Flies

Video: https://tinyurl.com/FatheadMinnow

The Evolving Fathead Minnow Fly Pattern

November 29, 2020

Recipe:

Thread: olive Ultra Thread, 70 deniers

Hook: AHREX, NS172, Curved Gammarus #6

Bead: brass or gold 7/64 bead, if you wish a weighted fly

Tail: continuation of the marabou body; total fly length should be between 1 ½ and 1 ¾ inches

Body: half of a large marabou feather, cream for belly side and olive for back in equal amounts; between the two colors, add two strands of blue-green and pearl colored Lateral Scale #1733 by Hedron, Inc. on each side of the fly. Add white and olive deer hair if desired; see below.

Midline: 2 to 4 strands of black Flashabou #6912, and black midline using a Sharpie permanent marker pen

Head: Fish Skull, Fish-Mask #4, Ultralight Baitfish Head with Fish Skull Living Eyes, size 5/32

Formula:

1. Slide two “Living Eyes” onto the fish skull and glue them with UV Clear Fly Finish and set it aside for the final touches.

2. De-barb the hook and slide on the bead with the small hole toward the hook eye, and place in your vise.

3. Tie-on with the thread behind the bead and wrap toward the hook bend until your thread and bobbin hang vertically where the barb was.

4. Turn the hook upside-down, strip one side of the cream colored marabou feather, and place it on the short hook shank so the total fly length does not exceed 1 ½ to 1 ¾ inches long and tie it down to the hook eye. (Keep in mind as you tie that you want a liberal amount of thread where the fish skull will be in order to Super Glue it in place.)

5. Place your beginning fly upright in your vise and add two strands of Lateral Scale to each side of your fly. These strands should be the same length or slightly shorter than the cream marabou. (An easy method of tying these strands is to tie two on the side facing you with about three wraps of thread, adjust them for position on the side and length, take the remaining, longer portions over the top of the hook shank, wrap them with thread while holding the strands in place on the opposite side of the fly, and cut the ends of the strands to the desired length.)

6. Strip one side of the olive colored marabou feather and tie it onto the hook where the fish skull will be placed.

7. Take two to four strands of black Flashabou, measuring the length to the marabou, and tie it onto the hook shank where the fish skull will be placed. (Wrap the Flashabou over the hook shank exactly like you did with the Lateral Scale.)

8. Optional: Tie a few white and olive deer hairs to give the body more definition, but only a few because you want the marabou movement. Use twice as many olive deer hairs and trim half of them where the dorsal fin would be. See a photo of the fathead minnow.

9. Add more deer hair for bulk inside the Fish Skull, so the Super Glue has something to adhere to it. Whip finish and cut the thread. Add the Super Glue and slip the Fish Skull into position leaving some space between the front of the skull and the hook eye for thread.

10. Lock the Fish Skull on the hook by tying the thread back on the hook between the skull and the hook eye. Make several thread wraps and a whip finish; cut the thread and apply head cement.

11. After the Super Glue has dried inside the Fish Skull, pull the marabou back and mark the midline with a black Sharpie permanent ink pen. Allow to dry before doing the other side.

Fishing Technique:

This fly pattern is based upon Scott Willison’s jig-hook fathead minnow pattern, which creates a jigging action rather than a strip and pause action of my Evolving Fathead Minnow. It is “evolving” because I am forever trying to make a better “mouse trap”.

This hook will look huge to you, but the Pass Lake Rainbows and Browns that are feeding on fathead minnows are 18 to 20 inch fish and they inhale these minnows. I have had to use my hemostats to extract this hook from their gill rakers.

The Fathead Minnows were planted in Pass Lake to promote larger rainbow and brown trout, and it has accomplished this goal. They are along the shoreline year around, but my favorite time to use this or similar minnow fly pattern is during the evening in late summer and fall. There is about an hour at dusk when the minnows feed on the surface in mass, so it appears as if it is sprinkling rain. Large trout get into a feeding frenzy and the fly fishing fun begins.

I use a 5 wt. fly rod, floating fly line, and a 9 ft. tapered leader with a 3 ft. fluorocarbon tippet and cast to trout boiling on the surface. I vary the retrieve from strip and pause to fast strips. You can cast 40 or more feet only to have a fish boil next to your boat. These fish have seen a fly before and are persnickety, so a good outing in my play book is one or two fish per evening. However, just being there and seeing all of this activity is worth it. The word is “out” among fly fishers, so the parking lot can fill in the late afternoon.

Enjoy, Bruce Freet