Knock-off Woolly Bugger
4. Knock-off Woolly Bugger
I created this pattern as a simple cousin to the more elaborate Nova Scotia Fishing Fly so I could tie them quickly to give away at a fly-fishing show in my home province. Later, I started to get happy reports back from local trout and smallmouth anglers using the fly. Why? Possibly because it resembles the size and coloration of the blueback herring, a local anadromous species that swims out to sea after reaching two inches or so in length. I once saw smallmouth bass driving migrating bluebacks onto a riverbank, so I started casting my Knock-off close to some nearby cover, letting it sink for a moment before retrieving it. Let's just say I caught many reasons to smile that day, and many days since.

HOOK: 4X-long wet fly, sizes 4 to 8
THREAD: 8/0 white
TAIL: white marabou and two strands of gold holographic tinsel on each side
BUTT: gold tinsel chenille
BODY: silver tinsel chenille
BODY HACKLE: Silver Doctor blue neck hackle
SHOULDER: red Brazilian velour or red chenille
COLLAR: blue hen hackle
HEAD: red

5. Indian Streamer
Fly-fishing history fascinates me. Finding this pattern in Campbell Hardy's 1855 tome, Sporting Adventures in the New World, was particularly exciting because it's the first written reference to a streamer I've found. And the fact the fly was created by a Nova Scotian First Nation angler makes it even more interesting. Although fly-tying recipes from that era were typically vague, and photos of the original fly are non-existent, the easy-to-tie Indian Streamer's intent to imitate a small baitfish is obvious. Fish it close to the bank with an active retrieve, and you'll see what I mean. For the recipe, I've substituted the original dressing with modern materials.

HOOK: 2X-long wet fly, size 4
THREAD: black, heavy
BODY: white wool
BELLY: length of wide, silver Mylar tinsel
BACK AND TAIL: Insert a good bunch of peacock herl at the head, bound down along the back using the thread as a rib. Secure it at the end of the shank, leaving a little projection to represent the tail


6. Marabou Muddler
Don Gapen created the original Muddler Minnow to imitate a sculpin found in Ontario's Nipigon River. Because it lacks mobile materials, it's best worked with an active retrieve. By replacing the squirrel tail and turkey quill wing with marabou and peacock herl, however, you get a pattern that can be fished slowly. Meet the Marabou Muddler. You can even get results by casting up-and-across stream and mending line, letting the fly drift downstream parallel to the far bank. The spun-deer-hair head causes the fly to orient vertically, imitating a stunned or dead minnow floating along with the current.

HOOK: 3X-long wet fly, size 6
TAIL: bunch of red hackle fibres
BODY: silver braid
WING: white marabou with a few peacock herls
HEAD: spun deer hair

REAL DEAL
While anglers tend to call any silvery baitfish a minnow, the term actually refers to an entire order of small fish species. To get ideas on what minnows, baitfish or juvenile fish to imitate-and to help you create the most lifelike patterns possible-consult The Essential Bait Field Guide by Guy Winterton. Learn more: www.baitfish.ca.