Overview

The Clouser Minnow is Bob Clouser's pattern, first tied in Pennsylvania for smallmouth bass. It has since spread around the world, and it is hard to find an angler who has not fished one.

Weighted eyes are tied on top of the hook, so the fly rides point up and dives on the pause. That up-and-down jigging action looks like a darting, fleeing baitfish, and the sparse bucktail wing breathes in the water. Bass, trout, pike, steelhead and nearly every saltwater predator will eat it.

How to Fish It

• Strip and pause: strip it in short bursts and pause so it dives like a jig.
• Bass: work it along rocky banks, drop-offs and weed edges.
• Trout: swing and strip it through runs and pools, especially in low light.
• Saltwater: strip it fast for stripers and other baitfish eaters.

Choosing Color and Size

Crabby is a natural, earth-toned color that suggests crabs and crayfish as well as baitfish. Gold Shiner matches golden shiners and other warm-toned minnows and adds flash in stained water.

Size 6 is a small Clouser that suits trout, smallmouth, panfish and small baitfish.