If you’re looking for the ultimate snook fly, then you should consider adding the ‘Bigly Floating Minnnow’ to your fly fishing arsenal. It’s a surface fly that snook can’t help but be curios about. The fly is designed to be fished slow and deliberately with lots of pauses. Snook frequently eat this fly while it’s sitting still.
This snook fly is effective in a variety of situations. It’s the perfect fly for around mangrove islands and shorelines. On the flats, where snook will be looking up from sandy potholes or from the grass, this fly gives off a compelling wounded minnow presentation that’s nearly impossible for them to ignore. The bigly minnow even catches snook on the beach.
How the Fly Works
The long narrow marabout tail imparts life into the fly even when you’re not actively fishing it. On flats charters, we often experience snook taking down a stalled out bigly floating minnow that was dancing in the waves overhead. A five second pause with this fly is not too long when snook are around. When snook are in an aggressive feeding mode, it’s a completely different story. In feeding mode, Snook frequently pop the bigly floating minnow the moment it lands on the water. When snook are in a neutral mood, their curiosity will not allow them to ignore this fly.
Tying the Bigly Minnow
Below is a YouTube video that I recorded showing how to tie the bigly minnow and where and when to fish it. The second video is a closer look at tying the head in. The materials for the bigly floating minnow are as follows:
1. Hook: Gamakatsu SS15 size 2
2. Thread: Mono size .004
3. Tail: Strung Marabou (taking the long fibers at the base of stem)
4. Wing/Skirt: Bucktail (UV epoxy for bottom of skirt to prevent tail from fouling on hook) followed by Crystal Web-UV Hot Chartreuse or EP fibers.
5. Head & Eyes: 6mm sheet foam wrapped over EP game change 6mm eyes. (glue for the foam and eye interface)
