Couser Minnow

Created by Bob Clouser

HOOK: 200R, sizes 2-10 THREAD: White EYES: Nickel or tungsten, painted dark red with black pupils. Leave room in front of the eyes for the head. WING: From top to bottom: white bucktail on top, chartreuse bucktail beneath. Tie in some blue Krystal Flash. The wing extends from the head. It should be about one-and-a-half times the hook length. The top portions of the wing go over the eyes (tie it down in front and in back of the eyes); the bottom portion passes under the eyes and is tied only in front. Wrap a long, tapered head in front of the eyes.

Uses

Clousers are standard baitfish imitations. They are useful world-wide. The fly actually rides upside-down, except in Australia where the fly is right-side-up and the fish are inverted. (Just kidding about the Australia part.)

Variations

There are as many color variations as there are baitfish species. The basic idea is that the wing goes over and under the eyes. For saltwater, use a 811S hook.

How to Fish

Count-down-and-retrieve and slow retrieve presentations for lakes or slow/slack water portions of rivers. Vary the retrieve until you find what works best at the moment: slow and steady, fast, strip-and-pause, or quick, short two-inch strips. Also, wind-drifting works well in lakes. Where there is current in a river, you can also use a wet-fly swing with occasional twitches or strips.