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Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow
Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow, Sculpin
Tying Instructions
1. Slip on the conehead to the hook eye. Place about ten wraps of 0.020 Leadfree wire around the shank and push the wire into the conehead cavity.
2. Attach the thread behind the wire wraps and secure the wire wraps with thread wraps covering the leadfree wire. Then, lay a thread foundation along the shank to the bend of the hook.
3. Select a full blood marabou plume and measure it against the hook shank so that the tail is about one hook shank long.
4. Secure the marabou with a few tight thread wraps and the bend of the hook.
5. Secure the tag end of the marabou up onto the top of the hook shank and trimming the tag end where the wire wraps begin.
6. Select a Ginger Blood Marabou and place this directly above the Cream Marabou. Tips should be even with the cream marabou. Secure the tag end of the Marabou with thread wraps.
7. Attach 6-8 strands of Root Beer Krystalflash to the top of the hook shank a 3/8 inch in front of the tail tie-in.
8. Pulling the strands toward the rear, secure the strands along each side of the hook shank. Trim off the tag end of the strands just beyond the tail.
9. Create a small dubbing loop at the base of the tail and set that loop aside to the rear for now.
10. Create a second dubbing loop also at the base of the tail. Bring the thread up to the conehead and apply a half hitch to secure the thread.
11. Within the loop, apply the ice dubbing with equal amounts of material. Metallic dubbing is fairly straight so that the dubbing should be perpendicular to the dubbed loop.
12. Spin the dubbing loop tool to secure the dubbing firmly within. Note many of the strands will lock onto themselves. Just take a dubbing brush tool to bring these fibers out.
13. Holding the loop with a hackle plier, you can wrap the dubbing forward from the bend of the hook to the hook eye. If using a rotary vice, remember to apply a half hitch to the thread to keep it from unwrapping from the shank.
14. Wrap the dubbing brush forward using yor fingers to preen the fibers back toward the tail.
15. Wrap up to the conehead abd secure with some thread wraps.
16.If you are a little short of reaching the conehead, just create another loop to finish the job.
17. Secure with thread wraps behind the conehead.
18. Now, take the first dubbing loop you had made and fill it with the UV Pearl dubbing. These are interlocking strands and will form a nice chenille when spun.
19. Spin the dubbing tool to create the ice dub chenille.
20. Pulling the ice dub chenille forward and below the hook shank, secure the chenille behind the conehead. This forms the belly of the pattern.
21. My conehead still needs some more dubbing to lock it in, I’m making a collar to resolve this. It is optional.
22. Twisting the dubbing around the thread, form a small collar behind the conehead.
23. Apply a Whip Finish.
24. And, use a black marker to create a prominent stripe along the top of the body
25. The finished Sparkle Minnow, Sculpin
| Materials
to Order Material, click the link |
|
|---|---|
| Hook | Gamakatsu SP11-3L3H, #4-8 |
| Thread | Danville Mono 3/0, Cream |
| Head | Black Tungsten Conehead, Medium |
| Weight | 10 wraps 0.20 Leadfree Wire |
| Flash | 4-6 strands Krystalflash, Root Beer |
| Body | Ice Dub, Gold |
| Belly | Ice Dub, UV Pearl |
| Tail | White Blood Marabou with Ginger Blood Marabou |
Coffey’s sparkle minnow is one of the most productive little streamers in the West. The body is made out of Ice Dubbing, and features a two or tri-colored marabou tail. The sparkle minnow is a staple streamer pattern for just about any body of water in the country. Designed by Greg Coffey of Illinois for smallmouth bass, the pattern was adapted by MFC and has performed particularly well on the Missouri and Yellowstone River with it. Be sure to select a straight eye hook to orient the pattern properly within the water. Many use a Daiichi 2461 or a Gamakatsu B10S. I am using a Gamakatsu SP113L3H.
The body was originally created by laying strands of metallic dubbing within a dubbing loop and palmering the material forward to the conehead. MFC has produced Sparkle Minnow brushes with a wire core to do the same thing. The pattern is also recognized for a second dubbing loop at the tail tie-in position. This loop is filled with a lighter colored ice dubbing and brought underneath the body, secured behind the conehead. The lighter dubbing represents the belly of the baitfish. The pattern has made it to our Sierran waters and can be used to imitate many baitfish including Sculpin, baby trout, and minnows.
Variations
Sparkle Minnow, JJ Special
| Hook | Gamakatsu SP11-3L3H, #4-8 |
| Thread | Danville Mono 3/0, Fiery Brown |
| Head | Black Tungsten Conehead, Medium | Weight | 7 wraps 0.20 Leadfree Wire |
| Flash | 4-6 strands Krystalflash, Root Beer |
| Body | Ice Dub, Copper |
| Belly | Ice Dub, UV Light Yellow |
| Collar | Ice Dub, Copper |
| Tail | Yellow Blood Marabou and Brown Blood Marabou |
Sparkle Minnow, Crawfish Brown
| Hook | Gamakatsu SP11-3L3H, #4-8 |
| Thread | Danville Mono 3/0, Dark Brown |
| Head | Black Tungsten Conehead, Medium | Weight | 7 wraps 0.20 Leadfree Wire |
| Flash | 4-6 strands Krystalflash, Root Beer |
| Body | Ice Dub, Chocolate Brown and Ice Dub, UV Tan |
| Belly | Ice Dub, Golden Brown |
| Collar | Ice Dub, Chocolate Brown |
| Tail | Brown Blood Marabou |