Hey all, I was given a Clouser(sp?) minnow the other day and was wondering if it is an effective fly for bass. Also what would be the ideal way to retrieve it. Thank You.
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Hey all, I was given a Clouser(sp?) minnow the other day and was wondering if it is an effective fly for bass. Also what would be the ideal way to retrieve it. Thank You.
Welcome aboard. Many folks will tell you that the Clouser Minnow is very possibly the most overall effective streamer pattern ever "invented" and that it is their primary go-to pattern, especially for bass. To retreive it, simply make sharp 6-8 inch strips. The fly will lurch forward and between strips it will drop down a couple of inches. This jigging motion is the secret to the success of the Clouser.
Great pattern, but remember to slow down your casting stroke just a bit to open the loop when casting a weighted fly. Either that or adopt the old chuck and duck routine. It usually only take one smack of a weighted fly like a Clouser on the back of the head to learn why that is an important lesson.
Jim Smith
If it swims, the clouser will take it; Bass, Trout, Saltwater fish, you name it and the clouser will take it. It's one of the most effective streamers ever devised.
As far as how to fish it, experiment. Try quartering downstream and use slow retrieves and if that doesn't produce try fast stripping or a combination of the two. You can even cast upstream and strip faster than the current is moving it.
Scott
Thank you very much. I have yet to catch a bass on the flyrod only gills so far. From what I've seen this is a great site with equally great people. I have been using a flyrod for a few weeks now (why did I wait so long!!!) and now its all I think about.
mashtom,
Welcome to the BB!! You can use the Private Message, Reply to Post and Post your own question or Topic.
Fly Fishing is a journey so take your time and enjoy it!
Doug :D
Mashtom - welcome to the newbie club. I started about 7 weeks ago and have started tying my own stuff and am about to purchase a 9 wt for salt water . I have caught a few bass on my fly rod but mostly perch and of course a ton of blue gill. I try not to think about catching fish as I think about relaxing and taking in the scenery and working on my cast. The fish just happen to be one of the perks :D
Welcome Mashtom
I fish for bluegills, cappie and bass with the clouser. Besides a minnow immitation it also makes a simple crawdad.
:lol:
Greg
Clouser flies work really good on bass. I've not yet used them for white bass or wipers (a white bass/striped bass hybrid), but it would work on those species I'm sure. I've caught bluegills on Clousers, though not many; this due to the large size of the Clousers I was using.
I agree with prior posters here, that the fly can be difficult to cast due to its weight; a change in casting stroke is in order. Maybe a bike helmet, too, if you have one.
Because I fish so much in shallow water, it would be nice if store-bought Clousers were tied on lighter guage hooks. The Clousers I've bought sank rapidly upon splashdown, which led to a number of them being lost to snags during the retrieve. I'm ignorant as to whether those heavier, stouter hooks found on store-bought Clousers are part of the fly's "official" pattern. But if you tie your own flies, I think you'd be well served to select a different, lighter hook to build the fly around. That way it wouldn't sink like a cannonball upon splashdown.
The Clouser, to my eye anyway, fills the niche once occupied by the old leadhead bucktail jigs that spin fishermen used for decades -- before the invention of tube and fliptail jigs made bucktails virtually obsolete. Because it uses bucktail fibers the Clouser holds its shape on retrieves very well: it maintains thickness of profile, is what I mean, which lets fish see it easily as it swims past.
Good fly. Just a bit too heavy and fast-sinking for me. In most of the places I fish, a Marabou Miss is a better choice because it sinks much slower and therefore suspends in the water column, allowing a much longer-duration retrieve.
Joe
"Better small than not at all."
Hey mashtom;
Welcome. You have now fallen into the abyss of FF'ing. Next, tying, then rodbuilding and on and on......ain't it great?
Jim
Joe, et.al: If you're tying you can substitute very effectively bead-chain "eyes' for the more heavily weighted led hourglass weights, and this time of year when you're bringing a fly over the weeds you don't that that much weight anyway. JGW