Clouser Minnow Fly Tying Instructions by Charlie Craven

Fly Tying Recipe:
(Click the links below to purchase the materials from our store)
Hook: Tiemco 811S #2/0-06
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Thread: 3/0 White
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Eyes: Lead Dumbbell Eyes
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Tail: White Bucktail
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Flash: Pearl Krystal Flash
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Wing: Chartreuse Bucktail
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[@jamesvatter5729]

The Clouser is certainly a producer. Great tutorial, Charlie.

[@bobkrause0103]

Great job Charlie

[@ronporreca9574]

Thanks, Charlie! Enjoyed seeing your technique for tying this classic!

[@charlieboutin3341]

Thanks..my favorite fly! Caught a 5lb largemouth yesterday evening on a 5” White/Chartreuse Clouser 👍👍🎣

[@jeffprice4611]

Staple fly for any box. I’ve tied them down to 16 with squirrel tail and even marabou for trout and pan fish and up to 2/0 for bass and the salt. If Bob had gotten a royalty off everyone ever tied, he’d be the richest man alive. He still has to be rich in heart knowing he designed one of the most popular flies ever.

[@royboggs3849]

BIG Thank you Charlie!! 👍👍👍👍👍
👍👍👌👌
BRAVO!! 👏👏👏👏👏

[@hankvana2149]

Thanks Charlie! A go-to favorite of mine for anything from panfish to pike. A 2 inch Clouser tied in mottled Darter colors and fished on the bottom is dynamite on river Smallmouth Bass!

[@chrisgull6250]

Thanks great tutorial. Have been avoiding clouser minnows till know. Will give it a try on our lake for perch. They may be affective 😅 thanks again

[@justinmcquaide4862]

The green really pops against the black great fly

[@cachi-7878]

Nice fly, Charlie. Do you know if this fly works on Permit and Snook?

[@jasonarrowood3349]

Do you have a rule of thumb when it comes to the size of the hook to the size of the eyes?

[@CharliesFlyBox]

Roughly, I would say extra small on a size 8 and six, small on a two and four and a medium on 1/0 and bigger though you can use whatever size eyes you require for weight within a size range, within reason anyway. And there’s always some overlap, ie size 6 with small eyes.

[@jasonarrowood3349]

@@CharliesFlyBox Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it.

[@peterrebhahn1113]

Yes, the Clouser Minnow is a great fly, though I disagree with the suggestion that this a very old pattern. I clearly remember a time before it existed. Of course, I'm 68. I suppose the definition of 'old' is dependent on your age. If I recall -- and I may be off -- this pattern came onto the scene in the mid or late 1980s, though it's possible Bob Clouser had been using it for years before it landed big -- probably on the publication of an article in Fly Fisherman magazine. I met him in his fly shop along the Susquehana around '83 or '84 when I lived in Pennsylvania. It was a weekday and the shop was empty except for the two of us. We had a nice talk but I have no recollection of discussing this pattern with him. There is a downside to this pattern that no one ever discusses. Any weight you tie to the top of the shank tends to make the fly ride with the point up, and that is clearly by design with this pattern. Problem is, that means the hook set will be usually be in the top of the fish's mouth (head) and there are vital organs there, so you will, I believe, have increased mortality in any fish you release that were hooked that way. But they don't call it a 'blood sport' for nothing, I guess.