Fletchfishes 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2014 Great thread - I've always been bothered with this exact concept... a fly everyone raves about that never works for me. I have a couple: -GRHE (finally caught something on it for the first time this year, but it was a situation where virtually any fly would have worked.) -Muddler Minnow (suspect I'm fishing this thing wrong - isn't it supposed to be a sculpin imitator? Mine float.) -BWO Dry Fly (the standard dry hackle recipe - I never catch in this hatch.) Of course, there are other flies that seem to work much better for me than I have any reason to expect if I went of other's experience, but that's another topic... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
atxdiscgolfer 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2014 Muddler minnow Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fisherboy0301 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2014 Great thread - I've always been bothered with this exact concept... a fly everyone raves about that never works for me. I have a couple: -GRHE (finally caught something on it for the first time this year, but it was a situation where virtually any fly would have worked.) -Muddler Minnow (suspect I'm fishing this thing wrong - isn't it supposed to be a sculpin imitator? Mine float.) -BWO Dry Fly (the standard dry hackle recipe - I never catch in this hatch.) Of course, there are other flies that seem to work much better for me than I have any reason to expect if I went of other's experience, but that's another topic... Yeah I bet the muddler minnow could be a sculpin. Try wrapping the shank with lead wire, stopping before you get to where you'll spin the hair. The muddler is also a pretty good hopper in smaller sizes. For bass I like mine to barely float and go under when I strip, slowly floating back up on pauses. They absolutely crush it as it floats up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crackaig 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2014 Most of the muddlers tied today have far more deer hair in the head than the original ones that imitated sculpins. Good article on the original here . Cheers, C. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeBillingsley 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2014 Foam hoppers. There can be grasshoppers everywhere and I can catch fish on deer hair hoppers, Stimulators, CDC&Elk, EHC, and practically anything else that could resemble a hopper. But nothing on foam hoppers. Joe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steven Wiersma 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2014 Royal Coachman. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2014 copper john its a good fly for somebody but its totally useless in my fly box Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bryon Anderson 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2014 First a comment on the original post -- the dog's swingers, lmao! Never heard that one before. I did have an Uncle Cleetus and he never used that phrase, but he sure would have gotten a laugh out of it. Now on to the OPs question: several people have already mentioned the original Muddler Minnow and that pattern has never worked for me, either. Ironically, I catch fish all the time on the Muddler's descendants: Marabou Muddler, Zoo Cougar, Bow River Bugger/Woolly Sculpin, they all work great, but the original--no dice. I'm sure it's partly because I don't like the looks of the original - it doesn't look like a minnow or a sculpin to me, and it doesn't inspire confidence in me. Several have also mentioned the GRHE--I would extend this to all nymphs, but I don't blame the patterns there. I just don't like nymphing so I've never had the patience to learn to do it properly. If I have to go subsurface, I'd much rather throw a streamer and catch fewer but larger fish. I do nymph for steelhead but I suck at it. I'm going to try swinging streamers for them this fall and winter, too. A dry fly that has never worked out for me is the Elk Hair Caddis. I know, I know, everybody swears by it, and I think it is a good pattern, but the ones I've used almost never land upright and it drives me crazy. I have fished a no-hackle version with good success. A similar pattern that does work well for me is the St. Vrain Caddis--same dubbed body and hair wing as the EHC, but with a collar hackle at the front, trimmed flush with the hook point, instead of the palmer hackle. My favorite caddis is the Goddard Caddis--you basically can't land that thing in a way that won't draw a strike. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whatfly 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2014 None. If you have never caught a fish on a given pattern, you must not have tried it much, because anything up to and including a bare hook will work in one circumstance or another. Of course, if you have no faith in a pattern, it might take a while because you will fish it differently, which might be the source of your problem. Now there are lots of patterns I do not fish because I do not like them, such as the Pheasant Tail (American version), but that's another story... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tidewaterfly 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2014 I can't recall any of the better known patterns that I've fished extensively that I never caught a fish on, but like Whatfly said, there have been flies I didn't fish much. Frankly, I've caught a lot of fish on a Prince nymph, but not the original version tied with biots. I've caught fish on them, but not many because I don't care for the pattern as it's tied. My issue is with biots! I just don't like them! They are a do nothing material IMO. They have no action, motion nor do they add anything positive to a fly pattern IMO. For patterns that specify biots, I'll substitute something else, like rubber or silicone legs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sunsignarcher 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2014 WOW! I can't believe all of the GRHE comments. I ran a GRHE under a holy grail ( basically a soft hackle GRHE ) on a drop shot rig 99% of the time this year and had my best year by far. I would, and practically did, give up everything else in the box for that fly. Ill second the copper john though....useless for me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Troutbum11 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2014 I would have to say the muddler minnow as well. There are far better (More productive) streamers in my box. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kennebec12 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2014 Gray Ghost. If I troll a big one I'll catch fish, but the minute I try to fly fish with it I get nothing. I have other of my own smelt imitations I'll get fish on though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steiner 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2014 Royal Coachman Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Istripbuggers 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2014 The Muddler minnow has given me zero luck.. Ill stick with buggers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites