Can't Beat A Fry Up

Top water fry patterns aren't the only way to target fry feeders, but it's the most visual and for my money far and away the most exciting.  Even if I'm not fishing or within range just seeing fish herding fry and bashing them up on the surface is exciting to me. So much so that I'll often stick with topwater even when other methods are working better.  I don't know how many subsurface fish are equivalent to a topwater fish, but it's more than 3. Regardless of the species. So what makes a good floating fry?  I think there are 3 things: the right shape and size, the correct type of buoyancy, and the ability to fish well both on a retrieve and static. After these considerations are met you might think about colour, but it will always be an afterthought. 

Shape and size, 

This is relatively simple. Length is the most important consideration because most small fish up to fingerling size are pretty similarly proportioned.   So a few sizes at maybe 7mm intervals. Where you start and where you finish on length will depend on location and time of year. 

The correct type of buoyancy,

This is, to my mind, the most important consideration. I want a low float, preferably with the fly sitting at a flattish tail-down attitude at rest. I’m not a fan of the flat float of the mylar and foam back options that are available and similarly I’m not super keen on a fly that hangs vertically at rest. I think it’s useful if you can adjust the float on the water either with scissors or some other method.

Fishing well on the retrieve or static,

There are patterns that do both but almost all of them will do one thing better than the other.  The right choice on the day comes down to observation & feedback from the fish, and how the fry are behaving. Are the fry larger and more dispersed around cover or are they balled tightly? Are the predators more interested in smashing shoals and mopping up the wounded fry or are they in the mood to chase?  But I always want something that will do, even as things change on the water- I’ve seen situations where it the fish seem to be switching to chasing and herding once they’ve dispersed the bait. But sticking with the fly that fishes better static and offering a pull then static presentation has been rewarded with the best fish of the day- or even season- after picking up others on the waked fly. Similarly, a more disruptive pattern that appeals more to the chasers, but can be effectively presented static can keep you in fish when they start to switch off after a bit of fishing pressure.  Without having to potentially miss out on the action while switching flies.

For me, there are only really 2 patterns that fit the bill; the deer hair floating fry or spondoolie and the popper minkie, which we used to call a suspender minkie.  The deer hair version is far and away the best choice for a static presentation but can be pulled to good effect too. You can make quickly adjust how it floats by holding it in the water and squeezing it, so it takes on water, or hold it in the air and squeeze it to get some water out of it.  You can even articulate them if you want to put the hook nearer the front on the bigger flies- this style seems particularly effective for catching big smallmouth bass and perch for some reason. It’s also highly realistic in ways that count, just the right amount of opacity, it can be trimmed to match the shape of just about any small baitfish, and can be coloured with markers easily. The popper minkie is, in my opinion more of a puller, it will work static especially when cast into a boil but probably still really wants an attention grabbing strip or two before letting it sit. For me it tends to sit a bit too vertically at rest although you can tune this a bit on the water. If I had to choose one it’d be the deer fry as I feel it’s a bit more versatile and probably more effective in most situations. 

Both flies are easy enough to tie and only need a few, readily available materials.

Here are the dressings for both.

Deer hair fry

Hook: Long shank, heavy wire hook like a TMC 5263 or Kamasan B800

Thread: White gsp 100 den

Tail: A pinch of rabbit fur-orange, white or grey

Body: Spun belly hair

Eye: flat tape eye (you can add two, but I usually trim mine so they lie on their side)

Finish the  fly with waterproof markers, or don’t the colour probably doesn’t make a huge difference most of the time. The first version of these I saw was in a magazine article in the early 1990s, possibly it was Nigel Savage‘s pattern but I can’t be sure I remember that correctly.  Instead of markers, he’d just put alternating bands of natural grey flank hair and white belly hair to put 3 grey stripes in the belly and it certainly worked very well.

The popper minkie (POD in the scissors)

Hook: There are some choices here, some like  a long shank as above, but I like a big heavy thing that puts the hook in the middle of the body-a size 6 or 4 B175 is ideal it gives more gap, less leverage and is stronger.

Thread: White 140 den

Tail/ back: Zonker it could be mink, but rabbit is fine- white, grey, olive or brown can all be useful.

Body: white/pearl fritz or ice dub

Rib: 6-8lb nylon, this will last much longer than wire

Popping head: Foam cylinder in a diameter to suit the size of fly.  Leave these long so you can cut them back while fishing to adjust the float and amount of disturbance.

Eyes: small tape or dome eyes sized to suit.

If you want to you can add a little red at the throat, but that’s probably not that necessary really.