Fly Tying Group: At the Vise
The MRE
Minnow Ready to Eat
Jeff Smith

(Originally Published in the Flyfisher Magazine)

At The Vise
by Al & Gretchen Beatty

It is always our pleasure to feature a fellow Federator in this column. Today Jeff Smith from Nampa, Idaho is tying his perch minnow fly designed to attract pike and musky. We offer a special thank you to Clint Smith (Jeff’s son) for tying the step-by-steps so we could shoot the photographs.

The Minnow Ready to Eat (M. R. E.)
By Jeff Smith

At some level all game fish are predators however no freshwater game fish is so voracious as the pike family. Within the pike clan none come close to the mighty musky. Muskellunge attain their great size by consuming huge amounts of calories. This means baitfish, to a three foot musky anything less than sixteen inches is on the menu.

Predators by their nature have a very acute awareness of each of their senses. Sight, Hearing, and Smell all come into play during a day in the life of a mature musky. Sight is employed by all predators to identify potential prey, either by identifying candidates for ambush or injured baitfish. I find adding the color red is always a worthwhile, visual attractor. Hearing is actually feeling of vibration through a fish’s lateral line and the rattle serves this purpose quite well. Also the bulk of the M. R. E. moving through the water causes vibrations heard by the fish. Smell allows all predators to locate prey and to single out weaker individuals. A fish’s sense of smell is highly developed and capable of identifying pheromones released into the water by potential prey. However, as fly-fishers most of us have ethical objections to the use of scents on flies to attract our quarry thus reducing its importance to this discussion. 

The use of wire tippets is almost always required when fishing for large predatory species. Weed guards can reduce your snags and frustration. Stout rods of appropriate weight for the target species (8,9 or 10 weight) are required to cast bigger, wind-resistant flies as well as subdue large fish. Take along a good selection of lines including floating and sinking to increase your presentation options. Carry a hook file and sharpen those hooks often.

Materials List

Hook: Size 1/0 to 2, heavy worm hook, offset
Thread: Yellow size A, un-waxed
Rattle: Under the shank
Tail: Four grizzly schlappen, dyed yellow
Tail accent: Pearl Crystal Flash
Body: Yellow, black, & white Icelandic sheep wool
Body accent: Pearl Crystal Flash
Throat: Red Icelandic sheep wool
Cheeks: Mallard breast, dyed yellow
Eyes: Stick on, gold/black
Head: Thread, black marker
Coating: Aqua Flex

Step 1: Pinch down the barb then place the hook in the vise. Lay down a thread base that starts at the top of the offset part of the hook, travels to the end of the shank, and back to the starting point. Bind the rattle to the underside of the hook tight against the offset angle. Select several strands of pearl Crystal Flash and tie them to the back part of the hook to serve as a tail accent. They should be a bit longer than the complete hook.

Step 2: Match four (grizzly dyed yellow) schlappen feathers and trim the tip out of each. Tie them to the end of the shank to form a tail that is slightly longer than the hook. Trim any waste ends.

Step 3: Select a clump of yellow wool and tie it to the top of the shank allowing it to fan part way down each side. Repeat this process with another clump of yellow wool tight in front of the previous. Now select a small clump of black wool and fan it in front of the two yellow applications. Flip the hook over in the jaws or rotate the vise one-half turn to access the bottom of the hook. Select a clump of white wool and tie it to the bottom of the shank to serve as the perch’s belly. Turn the hook back over and repeat the three-color process as often as needed to cover the shank.

Step 4: Select a small clump of black wool and tie it directly on top of the hook just behind the eye. Trim any waste ends then turn the hook over in the vise and add a clump of red wool to serve as a throat. Trim off the excess wool and turn the hook over in the vise one last time.

Step 5: Prepare two dyed yellow, mallard breast feathers by stripping the fuzzy material from the base of the stem. Apply a coating of Aqua Flex to the fibers at the base end of each feather then place a stick on eye in the wet glue. Allow the assemblies to dry then tie them to each side of the fly and trim any waste ends.

Step 6: Build a thread head, whip-finish, and trim it from the hook. Use a black felt-tip pen to color the top of the head. Apply a coating of Aqua Flex to complete the fly.