Marsh Minnow

Tied and Submitted by: Dirk Burton

Pattern Recipe:
Marsh Minnow
by Dirk Burton

Target Species: Redfish, speckled trout, or bass

Material List:
Gamakatsu SP11-3L3H hook
Two contrasting colors of bucktail
Crystal Flash
Peacock herl
Craft foam
Waterproof craft markers
3D prismatic eyes
Zap a Gap
Loon Hard Head or epoxy
Tying Instructions:
Make a bend in the hook 3/8 inch back from the eye to form a “bendback”.
Tie in a clump of the lighter colored bucktail just in front of the new bend. Tie in 12 to 15 strands of crystal flash. Tie in a clump of darker bucktail. Tie in about 10 to 15 pieces of peacock herl. Cut foam triangle with curved scissors. Fold in half and trim to shape. Tie in just behind hook eye. Invert hook and apply a few drops of Zap a Gap on inside of foam. Squeeze two sides of foam together to form head. Use craft pens for decoration. Apply eyes with one drop of Zap a Gap. Coat with Hard Head or epoxy and turn until dry.

Presentation Tips: Cast around brush, grass, or oyster beds and let sit for a few seconds. Adjust your retrieve from slow to fast until you find what is working.

Pattern History:
I needed a new pattern for a tying demo I was doing. We fish for redfish over oyster beds frequently and have some success with bendbacks. I wanted to create one that would float/suspend over the numerous oyster shells in our area. I found that it works equally well over thick grass beds for bass.

Comments / Special Instructions:
Work slowly over shells or grass. This fly pushes a fair amount of water, and you can speed up the retrieve sometimes to generate reaction strikes.