Glass Minnow (classic)

Hook: Mustad 34007 Size 2 to 2/0
Body: Silver tinsel wrapped around hook shank, wrapped with clear v-rib, Larva Lace or s’getti string (original recipe was 15 to 20 lb. Clear mono)
Wing: white calftail with some silver Krystal flash, topped with a few fibers of olive calftail (original recipe was white calftail with 4-6 pices of silver mylar tinsel)
Head: Thread, large, usually white
Eyes: painted on head, yellow or white background with black pupil
Tying Instructions:

This is a slightly updated version of an old classic. The first version I saw of this fly was submitted by Lefty Kreh to the old incarnation of FlyTyer magazine, volume 4, number 3, page 23.

Tie in the thread near the bend of the hook. Tie in the silver tinsel and then the clear v-rib or s’getti string. Advance the thread to the eye of the hook. Wrap the tinsel around the hook to the eye of the hook, tie off and trim excess. Wrap the v-rib or s’getti string over the tinsel to the eye of the hook, tie off and trim excess. Put a sparse amount of white calftail, then a few strands of silver Krystal flash in the wing. Top this with another sparse amount of white calftail and then just a few fibers of olive calftail. Make a large thread head, and tie off. Paint on eyes and coat with head cement. The fly should have a sparse narrow look to it, with a lot of flash, mimicking nicely the tidewater silversides. The fly is obviously a streamer and should be fished as such. Silversides are often a favorite target of speckled trout, and sometimes redfish. The more modern materials of v-rib, Larva Lace or s’getti string are more easily handled than the mono, but the fly is still effective if tied with mono.

This is very similar to the tidewater silversides fly and a good iimitation of the glass minnow found in the Gulf of Mexico. - MSD

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