if i had to pick one trout fly for anywhere in the country now, it would be an easy choice: the muddler minnow. stripped through deep pools, it looks like a juicy sculpin. skated at night, it’s a mouse. top spin _ _the more densely spun and tightly clipped the deer hair, the more buoyant the muddler, and the more water it displaces when ripped below the surface as a streamer.

bald head the original gapen muddler, created in 1937 …

for the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on javascript in your browser. learn how to tie the muddler minnow pattern including step-by-step instructions, a video tutorial, pictures, and much more. we spend a lot of time testing gear and writing reviews to give you all of the tools to make your next trip a success. 100% of our funding comes from your gear purchases, so if this blog post helps you on your next fly fishing …

has been our commitment since 1856. it’s who we are. if you aren’t happy with a product or service, we want to know about it. and we’ll make it right. that’s the orvis way. a modern classic fly, nothing imitates the flash and movement of a natural minnow quite like softy minnow flies. even its big eyes help attract fish and get vicious strikes. strip it, twitch it, and hang on, this is one go-to minnow fly you want on …

the muddler minnow was originated by don gapen of anoka, minnesota in 1936, to imitate the slimy sculpin and fool large brook trout in the nipigon river. it is now a popular pattern worldwide and is likely found in nearly every angler’s fly box, in one form or another. there are limitless material and colour variations, however the essence of the muddler minnow is a spun deer hair head. marabou may be tied in as a substitute wing for colour …

the dyneema i use in most my patterns is too smooth for for wet fly style wings and has to be waxed in order not to slip. the original muddler minnow recipe is as above but excluding the copper wire rib. when spinning large bunches of deer hair i recommend, if you are using regular tying thread a minimum denier of 3/0 waxed is necessary to have sufficient  strength to apply enough tension to achieve optimal flare in the deer …