Alewife (Anadronomus or Freshwater) Clupeiformes Clupeidae Alosa pseudoharengus Text and photos by Fox Statler (Mr. Sowbug), Salem, AR
What are anatomically correct minnow patterns?
They are minnows imitations that are as
near as possible to the real thing. They
imitate the real minnows life colors,
breeding colors, body markings, body style,
and size. It is an attempt at Fishin’ What
They See. And what predator fish see are
more colors than there are in flowers. That
is correct, there are more colors in fish than
there are in almost any other group in the world.
Fish have one color that is a hard one to find in
the plant and animal kingdoms, and that is “the
absence of color”, transparent, clear, etc. Nature
also combines colors and transparency in the same
fish. For example, a minnow’s fins can be red, or
blue, or white, or even yellow; but at the same
time we can see through them. Cave fish are so
clear that the red color we see in them is the
collection of blood vessels within the heart and
gill areas. Modern day bass lures lack this very
important quality. Most bass lures are made of
white plastic and then painted with an opaque paint.
Lures that are made of clear plastic look like bubbles
under the water.
Here are the advantages to creating my minnows. One,
most of the materials are transparent yet have color.
Two, the eyes and hook add to the correctness of the
imitation. You can’t see through the head of a minnow
and the shank of the hook appears as the vertebrae of
the fish. Three, they don’t appear as bubbles or dark
blobs, but shine and glisten in the sunlight as real
minnows do. Four, because the materials are thin fibers,
the minnows swim with the slightest of movements. They
swim when laying on the bottom. No other imitation can
compare with the life-like movements of these patterns.
I once heard that all flies catch fish. These do too.
From Sunfish to Musky, they all eat these minnows.
These patterns work in salt water also. Although
they are the newest idea in fly fishing patterns,
I have worked on this project since 1989, and believe
me, they work. My next book will have at least 347
patterns so that any angler east of the Rocky Mountains
can create their choice of patterns to imitate what is
in their rivers and lakes.
Alewife (Anadronomus or Freshwater) Clupeiformes Clupeidae Alosa pseudoharengus
Maximum Size: 14".
Shape: Slab-sided.
Suggested Hook & Size: Mustad 33909 #1/0 - #14.
Thread: Gray 8/0 Uni-thread.
Tail: Pearl Blue Magic Hanked Lite-Brite color
a Cool Gray Prismacolor Pen tail.Tail Fin: Cool Gray Prismacolor Pen.
Body: Pearl Blue Bodi-Braid.
Eye and Insert: Silver Spirit River Real Eyes
(3/8 Deep See Eyes for #1/0, and 7/16 Deep See Eyes
for larger) with Priz Silver 3-D Molded insert.Lower Side: Pearl Blue Hanked Lite-Brite.
Upper Side: Silver Hanked Lite-Brite with a
small Black Prismacolor Pen shoulder spot.Snout Color or Change Thread: Gray.
Belly or Stomach: Pearl Blue Hanked Lite-Brite.
Dorsum or Back: Silver Hanked Lite-Brite with
River Green Hanked Lite-Brite over.Head Color: Blue Green.
Cheek and Chin Color: Pearl Blue.
Pectoral Fins: Clear.
Anal Fin: Clear.
Pelvic Fin: Clear.
Dorsal Fin: Clear.
Colored Markers: Cool Gray Prismacolor Pen for
tail; Black Prismacolor Pen for small shoulder spot.Distribution: A native to the Atlantic Coastal
Plain rivers from North Carolina northward, in
abundance in the Great Lakes and some large
reservoirs in Tennessee, the Watauga and Dale
Hollow and their tailwaters.Habitat: Prefers very cool to cold large open
waters.Spawning Period: April to August.
Spawning Habitat: In the shallows of still
waters.Important Notes: An extremely important
forage fish for Muskellunge, Walleye, Smallmouth,
Trout, Salmon in the Great Lakes and other large
predators.
Because of the Alewife’s maximum size we can
imitate it in varying lengths. However, the
young-of-the-year grow to 2-3 inches. This is
the size that I prefer because there will be
more of this size in any body of water. You might
want to tie this pattern larger or smaller,
depending upon the prey that you are after. For
Crappie I would use smaller imitations, but for
Musky I would use larger imitations. For larger
patterns there are two choices of eyes. The Deep
See Eyes by Spirit River are made of aluminum and
are light for their size. A clouser tied with this
eye will not be as stable as those with brass eyes,
but I am not saying that an unstable clouser is a
disadvantage. All fish swim on their sides at times.
The second eye are Spirit River’s I-Balz. These eyes
are very heavy for their size. A 3/16-inch I-Balz is
equal to or more than a -inch Real Eye. I-Balz Eyes
are made up to 5/16-inch in the silver color. With
I-Balz Eyes, you do not need the eye inserts, they
come from the manufacturer with inserts in place. A
5/16-inch I-Balz minnow can be easily cast by a
spinning rig.
For a 3-inch minnow I prefer a #2, Mustad Hook #33903
with a -inch Real Eye. For a 2½-inch minnow I prefer
a #4, Mustad Hook #33903 with a 7/32-inch Real Eye.
For each hook size that I drop down, I go down 1/32-inch
in the eye size. So for a -inch minnow I prefer a #14,
Mustad Hook #33903 with a 1/8-inch Dazl Eye.
I prefer the Mustad 33903 Popper Hook because of its
wiggle shank. Tying the eye into the wiggle and then
super gluing it makes the most durable clouser ever
made. Clousers tied on straight shank hooks begin to
rotate after they are banged around a little bit. Where
I live, we have lots of limestone on our banks and in
our rivers. One of my favorite techniques for Smallmouth
is to cast the minnow on the edge of the bank and let
the current pull it into and across the stream. A
straight shank clouser cannot withstand this abuse.
If you don’t have Mustad Hooks then an Eagle Claw L200
can be substituted. As for the sturdiness of the Eagle
Claw hook, I personally haven’t used them. We don’t
have them in our area. With the reputation of Eagle
Claw Hooks, I am sure they are more than adequate.
All of the materials in this recipe are manufactured
by Spirit River, Inc. of Roseburg, Oregon. If your
area shop does not handle their products. They can
be purchased on the internet at
www.fishinwhattheysee.com
Instructions for the Alewife:
Originally published January 26, 2004 on Fly Anglers Online.