Clouser Minnow

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Clouser Minnow.

Clouser Minnow | www.johnkreft.com

This Clouser Minnow is one a friend gave me a couple of years ago.

Bob Clouser invented the Clouser Minnow in 1987 to imitate smallmouth bass on the Susquehanna River.

My quick research found the fly was named by Lefty Kreh as the Clouser Deep Minnow. He used the fly in fresh and saltwater and has caught over 87 species of game fish using the fly.

A #2 saltwater hook was used for the original fly with a white bucktail belly, gold Krystal Flash and natural brown bucktail for the wing. The other color was tied with white bucktail for the belly, silver Krystal Flash, and gray-dyed bucktail.

The Clouser Minnow can be tied in a other popular colors including tan and white, white and black, chartreuse and white, and brown and white.

Tying the eyes on the bottom of the hook inverts the fly so it doesn’t hang up on the bottom. In addition, the heavy eyes cause the fly to have a jigging motion when fished.

The Clouser Minnow is still a very popular streamer pattern. If you haven’t tried one, you’re missing out!

Enjoy…go fish!

Similar Posts

  • Fish and Flies

    My life these days is centered around fish and flies. Just how I like it! I continue to tie customer flies when I’m not fishing. I was working on a fairly time-consuming post about the Metolius River being my home waters. Yes, I finally decided to share a little bit more about the river. It’s…

  • Latest Flies from the Vise

    As I write this post on Monday, Christmas is only one week away. Have you finished all your shopping? If not, check out my 2023 Fly Fisher’s Christmas list for a few last minute ideas. I continue to spend time at the fly tying vise. I finished tying all of our flies for Patagonia which…

  • Stranahan’s Olive Brindle Chute

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Chuck Stranahan’s Olive Brindle Chute. I returned to Chuck Stranahan’s Flies & Guides last week. The Brindle Chute style of fly is one of Chuck’s “hallmark” flies. The full name of the Brindle Chute is Brindle Hackle Multi Colored Body Parachute. This is his olive version, which is labeled as…

  • Back to Steelhead Flies

    My fly tying has found me back to steelhead flies. I finished a steelhead fly order last week for 40 flies. I thought I’d share them with you. This project was a little change of pace from the many trout flies I’ve been tying. I’m trying to finish some customer orders between all my fishing…

  • Granam or Green-Tail

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Granam or Green-Tail fly. I thought this was a good fly to go along with the Mother’s Day Caddis post about the American Grannom. I’ve told you before that my Throw Back Thursday Fly segment celebrates older flies and that “old” is in the eye of the…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *