Smaller Jointed Minnows

Last Summer/Fall, I had tied up some of Ward Bean's "Jointed Minnow" fly-fishing patterns.  You can search for the tying instructions on his website here:
http://warmwaterflytyer.com/welcome.asp

I tied up some smaller Jointed Minnows this weekend. The ones I had tied previously, I used #2 streamer hooks. Those shad imitors looked great, and ended up 3.5"-4" long.


The ones I tied up this weekend used mainly #8 hooks front and back (back hooks cut off at the bend). I also tried #10 front and #12 for the rear hook. Regardless of hook sizes I used, overall length still came out to about 2", so for weight purposes on future ties I think I will stick with the #8 front, and maybe #10 for the rear hook. Also, I used the "small" size Wapsi Palmer Chenille on these small versions, instead of the "medium" used on the larger versions.

For size comparison, here's 2 of the smaller ones compared to the 4" version:

 

Then I tied up a couple in a chartreuse color. Here's one of them beneath the "pearl" colored ones:

 

UV light spectrum penetrates water better/further than other colors, so I wanted to see what the fish might see under water. Here's those same Jointed Minnows under UV light:

The Chartreuse really lights up!  How cool is that?? :)

Shad-Imitator Fly Pattern

White Bass are a HOOT on fly-gear! I'm always looking for a pattern that is fairly easy to tie and looks like a good shad imitator. I've tied up a good number of different patterns that imitate shad to some degree, and for various reasons, haven't cared much for them. They probably would all catch fish, but I admit I've been doing more fly-tying for white bass than actually FLY-FISHING for white bass. Its been windy, and much of the time when fishing for white bass, a quick long cast is essential, which means spinning gear usually wins out over the fly-fishing gear. Hopefully I'll find good conditions for the fly-gear soon.

A side benefit of fishing with shad-looking lures/flies for white bass here is that you might also catch smallmouth bass, wipers, largemouth bass, walleyes, or channel catfish.  Maybe even big crappies!


I tied up some of Ward Bean's "The Jointed Minnow" in the shad colors this weekend, and I decided I like them! Now I need to see if the fish like them as well as I do. I tied these in 3" and 4" sizes. These are big enough, I think even my buddy "Swimbait" Jay will like them!