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September 2001
by Rich Johnson
Muddler Minnow
Notes: One of my favorite styles of fly patterns, I carry Muddlers with me all the time. My favorite is an unweighted size 8, tied unweighted as shown below in the steps. It can cause slashing strikes from rainbows when fished just in the surface film. My dry fly choice is the Pin-head Muddler (FOM Oct '99) is simply tied on a dry fly hook as opposed to a streamer hook. The Marabou Muddler shown at the end of the tying steps, is a variation of the standard Muddler that fishes well subsurface. It is usually weighted, and with the exception of the head, very easy to tie.
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Hook: 3XL Streamer
Thread: 6/0 for the body; Danville Plus for the collar/head
Weight: optional
Tail: Turkey Quill slips, matched pair
Body: Flat Tinsel, gold
Rib: Oval Tinsel, gold
Underwing: Squirrel Tail, or other similar hair
Wing: Turkey Quill slips, matched pair
Collar: Deer Hair, flared
Head: Deer Hair, spun and clipped to shape
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1) Start by wrapping a thread base on the rear 3/4 of the shank with the 6/0 thread. Starting at the front and stopping at the start of the bend.
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2) Cut a slip of quill from a left and right natural turkey wing feather. (Secondary flight feathers are the best.) The slip should be at least half as wide as the hook gape. Match them together (concave sides to the inside) and tie them on top of the hook shank with a pinch loop. The curvature of the slip should point up and extend slightly past the bend. Secure with three tight wraps, one right in front of the previous. (Never wrap to the rear on feather sections.) Bind the butts of the slips down to the shank while wrapping forward.
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3) Tie the ribbing tinsel and the body tinsel. (Remember, the rib tie-in spot is at the rear, while the body tie in spot is at the front.) Wrap the body rearward and then back forward over itself. Bring the rib forward in an open spiral. Tie off and clip the excess.
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4) Cut, clean, and stack a small bundle of squirrel tail. Tie in on top of the shank, wrapping back over the body. (I take a couple of wraps under the hair to jam it upward so it doesn't lay flat against the body.) The hair should extend just past the base of the tail.
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5) Cut a slip of quill from a left and right natural turkey wing feather. The slips should be as wide as the hook gape and be long enough to reach the tip of the tail. With the thread at the rearward most wrap, position the quills slightly down on the sides of the tie-in spot of the
body/underwing. The slips should encase the underwing and create a tent over the body. The natural curvature of the slips should be downward towards the tail. Using a pinch loop tie in the wing slips with three or four tight wraps.
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6) Cut the butts as short as possible and bind them down with thread. (Hint: use your opposite hand to pinch/hold the slips in place during these steps.) As soon as the butts are secure, place a half hitch and short whip finish on the 6/0 thread and attach the Danville Plus.
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7) Cut a bundle of natural deer hair, clean out the under fuzz and stack the tips. Measure the tips against the wing to be approximately half the length. This is the collar. I use my right hand to position the collar on the shank, enveloping the wing.
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8) Then I switch hands and hold the hair in place with my left. Place two wraps of thread around the hair at the tie in spot. Maintaining your pinch, draw the thread tight by pulling straight down on the bobbin. This will cause the hair to flair. (Sometimes one additional wrap is necessary to achieve maximum flaring. Make sure you place the wrap directly on top of the first two.)
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9) Stroke the hair butts rearward, bringing your thread forward through the hair. Place a couple of holding wraps directly in front of the hair.
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10) Cut another bundle of deer hair slightly larger that the one for the collar. After cleaning out the fuzz, cut the tips off, leaving 1" to 1-1/2" of the butts.
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11) Holding as little of the hair as possible with your left hand, angle the hair across the top of the shank at about 20°, centering the bundle over the shank. Place two wraps of thread around the shank and hair. The wraps need to be right on top of one another.
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12) Reach back with your left and get a grip on the fly's body behind the collar. Tighten the thread wraps on the hair by pulling and wrapping at the same time. (The hair will rotate around the shank as the thread wraps tighten. You need to follow that rotation with the bobbin.) The hair will spin and flair. Once the hair has stopped rotating, snug up on the bobbin and tighten for as much flair as possible. I will now put one more tight wrap through the hair. (You may need to add another bundle. If you do, place a couple of wraps directly in front of the hair and repeat steps 10-11-12)
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13) Stroke the hairs to the rear and work your thread forward. Once in front of the hair place a half hitch and a small whip finish. Cut your thread and make a mess trimming the deer hair to whatever shape you prefer. Be careful not to cut the tip hairs that create the collar.
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14) The finished muddler traditionally has a bullet shaped head that blends into the collar. This fly is not an easy tie and only practice-practice-practice will help you improve the skills needed for this style of head. However, the fishing will prove worth the effort.
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15) The Marabou Muddler is an effective variation. Popular colors are black, white, and yellow. The fly shown is heavily weighted with a body of gold Diamond Braid, coated with nail polish for protection from teeth. Sometimes I add a few peacock herls over the marabou, and on smaller flies a red hackle fiber tail.
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16) This a Marabou Muddler I like to fish in lakes. Red fluff from a saddle hackle for the tail, dubbed body, and a few strands of Krystal Flash in the marabou wing. Olive deer hair head shaped fairly flat and blunt. This pattern has been deadly on a slow troll in some of the valley lakes.
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