Shad minnow

[Flycanoe]

I have a recipe for a minnow pattern, so I tied this up to immitate a shad minnow. The overall length is about 2" long. Any thoughts on how well this will work?

[Tony Buzolich]

Hi Fly,

This fly will definitely take fish so I only mean to help improve when I suggest a couple of things.

First off, add a black dot of some kind. All shad minnows like threadfin have a black dot on their side about 2/3 of the way back from the head. You could do this with a Sharpie.

Secondly, you tied this fly with a streamer hook. Nothing wrong with that either if you're after trout in a lake, but if you intend on using this for striped bass you might consider using a heavier hook.

As it is, it would be a great Pond Smelt imitation for Lake Almanor or elsewhere that has smelt.

Just my 2 cents,
TONY

[David Lee]

FC -

It'll fish great !!

The only two things I'd change are ....

#1 - Pinch that barb down . It will last a lot longer .

#2- Shorten the Marabou . A long wing like that will wrap around the bend on occasion .

You could epoxy some eyes on ..... but I don't really think the fish would care too much .

David

[Flycanoe]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will give those changes a try. I should have mentioned this tie is intended for trout at melones and was tied with 6x long, but I'm thinking of tying some shorter ones with 3x long as well.

[Hairstacker]

FC, nice tie! By the way, one of the nice things about marabou is you can shorten it a bit, align tips, etc., after you've tied it in by just pinching it off with your finger tips. Don't use scissors for this though.

[lee s.]

Fc,
Grand looking little bug!
Many of our lakes are draw-down lakes, which does NOT bode well with bugs, but does do very well in promoting shad to be the main food source utilized by the residents, where shad have been introduced. Berryessa, Shasta, Mendocino, and L. Sonoma come to mind for now.
Baitfish immi's of the proper size are a good ploy in all the waters like this.
Being EYEtalian ourself, we do find the need to keep our fishing simple (K.I.S.S. ). Baitfish patterns are useful to us danged nearly everywhere we go. Everywhere you go in the world you will find that BIG fish eat LITTLE fish. EYEtalian 101....
Again, good looking bug.....you're on your way!
....lee s.

[Jay Murakoshi]

Looks like the original Hal Janssen leech pattern that I use to use at Baum Lake. Except in brown and black.

Jay

[Flycanoe]

The pattern is from Denny Rickards in his video titled "Tying Stillwater Patterns for Trophy Trout 2". He also has a similar leech pattern in there that I will be trying as well.