Clouser Deep Minnow

Clouser Deep Minnow, Chartreuse

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Tying Instructions

1. At the one third position of the hook shank lay two beads of thread that will support the hourglass nickle eyes.

2. Secure the hourglass eyes with cross thread wraps. I generally like to make 3-4 wraps in one direction and then do the other side. Do this about 4-5 times in sequence. Apply some head cement on the thread wraps to help secure.

3. Cut some white bucktail from the upper part of the tail and pull out the smaller fibers. This fly should be tied sparse, so start with a bunch of hair about half the size of a pencil. Secure the bucktail on each side of the hourglass eyes. The bucktail should be long enough to extend beyond the bend of the hook about the distance of one hook shank.

4. Trim the butts with a tapered cut from behind the hook eye. Wrap the bucktail behind the hourglass to the shank about halfway down the shank. Wrap back toward the eyes, go underneath the eyes and finish wrapping the butt ends for a smooth tapered head.

5. Select 6-12 strands of Krystal Flash or Super Hair that will extend from the front of the eyes to the tip of belly hair. Tie the flash in directly in front of the eyes on top of the white bucktail.

6. For the upper wing, cut some chartreuse bucktail equal in length to the white belly hair. Use only a small amount, equal to or less than the white bucktail.. Cut the butts on a taper for a smooth transition.

7. Attach 6-12 strands of Light Blue Super Hair as an overwing. The length should just exceed that of the bucktail. Trim the butts at a taper and secure.

8. Wrap the thread forward to the eye and apply a whip finish. Coat the head and the wraps over the butts of the bucktail with a couple of coats of nail polish.

Materials to Order Material, click the link
Hook	TMC 200R, #4-8 or TMC 8089, #4-8
Thread	Danville White 6/0
Head	Danville White 6/0
Eyes	Nickel Hourglass eyes with Adhesive Eyes, pearlescent with black pupils
Body	White Bucktail
Wing (top)	Clumps of Chartreuse Bucktail with a bit of Chartreuse Super Hair
Over Wing (under)	Clumps of Light Blue Super Hair

Bob Clouser

Clouser Deep Minnow

The Clouser Deep Minnow streamer pattern originated with Bob Clouser of Middleton, Pennsylvania in 1984. He originally designed the fly to catch small-mouth bass but soon found that it just about catches anything else that swims. The Clouse Deep Minnow is probably one of the most often used saltwater flies. Lefty Kreh created a similar pattern in the late 1950’s using bucktail called Lefty’s Deceiver. He switched to this body material since feather wing streamers would foul up around the hook. Bob Clouser used the same body material but tied his pattern onto wet fly hooks using a heavy dumbbell eye that had just been introduced by Wapsi. 

Upside down retrieve

It took about three years of trial and error to work out the bugs. The key formula was to position the dumbbell eyes at the 1/3 position behind the hook eye and tie the dumbbell eye to the top of the hook shank.. This position of the dumbbell eyes causes the fly to retrieve “upside down”. This assists in keeping the fly from snagging debris on the bottom but also gives the fly a jigging effect mimicking an escaping baitfish. Lefty Kreh was so impressed with Bob’s pattern that he remarked in 1994 that the Clouser Deep Minnow “was the most important and effective underwater fly developed in the past 20 years”. By 1994, Lefty claimed to have caught over 63 species of fish using the Clouser Minnow.

Bob sells many combinations of his minnow pattern at his web site at : Bob Clouser’s Website. The most popular color choices are White and Pale Gray Bucktail for the Silver Shiner, White and Light Tan Bucktail for the Golden Shiner, and White and Chartreuse Bucktail for the Chartreuse Minnow. The fly must be tied sparsely to be effective. The lower or belly hair is tied down on both sides of the dumbbell eyes to give the shape of a minnow’s belly. Some flash is usually tied as a middle wing using about 20 strands of Krystalflash. The Upper or back hair is tied just in front of the eyes so that it angles upward. When wet the hair forms a body with a deep front and thin rear profile–the outline of a real minnow’s body. This tying style also allows the hair to undulate in an up-and-down motion, somewhat like an injured minnow lying on its side. When the wing material is pinched together, it should be no more that 1/8 inch thick. 

The body color is always a light color like white or yellow and becomes darker as you move up laterally. Since this fly uses weighted hourglass eyes, it will sink to the bottom rapidly, thus it is known as a Deepwater Minnow. Use a slow to moderate retrieve to get the fly to dart and dive.

Variations

Black Clouser Deep Minnow

Hook	TMC 200R, #4-8
Thread	Danville Black 6/0
Head	Danville Black 6/0
Eyes	Nickel Hourglass eyes with Adhesive Eyes, red with black pupils.
Body	Black Bucktail
Wing (top)	Clumps of Black Bucktail with Black Krystalflash

Brown/White Clouser Deep Minnow

Hook	TMC 200R, #4-8
Thread	Danville White 6/0
Head	Danville White 6/0
Eyes	Nickel Hourglass eyes with Adhesive Eyes, red with black pupils.
Body	White Bucktail
Wing (top)	Clumps of Brown Bucktail with a bit of Chartreuse Super Hair

Red/White Clouser Deep Minnow

Hook	TMC 200R, #4-8
Thread	Danville White 6/0
Head	Danville White 6/0
Eyes	Nickel Hourglass eyes with Adhesive Eyes, red with black pupils.
Body	White Bucktail
Wing (top)	Clumps of Red Bucktail with a bit of Pearlescent Krystalflash

Shipp’s Brook Clouser

Hook	TMC 200R, #4-8
Thread	Danville White 6/0
Head	Danville White 6/0
Eyes	Nickel Hourglass eyes with Adhesive Eyes, Pearlescent with black pupils.
Body	Tan Bucktail over White Bucktail
Wing (top)	Clumps of Black Bucktail over Red Bucktail with a bit of Pearlescent Krystalflash
Over Wing (under)	Clump of Light Blue Super Hair