Clouser Minnow

[djmyers]

What hook do you guys use when tying up Clouser Minnows?

 

[afishinado]

DJ,

A standard streamer hook works for a Clouser. The "trick" to tying a Clouser is to tie in the dumbell eye 1/3 of the way back behind the eye. Tied this way the fly sort of swims and glides through the water as opposed to the up and down motion of a jig. Good luck.

 

[Fishidiot]

I prefer plain old Mustad long shank hooks for most of my streamer flies tied with dumbell eyes. I like to bend the shank up just a bit on flies like CMs that ride hook up. Mustads seem to bend a bit easier. Many of the newer laser sharpened hooks, (which I prefer for smaller flies like dries and nymphs) seem to be more brittle and break if you try to bend 'em.

Truth be told, the CM is such a versatile fly with so many variations that just about any hook will work. For saltwater, I like a shorter shank on CMs and don't bother to bend the shank.

 

[tomgamber]

I think THIS is the guy I bought from last time...can't find them around here. I liked them fine.

 

[osprey]

I agree with Fish , try a variety, and just about any hook will work, the recipe for this was written up by the man himself years ago in Fly Fisherman magazine and i think he did call for a specific hook but that was for the chartruese and white one that works so good on susquehanna smallmouths, the natural brown and white works good for me for trout.

 

[tomgamber]

afishinado wrote:
DJ,

A standard streamer hook works for a Clouser. The "trick" to tying a Clouser is to tie in the dumbell eye 1/3 of the way back behind the eye. Tied this way the fly sort of swims and glides through the water as opposed to the up and down motion of a jig. Good luck.

I totally disagree, its the darting motion of a fleeing bait fish that is one of the reasons the Clouser is so effective. Gliding bait attracts nothing. I would love to hear the response from Bob himself.

 

[afishinado]

From the attached article:

"Weighted eyes of a Clouser Minnow are not intended to drive the fly down to the bottom. Their purpose is to make the fly dip nose down during pauses in the strip retrieve. Over-weighed flies generally do not produce as well as those that are properly balanced. When considering balance; hook size (and weight), eye weight, how sparsely the fly is tied, and tippet size should all be considered."

http://www.sefly.com/clouser_deep_minnows.htm


I use Clousers all the time for SMs. The fly is balanced and stays horizontal when tied properly, unlike a jig. That's what makes the fly work so well.

 

[tomgamber]

from your own post:

"Their purpose is to make the fly dip nose down during pauses in the strip retrieve."

that's all I'm saying...I don't see this as "gliding"...gliding suggests maintaining a level course... perhaps it just semantics...

 

[afishinado]

Now I understand Tom. Glide was probably not a good word to use. I use Clousers alot for SMs. They remain horizontal to the bottom becasue they are balanced, but do sink vs. say a cone head wooly bugger which hops nose up and nose down more like a jig when manipulated. Both work well, but I believe the secret to the Clouser is that I acts more like a baitfish in the water. That's why it's different than most other weighted flies and is so effective.

 

[flipnfly]

i tied a few yellow and maroonish brown buck tail with rootbeer and plain pearl flash did me well at jones mill run but sometimes i think those stocked brookies are more aggressive than pirhanna

 

[gfen]

I don't know the product numbers, but I've been using 2xl or 3xl dry fly hooks with straight eyes. The 3x hooks I have are the bent shank style (I remember the packaging stating they were good for hoppers and stimulators) to put the hook a little higher.

As for colours, its brown over olive over white, although I've also had luck with cream over yellow.

 

[djmyers]

what color thread do you use then with the brown/olive/white? Do you notice any success difference between the straight shank to the curved shank? How long do you make the hair on these?

 

[gfen]

Black or olive, plus red. I've done both. I think olive looks more natural.

White and the eyes gets tied on with red, so it looks like flared gills.

Mine are small, so I use marabou and not hair. About 2x shank length.

The few I've done on #6 with buck tail around about the same 200% length, very thin, with some crystal flash tied in (cut to mixed lengths).

I might be making them too long, I notice fish hit with with a vengence, but I don't always seem to set the hook.

 

[djmyers]

what size dumbell eyes do you use for each hook size?

 

[gfen]

Two #6, and several smaller (there's a mix of 3XL #18s, and 1XL #16, #14, and #12). You can see the red throat on these, and the one with the chipped yellow eyes shows you the way I'll wrap mylar over the thread/lead/hook to give the body a little more shimmer.

On a dry fly #14. A better view of the red "gills," and the mylar wrapping the body. I overlap the mylar like 3 times so it just glimmers and masks the thread.

On a 3XL, curved shank #18.

The eyes are so small on the #18, that I must augment it with a strip of lead wire tied along the shank. I think the next size up eyes I'm using, on the #14, aren't much better so there's a strip of lead there, too. It certainly doesn't hurt to help keep teh fly up.


When I first learned the Clouser, I thought it was a really, really neat pattern. I just scaled it way down when the beadchain I found was super, super fine. Admittedly, all I've taken on these are stocked fish thus far, but the browns absolutely slam them, including coming out of the water on a good take. When I don't get vicious hits, I can still usually spot fish trailing them in.

 

[osprey]

From "THE MAN" himself the reason it works so good is it never stops moving, (darting from side to side, up and down and all around) check out fly fishing shops in this website . the words from Bobs own mouth . Clousers Fly Shop , 101 Ulrich St.,Middletown Pa.

 

[JoeE]

I use saltwater hooks. I'm not a big clouser trout person. I use them mainly in Salt, but do have a few in my winter box and will fish them hunting big browns at night.

Joe E

 

[Sylvaneous]

tomgamber wrote:

afishinado wrote:
DJ,

A standard streamer hook works for a Clouser. The "trick" to tying a Clouser is to tie in the dumbell eye 1/3 of the way back behind the eye. Tied this way the fly sort of swims and glides through the water as opposed to the up and down motion of a jig. Good luck.

I totally disagree, its the darting motion of a fleeing bait fish that is one of the reasons the Clouser is so effective. Gliding bait attracts nothing. I would love to hear the response from Bob himself.

I would have to disagree with you there. The glide is everything as I have found for riversmallies. Even Kelly Galloup said this during a video on streamer fishing. He said that prey fish do not dive in front of a preadator. The gliding, lilting, sinking action of the clouser minnow is one of it's attractions, not it's nose-first dive to the bottom. While I use a good number of nose-weighted flies (coneheads) They don't have the same seductive and slightly more random motion of more centrally weighted flies. I nose-weight flies to help them dive and get down faster when I want that.

 

[tomgamber]

lilting, sinking...we figured this out already...its those words that I said conflicted with my way of thinking what gliding meant. If its going up and down, its not gliding. You mileage may vary. But yes, the idea that it never really pauses like other flies and keeps moving, even if its moving up and down, is what makes it effective.

 

[Pittflyguy]

They use a great crab pattern on the Chesapeake for Stripers that is olive over white tied with florescent orange flat waxed nylon (Danville) and some gold flash. Bought some at Joe Bruce's place in Baltimore and fell in love with the pattern.