Yet Another Bellyache Minnow Variation

     Readers of my blog probably know by now that I'm a big fan of the Bellyache Minnow. If I had to compare it to another fantastic baitfish imitation I would liken it to the venerable Clouser Minnow in both it's simplicity and it's effectiveness. Like most fly tiers though with an ever increasing inventory of materials to play around with I can't help but come up with variations of my favorite patterns. With that said, the pattern below is basically a standard Bellyache Minnow that's been "Hot-Rodded" a bit with some Laser Dub and Clear Cure Goo.

     I was first introduced to the Bellyache Minnow through watching a tying tutorial by Front Range Anglers on YouTube and two things intrigued me about the fly. First, because of the Tungsten Scud Body the fly rides hook point up allowing it to be slithered over and around rocks and bottom debris where hungry fish lie in wait. Second, when wet the fly comes to life. The Ice Dub body takes on a slimy translucent appearance. That combined with the rabbit strip over body and tail which undulates when stripped or swung in the current and you have one effective little minnow.

     Although it's not very different than the original pattern in the tutorial I watched I really like the way this variation turned out. I like that the Scud Body isn't just a convenient way to invert the hook but that it's half moon shape helps to create a nice baitfish profile. Once covered with the Ice Dub dubbing loop the Scud Body makes a nice defined little belly on the minnow. On the pattern below I decided to accentuate this "teardrop" baitfish profile by bulking up the front of the fly with some Laser Dub although the original pattern calls for a collar and gill area of contrasting colored Ice Dub blended into the body. To finish off the fly I chose some Living Eyes from Flymen Fishing Company in the Earth color and rounded off the head with both thick and thin Clear Cure Goo followed by a top coat of CCG Hydro (those FishMasks are cheating!)

     As far as fishing the fly goes any of the standard streamer techniques will work. Swinging it downstream through fishy looking current seams and deep runs with occasional strips and pauses is  a good place to start. Another downstream approach I've found to be effective is to cast the fly directly downstream and use stack mends or wiggle out slack line from your rod tip to get the fly down. Then once you feel your  fly is where it needs to be retrieve it at different speeds to mimic a baitfish struggling against the current. In lakes and ponds I use everything from an ultra slow hand-twist retrieve to dredge the bottom or a more active jerk-strip retrieve to target Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass. No matter how you tie it or how you fish it this bite sized little minnow is sure to give a Bellyache to anything that swims! Not to mention a sore lip!

Hook: Gamakatsu B10S sz. 6-2

Thread: White UTC 210

Weight/UnderBody: Hareline Ribbed Tungsten Scud Body 

Belly: Pear IceDub Spun In Dubbing Loop

OverBody/Tail: Black Barred Olive Rabbit Strip

Throat: Red Laser Dub

Collar: Olive Laser Dub

Eyes: Earth Colored Living Eyes

Head: Clear Cure Goo

     

     

DIY Hair Stacker

     I began my fly tying career fashioning flies with feathers from the craft store, sewing thread, random hooks, and a makeshift "vise" which amounted to a pair of vise-grip pliers sandwiched in the top drawer of a desk. I made what I didn't have creating whip-finish tools from bent coat hangers and dubbing twisters from discarded picture hanging hardware. In fact, I still use a bobbin cradle I made years ago from a coat hanger although now it's attached to a higher end rotary vise. 

     Another little homemade tying tool I used back then was a hair stacker made from a hollowed out Chapstick tube. Deer and Elk hair is a material I don't use nearly as much as I probably should so lately I've been tying with it a little more and one night while reaching for one of my shiny store bought stackers I remembered the Chapstick tube stacker I started with. I remembered how amazed I was the first time I used it and it worked!        

     It does in fact work and if your a beginner or a guide tying streamside make one up. You wouldn't want to use it to tie Bass bugs but it works great for small hair wing Caddis and Mayfly patterns. It also works great to stack tailing materials like micro-fibbets, Coq De Leon, or my favorite Moose mane and body hair.