How to Tie a Synthetic Clouser Minnow

The Synthetic Clouser Minnow is just that—a basic Clouser Minnow that incorporates no natural materials, only synthetic ones. It’s kind of a mash-up between a Clouser and a longer more flowing flatwing. Bucktail is traditionally used on a Clouser and is just fine in most fishing situations. But, in cases where you want additional length and movement, a flatwing-style fly is the obvious choice. This synthetic Clouser combines the virtues of both and, in addition, is extremely durable so it can stand up to the toothiest of sea creatures.

A rotary vise, while not essential, makes tying this fly a good bit quicker and easier. For a hook, there are a number of brand and style choices and, although the fly can be tied in a range of sizes, if I had to choose one it would be a 2/0. Here I’m going to go with a Bob Clouser Signature hook from Ahrex. 2/0 hooks are not small and the wire on this one although forged, is still rather beefy. As a result, it’s a good idea to tie this pattern with vise jaws like these Big Game jaws from Regal that are up to the task of holding a hook this size safely and securely.

After getting the hook secured in the jaws of your tying vise, load a bobbin with a spool of fairly heavy white thread, UTC 140 works well. It’s strong and its texture offers a good bit of grip. Get the thread started on the hook shank leaving just a little bit of space behind the eye. After taking a couple dozen or so wraps rearward, snip off the excess tag.

Size large, pearl dumbbell eyes match the 2/0 hook quite well. Place one end of the dumbbell eyes into the hook eye and then position your thread at the opposite end of the dumbbell eyes. This will mark the tie-in location. Lay the eyes diagonally across the hook shank, directly above your tying thread, and begin taking cross wraps to initially secure them. Follow the cross wraps with yoke wraps which pass over top of the eyes on either side of the fly but under the hook shank. These wraps will pull the eyes down tight to the shank.

Pick up an ample drop of superglue, here Fly Tyers Z-Ment, and apply it to the thread wraps, both above and below the dumbbell eyes. Then take flat wraps with your tying thread that go below the eyes but above the hook shank. This will pull the previous wraps in tight as well as help set the superglue. You can follow the flat wraps with a few more cross wraps if you like. At this point, the dumbbell eyes should be perpendicular to and well-secured on top of the hook shank.

I like just a little bit of gold flash in nearly all of my saltwater baitfish patterns, here, four full-length strands of gold Krystal flash. Lay one end of the flash on top of the hook shank and begin securing it behind the eyes. Pull an inch or so of the material back and, after binding it down, snip the excess off close. This will absolutely ensure the Krystal flash won’t pull free. Pull slightly up and toward you on the flash, and begin taking open spiral thread wraps down the hook shank, anchoring the flash to the top of it as you go. End with your tying thread hanging at about the hook point, then take open spiral wraps back up the shank to position your tying thread immediately behind the dumbbell eyes.

The rest of the fly incorporates both olive and here, white, Squimpish hair. Although at first glance it looks a lot like super-long craft fur, the Squimpish hair has some unique qualities that really set it apart. Like craft fur, the white Squimpish hair shown here comes on a fabric backing. As I said, the fibers are exceptionally long, in this case, a full 7-8 inches. In addition, they have more translucency and shimmer than most craft fur. Unlike bucktail, the fibers don’t taper at their tips so they’re trimmable to length and shape, a real no-no with bucktail. To me, because they’re generally thinner than bucktail, they move more realistically underwater. The fibers also come in hank form, which is great for certain applications.

On close inspection, these olive Squimpish fibers are actually made up of a range of colors which give them a really natural look. Squimpish offers their hair in a tremendous range of yummy colors as well as different length fibers. To me, it’s the natural coloration and extra length that set Squimpish hair or fibers apart from similar products. It doesn’t matter that the fibers don’t have tapered tips, like bucktail, as they can be trimmed to produce a similar effect.

For this fly, start with about a 1/4” square clump of white Squimpish fibers. Trim them free down close to the backing. Pull out any shorter fibers from the butt ends, and then remove any excessively long ones from the tips to leave a fairly sparse, long clump. Lay the clump on top of the hook shank so the tips extend around two full hook lengths behind the back edge of the hook bend. While keeping this measurement, begin securing the fibers to the top of the hook shank, first with touching wraps of tying thread then with open spiral wraps, once again all the way back to the hook point, then forward to behind the eyes.

Pull the forward-pointing butts back, ideally they should extend to about the hook bend. With the butts pulled back, take nice tight thread wraps immediately behind the dumbbell eyes to hold them back. Yes, this is slightly different than on a regular Clouser. Although not essential, a drop of superglue applied to these exposed wraps, then covered with additional thread wraps will definitely help with durability.

Next, turn the fly over so the underside of the hook shank faces up. This is why a rotary vise is so handy. Now, snip a similar-sized clump and length of olive Squimpish fibers free, here they’re in hank form. Remove the short fibers from the butt ends and overly long fibers as before. Align the olive tips with the white tips and lay the material on top of the underside of the hook shank. Once again, secure the material behind the dumbbell eyes and pull the forward-pointing butts back and anchor them as well. They should be approximately the same length as the butt ends, and the fly should now look something like this.

An ample drop of superglue followed by tight thread wraps is also advised here. Advance your tying thread forward to immediately in front of the dumbbell eyes. You can then use sharp tying scissors to relieve the corners of the swept back butt ends and kind of even them up. These trimmed butt ends do a remarkable job of keeping the longer tail fibers from fouling in the hook bend.

This hank of olive Squimpish fibers has a short and a long end. Here I’m going to snip a similar-sized clump free from the shorter end, as the extra length isn’t needed. Clean out the butts and long tips then lay the clump over top of the previous, so its tips extend about halfway down the tail. Take tight thread wraps to secure the material immediately in front of the eyes. Then use your thumb to spread the material around the top half of the hook shank. Take a few more thread wraps to further anchor the second clump of olive fibers, then spread equal amounts to either side of the hook bend. Lift the butt ends of these fibers up and snip them off at a shallow angle behind the hook eye, and cover them with wraps of tying thread.

Flip the fly back over so the white side is up and continue taking thread wraps in front of the dumbbell eyes to start building a head on the fly. Snip a second clump of white Squimpish hair free and clean it out as usual. The tips of this clump should also extend about halfway down the tail of the fly. Anchor the fibers, first in front of the dumbbell eyes and then behind them, once again spreading them out with your thumb. Use cross wraps to relocate your tying thread back in front of the dumbbell eyes, then lift those butt ends up and snip them off at a shallow angle. Take thread wraps over top of the snipped-off butts and continue wrapping to form a nice, cone-shaped head on the fly.

Complete a 5 or 6 turn, back to front, whip finish, seat the knot well and snip or cut your tying thread free. Rather than superglue, apply a liberal coat of head cement to all the exposed thread wraps, both above and below the eyes. If you need to, trim the flash off so it extends just proud of the tips of the tail.

Like a Clouser, the fly will ride hook point up with an enticing jigging motion, but it’s longer and far more durable.