Muddler Minnow
"The Muddler Minnow was designed by Don Gapen to imitate the darter or muddler minnow to be found in the Nipigon River in the United States. Its potential was recognised by Dan Bailey at Livingstone who began to tie it commercially, and it became a worldwide success. The dominating feature of the pattern is the deer hair used as head and ruff material, and this is the most difficult part of the fly to tie.
The versatility of the fly makes it a must for every angler's fly box. Even when there are no small fish present, it can be fished for a sedge or a moth or even a damsel. Weighted versions can be fished slowly, sunk deep, but the most common way of fishing it is to retrieve at a slow to medium pace just keeping it on or below the surface. It is particularly effective on the big reservoirs in a good ripple, and when fish are moving in the top layers of water.
Quality flies always spawn a host of modified or "improved" versions, and this certainly applies to the Muddler Minnow."
- Kenneth Robson
Dressed to Kill (1987)
Hook: long shank 6-12
Silk: black or brown
Tail: oak turkey wing
Body: flat gold lurex or tinsel
Rib: oval gold tinsel or wire
Underwing: small bunch of grey squirrel tail fibres
Wing: oak turkey wing
Head: deer body hair, clipped
Ruff: deer body hair, unclipped
Fix the hook in the vice and leaving the first third of the shank bare, run the silk down to above the barb.
Leaving the unwhipped section makes spinning the deer hair head a lot easier, especially if you're using a pre-waxed thread.
At the bend tie in two thinnish slips of oak turkey feather taken from opposing feathers using a pinch and loop. The fibres often have quite a pronounced natural bend to them, and using the left & right wing feathers together helps cancel this out.
Add the tinsel or wire rib.
Bind down the loose tail fibres and try to be as neat as possible, since the flat gold tinsel body material is a bit unforgiving as far as lumps are concerned!
Trim the fibres off just before you get to the bare section of shank.
Next, tie in a 5 inch strip of lurex or tinsel and make an angled cut as shown, to make the process easier and neater.
Take the flat tinsel down to where the tail & rib was tied in and back up towards the bare section in neat, butting turns.
Tie the body material in and trim, then rib with the wire. Tie this in and trim.
Select a smallish bunch of grey squirrel fibres and tie this in on top of the shank with 4 or 5 tight turns of thread.
Make the main wing by doing the same process as before with the oak turkey feather slips, but the wing should be a little wider than the tail.
Try to tie in "on the spot", so that the point where all the thread is doesn't either encroach too much into the bare shank section or worse still, go back over what will already be a fairly short body!
Use very fine, sharp scissors to trim as much of the excess feather/tail fibres as you possibly can.
At this point, I suggest you add a small dab of super glue to the wing tying-in point to ensure it's secure. This will also mean you don't have to worry about slack thread during the deer hair spinning process. Allow it to dry thoroughly if you do.
Wind the thread to the very edge of the bare shank, nearest the winging point.
Cut a smallish bunch of deer hair fibres from the body patch and holding the fibres by their tips, remove the excess fluffy stuff from the root ends.
Lose any fibres which are too long or short, hold the fibres in position on top of the shank (so they just touch it) and then wrap the thread loosely around the centre of the bunch of fibres twice.
Pull directly down firmly on the thread and at the same time, let go of the fibres. They should flare easily around the bare shank.
Take 2 or 3 tight turns of silk through the spun fibres, towards the eye.
Manipulate the fibres by pulling them all tightly rearward and then bring the thread through to the bare part of the shank again.
Repeat the spinning process once or twice more, until the entire bare section of the hook is packed with fibres.
Carefully take the thread right up to the eye and whip finish.
Now trim the deer hair. I think it's best done by taking the fly out of the vice
You can make whatever shape you like, but I like a conical shape quite closely clipped near the eye.
Leave a few fibre tips as a ruff. What I do is square the end of the head off by cutting at a 90 degree angle to the hook shank, right where I want the head to end. I think this gives a neater profile.
When you're happy you've got the shape you want, add a drop of varnish to the exposed thread next to the eye and fly is complete.
Muddler Minnow
Linear Mode
