Cheech's Low Fat Minnow

Update***  

The Low Fat Minnow has been getting bigger.  This one is about twice as long as the original due to the Bruiser Blend dubbing that I used in place of Senyo's Lazer Dub.  I also used one of our new Allen Flyfishing Carp MP002 hooks.  I like this hook because it's really beefy and helps get the fly down a bit.  It's also much more cost effective than the Trokar.  Another great hook that I have been using is the Allen Flyfishing MP001 hook.

~Cheech 

The Bruiser Blend that I used is Holo Gray for the top, and White for the bottom.  The hook is the Allen MP002 #1.

Refer to the tutorial on the bottom of this page to see how to tie this fly.

I love fishing for bass.  Always have, always will.  Largemouth bass are my favorite fish to chase by far, and up until about 5 years ago, I did it with a fly rod only.  "Fly or die," was my mantra until I found my self living near, and having access to a private pond with an excellent population of healthy bucketmouth.  This pond was covered by weeds most of the months out of the year, and I tried in vain to create the ultimate weedless fly, but I eventually came to the conclusion that I needed to get serious about gear fishing if I wanted to catch these fish.  Long story short, I have about 14 baitcast rigs that get USED.  I love everything about throwing big stuff for bass, and don't be fooled that it is any less technical than fly fishing.  

One fall, I was fishing a lake that has a huge bluegill population and we were throwing lipless crankbaits that yielded a fish on seemingly every cast.  As I lipped a nice fish, It YACKED all over the deck of the boat.  Up from the gullet came 4 or 5 bluegill minnows that really made me change the way I looked at fishing with bluegill patterns.  I could literally see right through them, and their guts looked like little strands of krystal flash.  Instead of going to try to find a crankbait with those characteristics, I immediately started creating a fly in my mind.  Fishing with gear WILL improve your fly fishing and vise versa...  Gear fishing that day led me to start working on a pattern that has both great profile, and translucency.  Through much consultation with Uncle Ken, we decided that Senyo Laser dub is a very versatile material that really has some excellent properties in this fly, and the marabou acts the "guts" of the minnow that will not stay translucent.  When stripped, this fly will flip around and do a 180, so its best to fish this one on a loop knot.  I also didn't put any weight on this fly because the Trokar hook is a bit more beefy and will help the fly get down a bit.  I also tie the fly on the Gamakatsu B10S (which is a GREAT hook too).  Happy fishing, and let us know  how the "Low Fat" treats you.

Cheech

Here are some fish catching variations.

BLUEGILL











Hook: Lazer Trokar Wacky Worm #2, but a more cost effective option is the Allen MP001 in #1 or #2 -- Buy Here --

Thread: UTC 70 Denier - white

Underbody: White and olive marabou in clumps -- Buy Here --

Back chenille: Small cactus chenille - white: -- Buy Here --

Front Chenille: Medium palmer chenille - orange -- Buy Here --

Outer body (top): Senyo lazer dub - olive --Buy Here--

Outer body (bottom): Senyo lazer dub - white -- Buy Here --

Eyes: Demon Eyes, 3/16 color to match -- Buy Here --

Head: Clear Cure Goo hydro, and thin