Fly Tying Group: At the Vise
Pink Wonder
Steve Schullery

(Originally Published in the Flyfisher Magazine)

At The Vise
By Al & Gretchen Beatty

There are times when a member like Steve Schullery comes forward with a well-written article we feel compelled to share with the rest of the Federation of Fly Fishers. Today he shares a pattern with us that has proven it worth many times over. If his last name sounds familiar you may be aware of his brother Paul’s literary fame in the fly-fishing world. Take a few minutes to enjoy what Steve has to offer; it is well worth the journey.

The Pink Wonder
by Steve Schullery

“I just want to go over there and slap that guy!” the exasperated bait fisherman griped to his buddy as I played a particularly rambunctious mackerel. I was having a good day on the flats of Sarasota bay, while they were going fishless only an earshot away. My favorite fly the Pink Wonder, had done this many times to other anglers, but—I confess—it was particularly special to get a bait fishermen’s attention.
This unlikely pink-over-white variation of Bob Clouser’s Deep Minnow has become my go-to saltwater fly since my first Florida trip six years ago. In countless controlled tests standing shoulder-to-shoulder with my skeptical friends we have yet to find another pattern that out fishes it. In freshwater whenever there is no hatch to be matched, I use a “junior” version to see if anybody’s home. So far, the Pink Wonder has accounted for 57 different species of fish. Everything seems to find it attractive. It is as close as I expect to come to the mythical super fly, Shupton’s Fancy that my brother Paul described in a delightful little book by that same name.

Sometimes it’s almost embarrassing. I was wading along behind a friend who was showing me his favorite spot in Tampa Bay; the Pink Wonder produced eight fish while he caught none. Taking my turn sitting in the middle of the boat as we plied the mangrove channels of Estero Bay, I caught three snook by casually dangling my fly over the skiff’s side while the expert caster up front caught nothing. A Michigan largemouth bass broke off its rise to a friend’s popper to grab a Pink Wonder I had let settle to the bottom giving my friend a shot at the fish. I think the fly is truly a wonder.

Heaven only knows what fish are thinking when they take this fly, but I like to present it by visualizing a dazed baitfish flitting about, struggling to get its bearing. Anywhere in the water column might work, but on the bottom is best and where the Clouser design excels. Here’s my secret technique: use a clear intermediate line; hold the rod tip under the water near the bottom; make short, sharp strips, maintaining the retrieve until you feel the leader knots going through the tiptop. Use a strip strike to set the hook and don’t raise the rod tip until hookup is certain.

Materials

Hook: Size 6 to 2, standard, straight eye saltwater
Thread: Pink
Eyes: Black brass hourglass style, mini (1/8”) to small (3/16”)
Tail: White bucktail or yak hair
Flash: Pink Krystal Flash
Wing: Pink bucktail; fluorescent is ok but not cerise

Step 1: Mash the barb and place the hook in the vise. Starting at the eye, wrap a thread base covering the front two-thirds of the hook. Use a few turns to return to the center of the base.

Step 2: Tie hourglass eyes on top of hook. I recommend brass eyes because they are self-centering, durable, and non-toxic (e.g., legal in Yellowstone National Park). I believe it is the blackness of the eye pupils that fish key on. All-black eyes look more like pupils from almost any angle than do the fancier painted ones.

Step 3: Tie a bundle of white hair to form a tail equal to the hook in length starting on top of the shank in front of the eyes. Pull the hair over the eyes, pressing down on the bunch to evenly divide it on the sides of the hook. Wrap down the shank and slightly into the bend so the tail will angle slightly up toward the wing rather than lay straight back off the shank as in Mr. Clouser's original. This modification makes the fly less conflicted about which direction is up and promotes an attractive wobble. Tie the hair down with two layers of thread wrapped close together covering the entire base behind the eyes to improve durability over the more open turns of the original Clouser. Trim off at a severe angle to taper the excess hair in front of the eyes.

Step 4: Turn the hook over in the vise and tie on a few strands of Krystal Flash at the head followed by a bunch of pink bucktail matching the tail in volume and length. Trim off and taper the excess hair at front. Wrap a thread head, whip-finish and trim it from the hook. Apply a coat of Softex to complete the fly.

Step 5: The Pink Wonder Junior follows Lefty Kreh’s suggestion that a stacked wing permits better action in smaller size Clousers. For skinny saltwater and most freshwater situations I use this style tied on a number-six hook with small eyes. Rather than applying a tail, tie on the eyes, flip the hook over in the vise, and tie in the white bucktail at the head as the first layer of a stacked wing.

Step 6: Tie on Krystal Flash followed by a bunch of pink bucktail. Whip finish, trim the thread, and coat with Softex to complete the fly.