9 must-have summer bass flies (including some beauties you’ve probably never heard of)

MURDICH MINNOW

I love the contrast between this fly’s gawky, tacky appearance and how well it fishes. If a robot, possessing only a vague understanding of fish and fishing, tried to construct a streamer fly out of junk laying around a space station, it might look like the Murdich Minnow. On closer inspection, though, every element has a purpose. Supported by the bucktail, the long tail shimmies and shines. The collar keeps the tinsel in place, while also lending a subtle swimming action, like the front face of a lipless crankbait. The result is a minnow imitation that’s cheap and easy to tie, easy to cast, easy to fish and virtually indestructible.

The Murdich is fairly buoyant, but unlike most streamers, it doesn’t seem to perform quite right on a sinking line. But it’s a go-to in lakes and rivers when you want a sleek, shallow-running fly to dart around structure or over weeds, or swing-drift across current. It will also have more action if you tie it on with a loop knot. I have seen the Murdich in various colours, but it’s hard to improve on the white-and-silver space-robot motif, tinted with a touch of black, blue or green.

• Hook: Standard streamer or wide-gap, size 4 to 2/0
• Tail: Bucktail, 2x longer than hook, topped by 10 to 20 strands of Flashabou, 3x longer than hook
• Collar: Ice Fur, EP Fibers or similar, topped with a matching clump of Flashabou
• Head: Large Cactus Chenille or similar
• Tint (optional): Waterproof marker
• Eyes: 3-D