BAITFISH ~ IMITATIONS FOR FLY PATTERNS should be slender in appearance. Dorsal in various shades of olive green to black will cover most patterns, with hues of purple, pink and blue not as common. Sides and bellies are iridescent, and often silvery in colour. Fly dressings will vary from 2 to 6 inches and will usually have prominent eyes with black pupils. Incorporating materials that reflect UV light will be particularly effective in low light conditions.
BC’s west coast is home to a variety of baitfish, pacific herring, anchovies, pilchard or sardine, smelt, pacific sand lance or needlefish and smelt… just a few found migrating in our coastal waters. For the novice fly tyer this can be overwhelming. I found keeping your recipe simple can produce amazing results. There are variety of patterns you could use to mimic baitfish… some very simple, others complicated and down right specific.
As I tie thousands of flies yearly, my experience is… nothing beats the simplicity and effectiveness of the Clouser Minnow. Here’s one clouser pattern of many to get you started on your collection…
Shimmer Clouser
- Hook: 6-2/0 Umpqua U series u401 or equivalent
- Thread: Monofilament and Uni 6/0
- Eyes: Double pupil/fluorescent orange and black
- Belly/Wing: White polar bear then topped with bucktail, krystal flash and shimmer flash (colour to suit)
The Shimmer Clouser is one of your basic styles.
Enjoy a little heaven while you’re on the water by adding the Clouser Minnow ~ Shimmer and other styles ~ to your salt flybox. If you’re interested in learning ‘how to’… let me know!
For more info…
Dennis Gamboa
The Fly Box
[email protected]
