Little Bluegill Clouser

[breambuster 0]

 

Here is a pattern that I'm learning from Vicente. Hope to try it on the home waters soon. As soon as it warms up some.

 

I tied the blue one first, then the peacock and the chartreuse last. Only tied one of each color so far.

 

And in the process, I'm learning about some new material that I've never tied with. It's expensive, but I like the way it looks.

 

Vicente, how do they look?

 

BB

[Joshpilon08 0]

What's the material that your using?

[breambuster 0]

The white is kip tail, but the blue, peacock and chartreuse are all something called "Flash N Slinky." The hook is a #8 Mustad 3366 and the eyes are bead chain.

 

BB

[Abel M. 0]

Those are very well tied!

[breambuster 0]

Thanks, Abel. Kind words and I appreciate it. They are, in fact, a mediocre tie considering some of the work I’ve seen here and the length of time I’ve been tying. However, having said that, I think they will catch fish.

 

BB

[Abel M. 0]

O they will! That's one of my favorite patterns for the summer her in the big city of Los Angeles. The peacock i believe will work best!

[vicente 0]

Those look good BB, they'll catch fish for sure.

[breambuster 0]

Abel, why do you believe the peacock will work best? Is it purely a matter of color or is there some other reason? I bought the Flash N Slinky from Bob Marriott, out your way. They have several other colors as well. You might take a look and let me know if any other colors look fishy to you.

 

BB

[Poopdeck 0]

If they are Clousers the white needs to be tied down to the hook shank in open spirals. They are slightly overdressed. Clousers offer profile that is more on the slim side. I'm not a fan of the flash and slinky. I can think of no reason to use a more expensive fluffier material when Clousers are time honored, battle tested, and flat out catch fish, at least here in PA they do. I've never used flash and slink but I generally dislike how some synthetic materials have a greater tendency to foul. Your tying skills are more then sufficient and Vicente knows what he's doing. Your in good hands and off to a fantastic start.

[mvendon 0]

Hi BB,

 

I think that they look pretty good for the first few that you tied! I'll stick a picture of some Clouser minnows tied by Bob back in 1992, so you can see just how much or little material that he used, how long, open spirals etc...

 

Regards,

Mark

 

 

[mikechell 0]

1) I agree with Abel about the Peacock. I'm a big fan of natural looking colors, and chartreuse aren't. I'll use bright colors, but I prefer naturals.

 

2) I agree with Poopdeck about the amount of material. I'm not a fan of the "Clouser" when perfectly tied ... Only ever caught one fish on one. But I do like what you're tying ... just a little less material.

[DarrellP 0]

I think the amount of material depends on forage shape. Tie on.

[Dave G. 0]

Those would probably do a good job catching Crappie in a certain pond locally here in the East in late April on through May, just as they are. I'd bet on the peacock being the winner as well.

[vicente 0]

Maybe slightly over dressed not much I would maybe slightly shorten and thin the peacock colored one towards the end.

 

I use flash and slinky on mine, I find that it works very well in small sizes it's not really that much more expensive than buck tail as you have very little waste. I use faux fur for my white, another thing about using flash and slinky or other synthetics is they don't float so they sink a little faster and fish more consistentlyif you're using really light eyes like small bead chain.

[breambuster 0]

Thank you all for your comments. Ive never tied or fished clousers and was just trying to copy a fly that Vicente sent me. And in the interest of fairness and preciseness Vicente calls his pattern a Clouser Variant. The reason for my interest in it is that he told me he catches a lot of Bluegills on it. I was more interested in tying an effective fly than in tying a Clouser in that meets all the details of the original. Having said that, my next step will be to watch some videos about tying a Clouser.

 

For those who dont like Flash N Slinky, I would be happy to hear your suggestions for a different, and hopefully, less expensive, material.

 

Also, I will try to cut back on the amount of material next time and try to thin near the trailing edge. All of your comments for improvement are greatly appreciated.

 

BB