Floating/Diving Thin Minnow

[Buggy]

I recently purchased the book Tying Warmwater Flies by C. Boyd Pfeiffer. This book contains tying tips and 100 patterns with step by step instructions. The Floating/Diving Thin Minnow by Bill Skilton caught my attention.

The interesting thing about this pattern is a plastic lip similar to that of a crankbait. I decided to tie a few small patterns today to give it a try for trout. I tied two on a size 14 3x long streamer hook. They look great and I can't wait to try them.

Recipe

Hook: Long Shank 3x
Thread: White
Tail: Marabou, color your choice
Body: White Foam 1/8" or 1/16" thick. Two strips slightly longer than the hook shank, but slightly smaller than the hook gap.
Lip: Small piece of clear plastic, as cut from battery packaging material. The packaging material that requires scissors or a knife to open.
Color: Permanent Markers

Tying Instructions

1) Tie in marabou tail
2) Tie in one piece of foam on top at the rear
3) Tie in second piece of foam at bottom at the rear
4) Wind thread to the front behind the hook eye
5) Put some super glue on the top and bottom of the hook shank
6) Tie down the top and bottom strips of foam behind the hook eye and trim any excess foam
7) Whip finish and trim foam to give it fish like shape
8) Cut a slit on the bottom, behind the hook eye, to place the lip apply Softex to secure lip. Lip shoud not exceed 1/2", shorter is better.
9) Color with markers (prism or doll eyes can be added)
10) Apply Softex over the entire body, do not apply to tail


Has anyone used a pattern with a plastic lip before?

 

[flybop]

Don't leave those floating minnows home when you go trout fishing. Predator fish , ie big trout, will often hit a baitfish the first time to stun it. Then, hit the baitfish to eat it after it is helpless. Kelly Galloup explains this better in his book, "Streamer Fishing For Trophy Trout". If you ever got a jolting strike on a big streamer without the hook-up, this could be what is happening.

I experimented with this one day with a foam streamer. I felt a hard strike, but no fish. So, I just dropped the rod tip, threw in some slack and the foam minnow floated to the surface. A few seconds latter the big brown came up and sucked in the floating streamer form the surface. That was very cool.

 

[Philly]

I've played with them and fished them. The last batch I played with have worked about 75% of the time. By that I mean, they dived and ran straight and didn't twist when I stripped them. But they're fly rod "lures" made using treble hooks. I talked to Bill at the Somerset show about the thin minnow. I'm going to tie up a few and see how they work.

 

[skiltonian]

i never had much luck with the lips and haven't tried the silicone cones but like the idea of the bouyancy incorporated into baitfish patterns. heres one i developed for saltwater but have scaled it down for smallies. its mylar tubing wrapped in holographic sili skin and sealed with epoxy so air is trapped inside. floats real well and works great with a sinking line. I've seen a few of Phillys pattern from the fly tying forum, i'm sure he can post some simliar patterns. I also used what I named the chugger (again used in salt but transition to fresh) that I used at night. quick to tie and don't care if I lose. body is estaz and top is furry foam tied only in the front and back. at the eye, i keep a lip on the foam for the action.

Skiltonian

 

[skiltonian]

you can also use deer hair for bouyancy.

 

[Philly]

These will probably get me tarred and feathered, but they are not flies but go back to the concept of fly rod lures.
The first and second pictures are bass size that I plan to use with my 6 and 8 wgt. They cast better with the 8 wgt. I did not get a chance to use them last year other than test cast them, though I did get a couple of hits on the Flatfish when I tested them in the Wissahickon.

Here are couple of the ones that worked and caught fish for me last year. These I used with my 5 wgt and picked up a couple of trout along with smallmouth, sunfish and rock bass.

After years of playing with these types using a single straight shanked hook I've come to the conclusion you're not going to get the same action as you would with an actual lure.

I've used the lipped siliclone, but the design is more to give the fly some side to side walk the dog movement rather than have it dive. I did get one to dive but I really had to reinforce the lip to do it.

Bill's fly is interesting in that we both tie a fly based on the original pattern, which is called "Tony's Froggie" I haven't used it in several years but decided to add a few to my box for this year.
I just changed the body material and tied it on top of the shank like the original rather than on the side like the Diving Thin Minnow

Maybe that's my baby flounder fly or crab fly in a different color.

 

[Buggy]

Philly,

I like those treble hook patterns, but when casting heavy flies I tend to lose my casting rhythm at times. Visions of treble hooks piercing my body would bring fear with each false cast. On the plus side, I would have more new body piercings than the local mall dwellers on a Friday night. Maybe I can incorporate my baggy chest waders with all the new piercing to start a new stylish trend.

Tommorrow, I will give them a few test casts in the slower moving deep pools. Thanks for the frog picture, I will deffinitly be tying a few of those.

 

[flybop]

I just dug up my floating/diving minnow that I mentioned above. The inspiration for the floating minnow concept came from Kelly Galloup in his Streamers for Trophy Trout book.

The idea is to fish a floating streamer on a full sinking line, although I prefer a sink tip, and work the streamer in the top few feet of water. At first this seems contradictory, but this is an amzingly effective technique. Instead of a sink tip line you can also use a sink tip add on which is just a sinking line section looped to your fly line. Then, use a short, 3 to 4 foot heavy leader.

This fly is a prototype made from a dense piece of packaging foam, some krystal flash and marabou tail with some EZ Shape Sparkle Body smeared over the foam. Surprisingly this fly runs pretty straight.

Another great floating minnow pattern is Bob Clouser's floating minnow.

 

[MKern]

For floating minnows I like using precut faom shapes (Hille's carries tons of varieties and colors). Then you glue the round/taperd foam bodies (like the foam bodies from spider dry flies) on either side of the hook, add a tail with what ever material you like, and glue on some eyes.