The North Branch Suskie Clouser Minnow is my version of the Clouser Deep Minnow that has become a staple for many species of fish. “I do not leave home without this one, and I carry it in a variety of sizes. It [The Clouser Deep Minnow] has become my favorite fly for trout and carp," says Bob Clouser in his outstanding 2007 book, Fly Fishing For Smallmouth In Rivers And Streams (Stackpole Books, ISBN 0-8117-0713-5). "Lefty [Kreh] thinks it looks like a baby carp or rock bass. I love to fish this pattern for trout and carp in sizes #4 and #6 on the Susquehanna from late July to September." Any fly with such a recommendation from two giants of contemporary fly fishing deserves the immediate attention and respect of any serious angler. I'll even go one farther; this fly is so good at fooling summer smallmouth that I'd happily fish it and it alone. And I'm not alone in these sentiments! Bold claim? Try it yourself and find out!
The North Branch Clouser is a perfect example of form following function I tie the North Branch Clouser differently that Bob Clouser ties his own Clouser Minnows. The slight difference in names is very deliberate. This is a different fly, but it remains such a close cousin that to do other than fully honor the original would be a deep violation of ethics. You see, this is Bob Clouser's pattern, but simply refined for the deeper, rockier, and more intimate channels in which I often find myself. Everywhere on the North Branch Susquehanna River and tributaries within Bradford County where I fish this fly, it catches smallmouth bass and rock bass with amazing regularity. But I've caught other species such as fallfish, LM bass, carp, trout, and pickerel on the NB Clouser as well. When compared directly with Clouser's original tie, this fly bumps the success factor up a full notch.
Here is a nice smallmouth caught on 3/23/12 with a #4 NB Suskie Clouser Minnow.
A close up of the NB Suskie Clouser. in the cold water of late March.
The North Branch Clouser is 'variant pattern' because the main material used in its construction is different. I use both Grey and Red Squirrel Tail as the main components in this pattern. While you could probably catch fish on just about any materials used in this pattern, I’ve experienced enough hours on the North Branch Susquehanna to know that certain strike triggers really do make a difference. And when tied correctly in darker coloration for this specific fishery, the NB Clouser delivers those triggers in spades. It has an ability to plummet through the water column and deliver a wonderful bobbing, jigging action on retrieve. It is extremely durable because I epoxy the head and eyes. You won't have this fly fall apart after a few hook ups since I design and build my flies to last. Day in and day out the best sizes to carry are from a #2 to a #8 – for me, they are the magic sizes for this fly pattern.
Take the North Branch Clouser to the Susquehanna River on your next smallmouth bass outing. Try them in the eddies along rocky bottoms where large numbers of crayfish find themselves a frequent target of marauding trophy smallmouth.
Try them on the Lackawanna River, Pine Creek, or the Loyalsock Creek the next time those wily trout turn up their noses at your best-presented nymph.
Mr. T. Carr holds a sweet November rainbow trout on the South Branch of the Towanda Creek using a NB Suskie Clouser Minnow. It was his very first trout on a fly rod.
Brook Trout, Rathbone Creek, on Bradford/Tioga County border -April 28, 2012
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