Activities Meeting – Scott Freeburg

Come cast in the gym, our Fly Casting Training & Education Center. Casters are welcome to cast independently or with the instruction of casting instructors.

In the cafeteria, Scott Freeburg will be tying his Sparkle Minnow.

Sparkle Minnow – Scott Freeburg (MFFC Past President)

I just love this fly. There are many variations you can probably find in books and on YouTube but since I’ve been coerced into sharing mine, I hope you like it. If not, no big deal, stick with what works for you.

My first opportunity to fish this fly was in the spring of 2016. I was on a guide float through Gate’s Lodge and the day was cool and overcast with light rain. The water level in the Au Sable was up and my guide, Matt, suggested we throw streamers for a while. These weren’t big fly’s and were pretty easy to cast on a 5 weight. I remember by the end of the day I’d had 24 follows, some of which I hooked and some even landed. I think most of the Sparkle Minnows we used he had tied during the winter. He even gave me a few at the end of the day.

So, I started tying these in the winter of 2017 and brought a few on the club’s White River Arkansas trip. One day I had been throwing big streamers all morning and managed to boat one nice 23” brown trout. After lunch I was feeling sore in the shoulder so I asked my guide, Kelly, if he’d mind me putting down the 8 weight and using a 6 instead. He wasn’t set up to indicator fish so we improvised with some of the small sparkle minnows I had brought along. Wow, what a surprise – it worked so well. I think I caught at least a half dozen Brown’s and Rainbow’s 18 to 21 inches long that afternoon.

So next I brought some along for the Club’s smallmouth outing. Yep, worked pretty good there too. If you’ve been on that outing you know that once you start catching fish it’s hard to keep count.

So now the sparkle minnow is always found in whatever fly box I happen to be carrying.

Recipe: Sparkle Minnow

Hook – #6-8 Heavy 2x nymph

Thread – GSP (white)

Bead – Standard/Tungsten (color to match) with weighted wire to anchor by eye

Tail – Marabou w/ Flashabou (multiple combinations)

Body – Ice Dubbing in dubbing loop (multiple combinations)

Click here for a printable version of this pattern.

MFFC Meeting

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