Adding weight to Schminnows

[August9999 0]

Hello,

 

As I get more and more into fly tying I feel compelled to tie a Schminnow for Snook. As I read up on the pattern I notice that they have little weight. I have bought a few from a friend and have noticed that he wraps the hook shank with lead wire. Any opinions on this? Do you guys weight your Schminnows in any way? I am about to put in a Schminnow order and will experiment with both weighted and un-weighted. Just wondering what you guys thought.

[kagisexton 0]

Do not waste your time wrapping the lead around the shank of the hook for a schminnow. Unless you are fishing literally 6 to 8 feet of water and are trying to fish off the bottom.

[ditz2 0]

The only weight I have ever added is bead chain for the eyes. If you feel you need more for some fast current small lead eyes should work. Unweighted and tied on a Mustad stainless hooks do sink fairly well.

[agn54 0]

I use bead chain for a lot of my schminnows and it works really well. As Ditz said, if there is heavy current then small lead eyes will also work

[Saltybum 0]

Most of the time schiminnows are fished for snook is in the surf close to the beach in 2 feet or less of water. Thus no real need for sinking them deep.

[saltydancindave 0]

Used to fish Joe Bruce Krystal Buggers in rivers of the Mid Atlantic back in the 80's with mono eyes, bead chain or lead eyes figure 8 thread wrapped on the hook to get them deeper. Can do the same with schminnows to cover more of the water column, especially in cooler weather.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

I routinely do most of my Schminnows in a variety of sizes that range from as small as a #6 all the way up to a 1/0... Along the way I usually manage to do some with plastic eyes (either mono eyes or plastic bead chain - essentially almost weightless), the standard bead chain, or even lead eyes when I'm wanting something a bit deeper.

 

While most use the Schminnow in the shallows or in the surf -very close and near the sand... I'm likely to use them in a variety of circumstances since they're the perfect fly when fish are feeding on glass minnows. For tarpon we're working in three to five feet of water where the fly is allowed to sink a good bit with standard bead chain eyes. For spanish macks, ladyfish, and other fast movers in a bit deeper water lead eyes have a definite place. For really shallow areas where you're wanting your bug to suspend or sink so slowly that it's almost suspending then the plastic eyes take precedence.

 

Schminnows are one of those patterns that have a universal appeal just as long as fish are eating tiny forage... I've never used a leaded body version but it might work if you're needing to work your fly with a fast, snappy retrieve the way macks, jacks, and bluefish want their food moving...

[tidewaterfly 0]

Capt Bob's advice is as sound as it gets! I tie many patterns with different types of weight. I think you have to decide what you need the fly to do & do so with a purpose in mind. Even adding cone heads or beads would not out of the realm of possible advantage. IMO, all the "weight forward" methods ( barbells, cones, beads & bead chain) would cause some jigging motion. Wire along the shank distributes the weight differently, so could be a good idea to keep the fly more horizontal on the fall. Nothing wrong with any of the methods, but there can be disadvantages too in some situations. For example barbells can catch debris such as grass sometimes, while the other methods will provide a more stream lined profile. Again, it all boils down to what you need for the fishing you're doing.

 

I got a Deceiver one time in a swap, where the tier added a hard foam bead (strike indicator or ice fishing type float) to the head & weighted the fly along the shank with lead wire. The bead was about 5/16" diameter for a 3/0 size fly. It made a very interesting & effective action on a fast retrieve as the buoyancy of the bead kept the head of the fly up, but the weight still caused the fly to sink very slowly. It darted around a lot too from side to side. I found it to be a great fly to try on a sinking line. I mention this because there are other possibilities to simply adding weight.

[Jont 0]

From what Steelhead spey fishing has taught me, MOW sinktips get even a heavily weighted fly down with more efficiency than adding actual weight to the fly itself. Just a thought.