Fly Tying Inventory
Clouser Floating Minnow
Bob Clouser designed the Floating Minnow as a surface fly for bass that falls somewhere between a popper and a slider and suggests a crippled minnow. A tail of bucktail and flash is tied on the shank, then a size 4 Wapsi foam spider body is glued around the front of the hook to make a buoyant head. Stick-on eyes and a coat of epoxy finish it. The pattern is easy to tie in other colors to suit local baitfish. Tie it on a size 2 or 4 Mustad 3366 hook. Tied here in white and chartreuse.
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Materials
Danville 210 denier thread, white
White · 210 denier
Flash Accent, red, as the bottom layer of the tail
Red
Bucktail, white
White
Flash Accent, fluorescent chartreuse, over the white bucktail
Fluorescent chartreuse
Bucktail, fluorescent chartreuse, as the top layer of the tail
Fluorescent chartreuse
Wapsi Foam Spider Bug Bodies, size 4, one body slipped over the front of the shank and its slit glued closed to form the head
4
Glue, to fix the thread wraps and close the slit in the foam body
Stick-on eyes, silver, 3/16 inch
Silver · 3/16 inch
Epoxy, as a topcoat over the head and eyes
How to Tie the Clouser Floating Minnow
- 1
Step 1
Mount the hook and hold the foam spider body against the shank behind the eye to judge where the head will sit.
- 2
Step 2
Start the white thread and lay a base on the shank behind the head position.
- 3
Step 3
Tie in a small bunch of red Flash Accent on top of the shank so it extends past the bend.
- 4
Step 4
Tie in a bunch of white bucktail on top of the red flash for the main part of the tail.
- 5
Step 5
Add a few strands of fluorescent chartreuse Flash Accent over the white bucktail.
- 6
Step 6
Finish the tail with a bunch of fluorescent chartreuse bucktail on top. Bind down and trim the butts, then whip finish.
- 7
Step 7
Coat the thread wraps with glue and push the foam spider body onto the shank through its slit, seating it behind the eye.
- 8
Step 8
Run glue into the slit, pinch the two sides together around the shank and hold them until the glue grabs.
- 9
Step 9
Press a stick-on eye onto each side of the head.
- 10
Step 10
Coat the head and eyes with epoxy, keeping the fly turning until the epoxy sets.
A rotary vise or fly turner keeps the epoxy from sagging to one side while it cures.
Watch Tying Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwcck-tUFa4
Credit: Dressed Irons