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Micro Todd's wiggle minnow

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Hi,

 

Is anyone usually tying todd's wiggle minnow here?

 

I really love its wiggle action but the original designer's size is too big for me because I usually fish with 4WT rod and 4x tippet for small fishes.

 

The image below is the todd's wiggle minnow I tied with gamakatsu octopus hook #6 (it's similar to #10 or #8 regular fly hook) and #12 B10S. The weight of these fly is only about 0.25g.

 

The problem is that I have difficulty on making them running straight in the water when fast retrieving.(it will roll over or spin)

 

I tried to trim the "face" of the fly but It doesn't work. The trimming even spoiled the action of my fly.

 

However this fly is extremely effective in medium and slow speed.

 

Do you have any suggestion for making it swimming straight?

 

Thank you!

 

post-55486-0-03973300-1528644428_thumb.jpg

post-55486-0-16804700-1528644440_thumb.jpg

post-55486-0-18236800-1528644449_thumb.jpg

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Now this is just me. I feel that this fly will always have the tendency to roll over with a fast retrieve. Just the nature of the design.

 

It may help if you keep your rod tip close to the water as possible. This will keep the line pulling as horizontal as possible. Not pulling the tip of the fly up and out of the water.

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I love the wiggle minnow but have never tied then that small. Your white one on top looks like the face is cut too flat, almost like a popper. I cut the face at about s 45 degree angle.

 

On the retrieve, I usually keep the top 6 inches or so of my rod tip submerged in the water while stripping

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maybe cut the front like agn suggested and try making a small trench in the center going up from the hook eye.

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The body of your front section does not have the same deep curve that the standard patterns do. The hook eye also rides higher on the face and IMO this may allow the bug to turn over rather than dig straight down and wiggle against the resistance of the full face of the cylinder.

 

Cudos tho on segmenting the body!

 

Rocco

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I haven't tried the Wiggle Minnow but over the years I've fooled with lipped flies. Still have a few of them somewhere in my storage boxes. I had similar problems with the fly twisting rather than running straight and wiggling. Mainly with the narrow bodied ones. This one worked pretty well for me. I was trying to imitate a J-Plug with it.

 

post-309-0-30482600-1528658144_thumb.jpg

 

When I look at it not that dissimilar to the shape of the Wiggle Minnow. It's a small soft foam pencil popper body turned upside down, some modifications made to the mouth of the popper and the tail. I also inserted a small piece of a worm weight to the front so the angle would catch the water and force it down. It worked OK with a floating line, but better off of an intermediate or sinking line.

So as already suggested the angle needs to be sharper. You might want to round off the edge of the top a bit. Since it's a jointed pattern, taper the back half more. Hook placement looks good. The upturned eye may have some impact on how it acts in the water. Not sure what length leader you're using, but it will fish better off of a shorter leader, 3 to 4 feet as opposed to a 5 to 7 foot one. You're catching fish with it as is. Just needs a couple of tweaks to make it run straight.

 

 

 

 

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The wiggle minnow has a bent hook that has a longer shank than an octopus hook. I dont know if thats the problem or not but maybe. Your flies look nice.

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The flies look great.

Articulating them is an interesting idea, but could that be causing some of the twisting.

You were given great suggestions.

Are you using a sink tip line and what retrieve are you using?

My wife catches a lot of fish on the WM, she keeps the rod tip under water and does a strip, pause retrieve.

Keep us updated on how this evolves.

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Thanks to all replies!

 

I think the angle of the face is not the main issue because some of my todd's wiggle minnows are running straight with fairly "blunt" face.

I fish it with intermediate line or floating line.

 

I think I have found the problem.

 

The gamakatsu octopus hook has "offset" hook point. The hook point is pointed to the right side. I noticed that all of my rolling flies are rolling over to the right side.

 

I just ordered the gamakatsu C14s hook and I will report the progress when I receive the hook. (a week later)

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These are thinner wire...lighter and better penetration for small fish than heavier wire.

S10S Straight Eye

http://www.gamakatsu.com/fishing-hooks.php?pid=1130

 

I tied over 30 todd minnow with #10 B10s before but the result was terrible.

I think that the hook is too light to keep its center of gravity so I can't stop them from rolling over at all.

 

The thin wire also provide less surface for the foam and glue to bind well, the foam may roll over the shank after some abuse.

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The C14s hook are no longer needed.

 

I just found the solution this morning. All of my micro jointed wiggle minnows are running straight with a very fast retrieve!

 

The solution is to change the direction of hook point.

For example, your minnow rolls over to the right side. You should bend your hook point toward the left side. Don't bend it too much at a time. The result is super!

 

I recorded some videos and I'll upload them soon.

 

The quality of gamakatsu hook is outstanding. I tried to break the hook by bending the hook point and found my tweaks are far less than the break point. I believe that the hook is still strong after the tweak.

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You might try tying it on a Daiichi 1260 or 1270. These are curved hooks that I have used for terrsstials. If you need something heavier, maybe the 1760 or the Alec Jackson spey.

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