“No Frills” Damsel / Minnow Clouser

[GHow 0]

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by GHow:

 

“No Frills” Damsel / Minnow Clouser (click link for more info)

 

[GHow 0]

"I'm such a garage flytyer, the fly has to catch fish after fish without changing and it should be made as cheap and easy as possible ."

 

This fly has caught more warm-water fish for me than anything else I have ever used. Use this when targeting lake or pond fish along a shore line in warm-water conditions to competing concentrations of stacked up fish. Bluegills, Crappie, Perch and Bass will take the fly and I’m sure any other shore-line dwellers will find it irresistible. Minus the hook, thread and eyes the fly has only three components. The barbell eyes, marabou tail and a chenille or synthetic body.

 

The benefits of using a short shank hook are you can take full length strands of any color crystal flash and wrap a body twisting it in your fingertips as you wrap. The barbell eyes on the fly will keel your hook so the hook point is riding up. Any fish that swallows the fly will be hooked in the roof of the mouth and not gill hooked and bleeding. If the fish is hooked in the roof of the mouth it allows for easy extraction with needle nose pliers or hemostats. ALWAYS remember these two items when fishing this fly. You will need them. Good Luck.

 

This April pre-spawn babe fell for it in the churning surf of a very windy shoreline in about a foot and a half of water at the beach. I stood out in the water (in my waders) with the wind at my back casting back in at the shoreline.

 

 

 

[Guest]

I dunno how I missed this one. Catchin' fish like that verifies it as a very good fly! I'll have to add it to the list of flies I need to tie!

[Joe Hard 0]

what a great way to tie a nymph. Proof is in the pudding!!!

[TimJ 0]

Thanks for the pattern GHow. That is a nice basic panfish fly.

I tied a few up and tried them this past weekend. Caught a couple nice crappies on a black one. I tied them with bead chain eyes and rabbit tail instead of marabou on the smaller ones. So many options with it.

 

Tim

[fly time 0]

Nice ties, and nice fish, congrats!!

[down2earthlv 0]

I tie a similar fly in olive and Golden rabbit! I submitted this golden pattern to the fav fly swap. .... just a tuft of rabbit for a tail, same fur dubbed into a stubby body that almost engulfs my bead chain eyes. I tried lead, but the slower fall of the beadchain seemed to be prefered. Named 'Troutzilla Treat' due to its fantastic debut in the eastern Sierras. Try it out for yourself!!

[GHow 0]

The fly has caught almost everything in my lake including:

I have an olive one with two small rubber legs behind the eyes this winter and it's hit at least the 75 fish mark. They are almost indestructable. I usually lose them before they reach retirement.

I put a synthetic wing on it and I named the Howser

 

Open up my April lake summary

[ditz2 0]

Most trout flies will catch panfish....Mostly because they are almost as stupid as trout....hehehehe

[captkenroy 0]

A #6 Wooly worm in dark olive, brown or black simulates a dragonfly nymph pretty doggone well. Check to see what color is available in your local water by scooping up a few handfulls of detritus right against the bank. They are very comon in most waters.

[GHow 0]

Jezz Ditz.

I can't belive you dragged this pattern out into the open again. I haven't posted in ages. I happned to just visit?

Bob Clouser really came up with a timeless pattern and cut it down to it's most basic feature and the fly still works.

 

I still fish this No Frills in low water when fishing for prowling smallmouth on the Connecticut River. This one took a # 8 black No Frills and gave me a real battle on this hand made two weight

 

 

 

Now if you dress it up a bit.....You can make these...........

 

 

and catch these..........

 

 

 

 

Put a different color to it...you get these....and if you're lucky you get one like this.......... Still my best. Hoping for better.

 

 

[Istripbuggers 0]

Nice smallie! Well I'm definatly going to have to try some of these