Tomorrow evening kicks off the 2019 Castawayflies.com fly tying night. I’m looking forward to seeing folks I don’t get to see much after fall fishing, telling stories and tying up a ton of flies. As usual I start off tying flies I use a lot and lose a lot.
The hottest fly in my box for last couple years has been a Muddler minnow. With so many other flies in my box, this older than dirt fly pattern made of naturally harvested feathers and fur still produces more tight lines and smillin faces than any other.
If you know me or read anything I write about, you’ll know that love tying thing in a mini version. Mini is mighty when it comes to Muddlers. #12’s are not commonly found in many a fly fishers box. I usually have a row dedicated to them.
The keeper of the Ausable
I was versed on Mini Muddlers by Fran Betters. When I first moved to Vermont I fished everywhere and started fishing the Adirondack’s in NY. Any time I would fish the West Branch of the Ausable River, I would stop in to visit with Fran as he sat and spun up the fly of the day. One day he was tying up small muddlers, which was surprising to me as I only carried #4 – 8 back then. He told me of of their virtue and that was all I needed. I walked out with a half dozen fresh of the vise, as I always did. I fished them for the rest of the season with great productivity. Since then I have tied many patterns that you normally think to tie large and make them mini. Mini muddlers are a must have.
Muddler Minnow
Hook: Mustad 9671 #14 – #4
Tail: Tom Turkey tail feather section, with a “v” cut into it
Body: gold tinsel
Wing: Tom Turkey tail feather section, 2x length of hook shank
Head: stacked bunches of spun deer hair, 1st stack spin to make the collar add additional stacks of different neutral colors of hair.
Optional and recommended: gold bead head
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I’ve already started working on woolly buggers. Bugger are flies that are productive in many different colors and if you fish them tight to the bottom you loose a bunch. Also, they are a fly I like to tie in a mini version, size 12 &14. Picture are my favorite 4. It’s an an easy fly to get some rust off and get back in production mode. I have always tied them with 3 strands of crystal flash in the tail. This year I’m going to try different colors of flashabou can make a good fly better. I’ve noticed many anglers the days going away from buggers and opting more for zonker type flies.