Chippewa River float

[MuskyFlyGuy 0]

Monday my wife and I put in a very long day to fish the Chip with Stu Neville, owner of Hayward Fishing Company. A three hour drive each way and eight hours of fishing means not much will be happening for us today. The river was about a foot low, but was clear and a little dark. Home owners have done a great job of keeping it a wild river. In fact, we did not see another person or boat on the river all day. 

We fished wood, current seams, rocks, runs, and buckets of still water. Considering how little fishing we have done this year, we did a good job of hitting our targets with our casts. The fish were caught on Murdich Wigglers and Linden Hills Specials. There were no hits on the Tequeely or Boogle Bugs. The fish had great shoulders and fought well, each one jumping a number of times. I also caught a very aggressive small northern and had a small musky on that came off on its second cartwheel. My wife caught the largest fish, but did not want a picture. Here are two of the fish I caught on the Murdich. 

It was a beautiful day and our last smallie float of the year. 
Tom

[Steeldrifter 0]

6hrs of driving and 8 hrs of fishing sounds like a heck of a long day, but worth it when it looks like such a nice day and no one else on the river 👍

[niveker 0]

Nice fish and water, as always, Tom.  Thanks for posting.  

How do you tie your Murdich Wigglers?  I only see photos of the fly at shops when searching online.  

[gillage 0]

@niveker

I found this reference online.

From the tier Chris Siess of Knot The Real World Fly Fishing. He refers to the Murdich Wiggler as the Redfish Wiggler.

"Several folks have asked how to tie specific Redfish patterns that I use. One of the most consistent patterns is called a Murdich Wiggler, or as I refer to it, a Redfish Wiggler. "

https://youtu.be/7WcvBoR5Kpc

Looks interesting.

I think I need to tie some up.

[gillage 0]

Also found this reference:

From FlyAnglers OnLine: https://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/showthread.php?13861-Murdich-Wiggler-Recipe-Found-it!!!

Looks like it might have appeared in Fly Tyer but ?

[niveker 0]

2 hours ago, gillage said:

I found this reference online.

thanks!

[gillage 0]

12 hours ago, niveker said:

Nice fish and water, as always, Tom.  Thanks for posting.  

How do you tie your Murdich Wigglers?  I only see photos of the fly at shops when searching online.  

Tom looks like a GREAT trip.

Have met Stu but have NOT fished with Stu.

Have seen the Chip but have NOT fished the Chip.

I need to make it happen.

Let us know how YOU tie your Murdich Wigglers, I am still interested.

[ScienceGuy141 0]

Thanks for posting! I've been feeling a bit home sick since moving to Ohio, and it is great to see some pictures from the waters around "home." 

[MuskyFlyGuy 0]

I tie them as shown on the SBS above in white, purple, black, olive, and tan. I use very thin Flashabou for the tails. Sometimes I sub very fine bucktail for the flash. I typically do that on my purple wigglers and then use some bright blue flash for contrast. 

[MuskyFlyGuy 0]

Gillage,

Stu is great to fish with. My grandson made me promise to take him on a float with Stu when he turns seven. He got his first casting lesson this summer and we hope to expand on it next summer. 
Tom