Todd's Wiggle Minnow
by Todd Boyer

Materials Used
Hook: TMC 8089np Sz. 2 for trout, bass. For salt and heavier fish, Gamakatsu B10s 2/0
Thread:Danville flat wax.
Mono loop: 20 lb mason
Tail: crystal mirror flash
Tail: polar fiber
Body: Wapsi foam cylinder 3/8 dia
eyes: plastic eyes "with stem"
Markers: Chartpak

Tying Instructions

1. Start at the hook eye wrap back covering the entire hook shank stopping just beyond the barb, very important that’s where you stop your thread.

2. Tie in mono loop, make sure the tag ends are on top of the hook shank and not on the sides, don't make loop too big about the size of a pea.

3. Tie in your flash, about 5 or 6 pieces, make sure flash is about the length of the hook shank.

4. Take about three cuts of polar fiber in each color, pinch the polar fiber right in the center and tease out the under fur with a comb. It’s important not to build up to much of the tail with bulk it will knock down the wiggle.

5. Tie in you tail make sure the length of the tail length is just a little longer than the hook shank, if you get it too long it will also knock down the wiggle.

6. Take your cylinder and go to the end of it and the cylinder creates a 90% angle make a 45% cut at the very end of the cylinder make sure you cut towards the top of the cylinder and not the back. Use a SHARP razor blade, very important that your blade is very sharp.

7. Then take your cylinder turn it upside down and dive your razor blade in about 1/4 of an inch behind the lip.

8. Make a cut down the entire length of the cylinder, make the cut about 3/4 in depth leaving about 1/4 of an inch left.

9. Bring the razor blade back to the front of the cylinder place the corner of the razor blade back into the cut and push the corner of the blade towards the face and make a little cut in the center of the face.

10. Place the cylinder on the hook shank sideways and push the eye of the hook through the cut at the face of the cylinder.

11. Then turn the cylinder on the hook and push the cylinder down on the hook shank, the back of the cylinder should end up right in front of the tail. If you have to bend the cylinder to get it to go in front of the tail you didn't go back far enough on the hook shank.

12. turn the fly over on your vise and push the back and the front of the cylinder up making sure the cut is lined up with the hook point and place a bead of zap a gap the entire length of the cylinder starting at the back.

13. Squeeze the entire cylinder and hold for 15 seconds the wipe off excess zap. Be sure and use zap a gap it works the best.

14. then go the front of the fly and push the cylinder down making sure the hook eyes is in the center of the face, the shoot some zap a gap in the slit above the hook eye. If you use the zap attachments you should be able to do this. Then squeeze and hold for ten seconds.

15.color back with marker, then pull the edges down with a gun cleaning cloth blending the color in, do this fast so the ink doesn’t dry if it does just go over it again. Turn fly over and do the same for the bottom.

16. Take you plastic eyes, these are the ones with the stem on them, the best way to take off the stem is to cut the stem off flush with toe nail clippers.

17. Place a bead of zap on the body not to much and glue the eye on push and hold for ten seconds, do the some with other eye.

18. Add tiger stripes; make a sideways v from back to front.

19. Fire Tiger, polar fiber colors, chart/fire orange, eyes, red, marker colors chart/ cadmium orange, cylinder color yellow, stripes, black.

20. You can make these any color you want, I tie, brown trout, rainbow trout, fire tiger, shad, white, white/red head, chart/white and black.

21 I use tan cylinders for brown trout, yellow cylinders for fire tiger, and white for the rest.
 
Presentation Tips
Use a no-slip loop knot adds allot more action, for a top water bite use floating line, strip and pause until you see the fly again at the surface, the fly has a slow wobble back to the surface drives fish nuts. Tied right this is the only true riding wiggle minnow there is, strip as fast as you want and wont roll over, that’s why it is so effective on sink tips, use about 4 feet straight flouro to get deep on sink tip. One of the most productive flies there is, I know bold and bias, but true. Out fished many of the famous flies out there. Has caught just about every thing that swims salt and fresh. Give it a try, if your having problems tying it, pm me

 

Recent Articles