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What makes a good Clouser ? |
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Clouser
Minnows are such simple and easy to tie flies that many tiers (including some production
tiers) overlook some of the nuances of this pattern that it's developer considers
essential.
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| I do not remember what the
fly pattern source was for the
very first Clouser Minnow that I ever tied. It could have been a print source, a fly
I purchased from a fly shop, or perhaps a fly given to me by a friend. The fly was
reportedly a good producer, I therefore fatefully copied it. With this new fly I caught a few fish, so I tied some more. I continued to fish with these Clouser's on a regular basis, and they continued to produce fish. It was however, just another fly, certainly not a "super fly", faster than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings and all that other stuff. Then one day I had the opportunity to meet noted fly fishing guide and fly shop owner Bob Clouser at a regional flyfishing show. It was a cold snowy Sunday afternoon, the poor weather adversely affected attendance at the show which allowed me some one on one time with developer of the Deep Minnow. Bob Clouser was seated at a tying bench, one of many featured fly tiers at this show. He continually tied one Clouser Minnow after the other. Each time explaining the details of the tying sequence and his reasoning for those details. My conversation with Bob Clouser was perhaps not on the same scale as an epiphany, it did however, markedly change the contents of my fly box, and my opinion that a properly tied Clouser Minnow is indeed a super fly.
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Overview The Clouser Deep Minnow was developed as a baitfish imitation. Small, slim, semi-translucent minnow is the profile best suited to the Clouser. Even though it is often tied in colors to be representative of crayfish, crab, and shrimp; the Clouser generally fishes best if this slim sparse profile of the original fly is maintained. Weighted eyes of
Clousers 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. A fly that is performing well on a 0X tippet
in a smallmouth stream might perform poorly if cast into the ocean on the end of a section
of hard 20 lb mono. Bucktail Selection Bob was very specific in his recommendations for the selection of appropriate bucktail for a proper Clouser Minnow. Long straight hair from colder climates generally met with his approval. Hair that was kinky, or had frayed tips was frowned upon for use in Clousers. Only the top 75% of the tail hair is useful, as the lower areas of the tail tend to flair and Bob recommended that those hairs are best suited to other patterns. Cleaning the hair is important. Bob would cut a section of hair, then while pinching the top 25% of the clump between thumb and fore finger of one hand, he would manipulate the hair with a finger from his other hand so as to cause all the short hairs and under fur to fall to the table. "You can't tie these things too sparse. The ones I tie for myself are sparser than those I sell in the shop. They just won't buy one that's tied real sparse. But they'll come back in the shop after a day on the river and say, 'caught so many bass on that fly that they chewed most of the hair off, but they kept right on eating it.' And they still don't get the connection that sparse flies catch fish."
Bob binds the lower wing to the hook shank with a signature X cross pattern. This
keeps the lower wing from fowling the hook, and also helps keep the bucktail under control
when you are catching a bunch of fish on the same fly. |
In most cases the fly below is superior
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Flash Bob used both Flashabou and Crystal Flash in his tying demonstration that day. The flash was tied between the top and bottom wing. "I don't like using too much flash. I like to fold it over the
tying thread like this, about a third, so that the flash is different lengths. I
think this gives it more action in the water." |
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Synthetic Hair "When the water's real clear on the river, and in a lot of saltwater situations a Clouser Minnow tied in translucent synthetic hair is hard to beat. This synthetic hair is not as stiff as bucktail, and when it gets wet it tends to just clump together." "If you will trim it like this, shorter, longer, longer as you go to the back. Then do the same on the top. You have a fly with a more natural profile. And it doesn't look like the end of a paintbrush in the water."
Variations on a theme, more "Clouser" Minnows >> |
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