How To Fish A Clouser Minnow

Celebrating the thirty Year Ceremony of the Fishiest Streamer Fly on the Planet.

When I was 12 years old, the Betts Popper, and foam spiders were the simply flies in the earth as far every bit I was concerned. Kmart was my fly store, and the blackness water of the Chowan River was my Yellowstone National Park.

A dozen years later my dear of wing line-fishing was re-ignited with an 8wt and a dose of salt.

Littoral Wing Angling was a completely new game to me. I jumped on eBay and typed in "saltwater streamers" and ordered a 12 pack of large colorful flies.

These flies came in two tone colors of bucktail with pb dumbbell eyes, and were chosen "Clouser Minnows".

The original Clouser Deep Minnow tied past Bob.

I got my first take a chance to fish them a calendar week later, on a trip offshore with some friends. During the trip, we got into a group of Mahi while trolling a weed line, and then I pulled out the fly rod and made a cast. Ii minutes afterward I was hooked up with a light-green and yellow acrobat dancing across the water's surface.

That Mahi was my kickoff saltwater fish on fly, and my first introduction to the fishability of Bob Clouser's Deep Minnow. Information technology only took a few months of saltwater fly line-fishing to realize I would be broke, if I kept purchasing enough flies to feed the masses of hungry Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel along our coast.  Inside a month or two of fly line-fishing the salt, I purchased my first vise and was stocking up on cadet tails and dumbbell eyes.

It likewise didn't have long to effigy out that basically anything pond in the waters around Littoral NC could be caught on this fly.

Mahi was my first.

I'm pretty sure my next saltwater fish on fly, were a couple Flounder caught on those same Clousers that I initially purchased from eBay.

Probably followed past Spanish Mackerel, and Bluefish caught on smaller Clousers that I tied myself.

Past fall I was targeting the massive schools of Speckled Trout with Clouser Minnows, and having great success.

I defenseless my first Albacore that November off the Western Beach of Cape Watch on a sparsely tied version of the fly.

The following spring, we chased Hickory Shad on tiny Clousers on the Roanoke River.

A month later, we caught Striped Bass on big Clousers on 400 gr sinking lines forth the depths of that aforementioned river.

That summer, I added Redfish and Black drum to the list.

Non to mention all the "trash fish" along the fashion...black sea bass, pinfish, body of water robins, lizard fish...the list goes on.

In more than contempo years I've been able to catch exotics such as Peacock Bass, Oscars, and Cichlids on the fly. Modified versions of the wing have brought Bonefish and other tropical species to hand in the Bahamas.  I've even used it to fool educated Rainbow Trout in heavily fished rivers that had seen every "trout fly" ever made.

All in all, I've been able to grab around 40 species on the Clouser Minnow.

What makes this fly so effective?

Partly, because it'southward much more of a style than a specific blueprint. Although it represents a bait fish, yous tin can tweak it and make modifications to suit the species and locations you lot are fishing.

Large or small, flash or no flash, heavy lead eyes or bead chain, high tie or half n half. The options are endless.

To really sympathise the fly, we need to go back to the original, and the man who invented it.

In Pennsylvania in the 1980's, wing fishing guide Bob Clouser had been working on different sinking streamer patterns for smallmouth bass on the Susquehanna. He was trying to mimic the baitfish and their darting motions that triggered a Smallmouth'southward feeding response.

His initial bucktail patterns were similar to the now famous Deep Minnow, except they were missing one affair. The lead dumbbell eyes. One time Bob discovered those, he added them to the pattern and the residual is history.

Why is a pattern developed for smallmouth, so effective at landing hundreds of other species?

Two reasons. Information technology's motion, and information technology'southward variability.

Before the contempo invention of flies similar Blane Chocklett's Game Changer, the Clouser was one of the most actively swimming bait fish blueprint bachelor. The placement of the dumbbell optics causes the fly to dart around, and then drib during pauses betwixt strips, and then ascent on the next strip. Information technology basically screams, "Hey I'grand injured, take advantage of my misfortune!" This is the reason this wing has the ability to grab the attending of fish such equally Fake Albacore and Stripers when stripped through a allurement assurance of several k minnows.

Speaking of eyes. The fact that the wing rides hook up due to eye and material placement is a dandy advantage when fishing around snags.

The second reason this fly is so effective, is its variability. The basic steps of a Clouser Minnow are claw up, dumbbell eyes beneath, bottom wing of bucktail, flash, then top fly of bucktail. Across that you lot tin modify the pattern in so many ways.

Need a shad dart imitation...tiny Clousers in bright colors exercise the trick.

Need a shrimp pattern...add together a rattle and body wrap to the claw shank, then tie in all your materials loftier-tie manner.

Need a giant bait fish pattern for pelagics...add in the saddle hackles of a Deceiver and make large half and halfs.

Demand a bait fish design for toothy fish...tie the entire fly using synthetic materials.

The options proceed forever.

They are the all-time search pattern fly ever. I may have a large box of shrimp and crab patterns when guiding for Redfish, but if we are prospecting for fish, I always go for my stash of Clouser Minnows.

Possibly it'south considering I use them more often than whatsoever other pattern, just over the concluding decade or so, these "smallmouth bass flies" have earned the top spot in my fly boxes.

And speaking of these flies, Bob Clouser is a really cool guy. He's a groovy fisherman, corking caster, takes his wing tying very seriously, and loves to give back to the sport.

One other thing. If you tie Clouser Minnows and oasis't had the opportunity to sit down and lookout Bob tie one, you are probably doing information technology wrong. 30 years of tying and fishing the Deep Minnow and Bob's got it down to a science.

If you meet him at a show and he's giving a tying demo, I'd highly recommend you grab a seat.

www.clouserflyfishing.com

Source: https://mauserflyfishing.com/blogs/blog/an-ode-to-the-clouser-minnow

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