Attendance at the Wednesday night fly tying sessions have been small. This weeks fly could change that as we go big, tying fly’s mostly tied for large species. I am a self proclaimed trout bum, so I have primarily tied trout flies. Over the past several years, I have changed my tune a little for a couple reasons. I’ve been trying to catch ice out brown trout while trolling large streamers on Lake Ontario. Many of our guides have been targeting large warm water species like Bass, Pike and Musky for years. I have been learning so much about gear and flies to chase these toothy hard fighting fish, and with the warm weather we’ve been getting in the summer pushing most trout water over 70 degrees for long stretches, heading to the cooler mountain brooks or to the lower sections of rivers, or lakes and ponds, have been the only option for catch and release anglers. When I talk about large flies, I’m talking 4 to 10 inch long streamer patterns or imitations of small ducks/birds, mice/muskrats, snakes and frogs.
One of the patterns that seems to be used most is the Clouser Minnow. This basic pattern can be tied in every size and every color combination. I’ve caught everything from Stripper’s to river trout on this pattern. Last year, during the Ditch Pickle Classic, John Synnott and I threw a bunch Clousers. Although they were not the fly of the tourney for us, they had a large presents in our fly box.
Clouser Minnow
Thread:140 denier Ultra thread
Hook: Mustad 34007
Belly: mosly light colors of Buck tail(White or Yellow)
Back: mostly any darker color of buck tail
Flash: cystal flash or flashabou
Dumbell eyes