with, which saves a ton of time at the vise.
2. Reliable Color
The color tones are clean and uniform, and they match what you want for saltwater and warmwater patterns — tans, olives, browns, creams — the shades that make shrimp, crabs, and baitfish look alive in the water. No guessing or mixing and matching needed.
3. Purpose-Built for the Flies You Actually Tie
The beauty of these packs is that they’re made for specific tying needs. The Tarpon & Crab pack and the Crab & Shrimp pack aren’t just random selections — they’re curated with the right shapes and textures for those exact fly types. Think of it as getting the best part of a cape, without paying for or sorting through all the stuff you’ll never touch.
Why Choose These Over a Full Cape
Buying a full cape sounds great in theory — until you realize how much of it you’ll never use. For saltwater and warmwater flies, the Metz packs just make more sense.
You’re paying for the feathers you’ll actually use.
No tiny hackles or weird fluff — just the right feathers for salt patterns.
Everything’s pre-picked and ready to tie.
You can start tying right out of the bag. No sorting, trimming, or hunting for matching pairs.
Consistency fly to fly.
When you’re tying a dozen of the same pattern, the feathers behave the same every time — which is huge if you’re tying for clients or stocking boxes for a trip.
Less clutter, less waste.
They take up almost no room and leave nothing behind but finished flies.
Tarpon & Crab Pack
Tarpon flies: Long, full feathers with consistent taper make killer baitfish wings and tails that hold their profile when wet. Perfect for putting out of the back of an oceanside, or backwater tarpon flies. Also for good for snook lateral scales , and to cover or palmer around the shank of a hook on redfish/bonefish flies.
Crabs and hybrids patterns: The shorter stiffer tips of these feathers feathers are ideal for claws, legs, or those crossover flies that ride the line between shrimp and baitfish.
Warmwater baitfish: Great for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass flies, along with pike or muskie flies. These longer feathers tied out the back or down the side as a lateral scale give your fly more dimension and movement in the water.
Crab & Shrimp Pack
Shrimp patterns: Wide feathers with just the right taper for collars and segmented bodies that move naturally in the current.
Crabs of all sizes: You can tie larger crab claws that will get the attention of predators easily, bulkier collars for patterns like the strong arm merkin and pictured, and similar pattern that need more full and webby collars like redfish and bonefish patterns
Crawfish and other warmwater bugs: The same features that make them great in salt translate perfectly to freshwater — consistent, tough, webby at the base with constant tips.
The Metz Tarpon & Crab and Crab & Shrimp packs are one of those materials that just make life easier for anyone who ties salt or warmwater flies. They’re clean, consistent, and ready to tie— no sorting, no guessing, no frustration.
Whether you’re gearing up for tarpon season, filling boxes with crab and shrimp patterns for a redfish trip, or just tying warmwater bugs for fun, these packs give you everything you need without the extra cost or mess of a full cape.
They’re a simple, smart choice — and for me, that’s what good tying materials are all about.
