Adventures in Fly Tying... July 2006
The Modern Thief
Fly and Text by Joe Cornwall
Video Production by Jim Stuard
More than seventy years ago, Don Gapen created one
of the most recognized and effective fly patterns in existence. The
Muddler Minnow was designed as an imitation of a sculpin minnow to fool
the large, carnivorous brook trout of the Nipigon River. It was, of
course, immediately successful.
As the years went by the Muddler Minnow was found
to have a similar effect on brown trout, rainbow trout, and, especially,
smallmouth bass. An interesting bit of fishing trivia is that Jesse
Gapen, Don Gapen’s father, planted some of the first smallmouth bass in
Minnesota’s shield lakes. Along the way the Muddler Minnow gained
marabou wings, mylar tube bodies and multiple colors. Always it kept
the spun deer-hair head and flattened deer hair collar, however. And
that was a problem. Deer hair floats; sculpins do not. And spun deer
hair can be challenging for a lot of tiers.
Years later the Gapen family would again manage to
create a classic pattern, this time it was Don’s son, Dan. The pattern
was called the Thief, no doubt because its inspiration was blatantly
stolen from the Muddler Minnow! What changed was the substitution of a
chenille head for the buoyant spun deer hair of the original fly, a
change to a silver body to add a bit more flash, and the addition of a
red hackle fiber tail. All told, the changes made for an easier tie and
lost none of the effectiveness of the original Muddler Minnow. The
Thief is still used, but it never gained the popularity or legendary
status of its older sibling. Much is the shame. It’s a great pattern.
The Thief isn’t perfect, though. First, it rides
hook-point down, which can generate a lot of frustration if you’re
fishing a rocky creek or wooded oxbow. If the Thief is weighted with
wraps of lead wire, it tends to sink bend-first. This is a bit
unnatural. In short, the Thief is a good fly, even if it’s not
ultimately refined. Enter the Modern Thief.
The Modern Thief is my take on a great fly. I’ve
added the attributes of another classic pattern, the Clouser Deep
Minnow, making this Modern Thief inverted and snag resistant. Also, the
lead eyes make for a nicely flattened head with a good strong lateral
development.
MATERIALS
Hook – Daiichi 1750 or any 4xl ring eye hook,
size 2 to 10 (size 6 shown).
Thread – Black 6/0 (140 denier).
Tail – Red or claret hackle fibers.
Body – Medium flat silver tinsel or holographic tinsel (shown).
Wing – Red fox squirrel tail or gray squirrel tail flanked by
mottled turkey strips.
Weight – Small or medium lead dumbbell eyes
Head – Black chenille
Windows Media
Video
QuickTime
Video
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
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1. Mount the hook in the
vise and start your thread at about the half way point on the hook.
Here I’m using a size 6 Daiichi 1750. You can use any 4xl nymph
hook. |
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2. Wrap the thread back to a
point directly over the hook barb. This is where we will tie in the
tail. Select a bit of red or claret strung hackle fibers to make a
rolled fiber tail that is about as long as the gape of the hook. |
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3. Tie in a tail of rolled
hackle fibers, being careful to ensure that you leave a smooth
underbody for the tinsel. Bring the thread back to the tie-in
point. Tie in a strip of medium flat silver tinsel or silver
holographic tinsel. |
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4. Wrap a smooth tinsel body
to the tail and back to the tie-in point again. You want a smooth,
two-layer body that has nice flash and finish. Tie off the tinsel. |
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5. Tie in the dumbbell eyes
at a point about half-way between the tinsel body and the hook eye.
Use figure 8 wraps to hold the eyes securely. Invert the hook in
the vice.
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6. Tie in the squirrel
wing. Red Fox Squirrel is a very good choice, but you can use Pine
Squirrel, Russian Squirrel or Gray Squirrel depending on the local
baitfish you want to imitate. Tie in a very sparse squirrel tail
wing.
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7. Select a matching pair
of turkey wing feathers to make the over-wing. Cut sections about
one-half inch or a little less for a size 6 fly. Cut one section
from each feather so they match in curve and color |
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8. Tie in matched wing
sections so they veil the squirrel tail underwing. This fly should
have an opaque wing in order to effectively imitate a darter or
sculpin. |
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9. Select a section of
medium black chenille and tie in in front of wing assembly. |
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10. Wrap a fat chenille
head. Tie off chenille and whip finish the thread. |
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