Since that's my hand holding that sand lance, I'll give my two cents. As I studied that fish, I was impressed with the color change from silvery white to a light blue line and an almost black top. I had tied a ton of flies with craft fur, Icelandic sheep hair, bucktail, arctic fox, etc. All worked, but my best non fouling fly was a surf candy with white and olive Slinky Fibre as pictured (eye moved forward on subsequent flies). I used a few strands of light blue crystal flash in the middle and a few of peacock crystal flash on top. I have saltwater flashabou on each side directly under the epoxy for a little shine.
That being said, I've subsequently converted to the same colors on a tube fly tied Shock and Awe style as they last longer and are just as effective.
The salt fly gallery and swap gallery are an awesome source of sand lance patterns. If you really want a fun time, tie flatwing patterns. I find the fish strike right through them frequently since I tend to tie them too long, but the aggressive strikes they evoke are hilarious. There are some really good threads on flatwings from some excellent tiers in the salt forum. For surface action, look at Roger Stephens' floating sand lance, the Miyawaki popper or a simple Gartside gurgler.
